Twenty-Somethings are the New Teens

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlights the fact that the incidences of teen pregnancy are declining in the country and that today's unmarried 20-somethings are the new "teen" moms.  America's all-time high level of non-marital childbearing is now being driven by 20-somethings, consisting of 41% of all births.  A delay in "tying the knot" has risen steadily according to Census bureau figures which has resulted in the shift of unmarried parenthood from the teens to the twenties. But such later marriage (nearly age 27 for women and age 29 for men) has also helped to cut the divorce rate, which has been falling slowly since 1980.  And there is a lower incidence of divorce among college graduates who have achieved a higher socio-economic level than their non-college educated peers, whose divorce rate remains comparatively higher.

Annual dinner on April 25th NJ Collaborative Practice Group

The New Jersey Council of Collaborative Practice Groups will be holding their annual dinner on April 25th, at Maggiano's Little Italy in Bridgewater from 6pm to 10pm.  The focus will be the New Jersey Family Collaborative Law Act -- where we are now and where we are going.  We are going to begin the program with a panel of our Council leaders who will address where we are now, the importance of the New Jersey Family Collaborative Law Act and how it will benefit all of our professionals.  Valerie Brown, Esq. will then address where we are going and the critical steps to passage of the New Jersey Family Collaborative Law Act.

For whom is Collaborative Divorce the proper process choice?

Collaborative practice ensures the best possible chance for:

• Couples who are seeking to reconfigure their families in a way that protects children, offering their children the best chance to experience the benefits of BOTH parents in an environment of mutual respect and support.
• Better communication between ex-spouses and an opportunity to effectively co-parent. 
• A civil, rational result. 
• An agreement that gives BOTH spouses as much as possible without hurting the other. 
• Protection from the emotional and psychological damage to children and to each other often caused by animus and protracted litigation. 

Collaborative practice is NOT a process for people destined to destroy their families (I have not met one client for whom this is a stated goal) and it most certainly is not for spouses seeking to punish and/or obtain revenge.