Pre-separation Consultation – for Individuals

What exactly does it mean to divorce, or to restructure your family within the confines of the law?
Pre-thinking the many important considerations of your post-marital life before deciding to divorce results in the ability to optimize your outcome, and that of your family. Although couples generally think of a divorce as occurring between themselves, many other people are also impacted. If you have children of course they are affected, but extended family, friends, teachers, coaches and your broader community are as well. A marriage is much more than a legal contract, and ending it thoughtfully will result in your ability to have more agency over your post-marital life.

Marital Discernment – for couples

There are times in a marriage when both parties are questioning the strength of their marriage, and often either through the recommendation of a couples counselor or on their own, they want together to understand what the legal, financial and emotional trajectory of a divorce would be. At Consilium we work with couples to help them understand the varying paths and processes that would likely transpire if they decide to move toward divorce and the restructuring of their family.

MEFE – Marital Emotional and Financial Empowerment Plans – for individuals

There are times in a marriage when one party feels disempowered or marginalized. Through the Consilium Process we created MEFE, an acronym for Marital Emotional and Financial Empowerment.

When in a marriage spouses take on varying responsibilities, they can lose sight of their marriage as a whole. If communication between spouses then becomes difficult and misunderstandings arise, small hurts can become larger wounds. By clarifying the missing pieces of information, often financial, be it in terms of business dealings, estate planning, or ongoing income, expenses and support, couples can regain their equilibrium. Leveling the playing field of understanding allows couples to attend to any emotional or relational difficulties they might be having without worrying about being disadvantaged in their financial knowledge.

Post-Marital Agreements

Couples enter into postmarital (or “postnuptial”) agreements for the same reasons they enter into premarital agreements, to decide how they want their individual property and any joint property to be divided in the event the marriage terminates, whether by death or divorce. Spousal support may also be addressed in a postmarital agreement. The rights of any children of the parties and the parties obligations to those children may not be negotiated as part of a postmarital agreement. The main difference between a premarital and a postmarital agreement it that postmarital agreements are drafted after a couple has already been married, often for many years.

Clients who want to create a postmarital agreement often want to do so because they find themselves in a situation where finances are somehow impeding their ability to have a harmonious marriage. Sometimes a couple feels that a divorce is becoming a possibility, yet both parties remain hopeful that they can avoid a divorce. In this situation, spouses can sometimes reach an agreement, outlining the distribution of their property and possible spousal support should divorce occur. Knowing that their financial issues have been decided, they are able to focus on other matters in their marriage, while maintaining predictability should their reconciliation be unsuccessful.

If the parties decide to divorce, and one of the parties requests the Court enforce or not enforce the agreement, one factor the Court will consider is whether each person was represented by counsel at the time the agreement was signed. While an attorney is not absolutely required, it is highly recommended that both parties seek independent legal counsel before signing a postmarital agreement. To determine enforcement, the Court will also look to whether the agreement was fair and equitable at the time it was signed, and whether it is fair and equitable at the time of the divorce. There is never a guarantee that a postmarital agreement will be upheld, but the likelihood is much higher if parties draft and sign an agreement in accordance with all legal requirements.

Mediation

In addition to the Consilium ® Process, our attorneys are certified mediators and when appropriate and agreed upon between us and the parties we are available to mediate pre-marital, marital, divorce and post-marital conflicts to help couples and families optimize their outcomes.

Dissolution to Evolution

Navigating Your Divorce Through The Consilium Process

This book, that describes the Consilium Process, was developed to help people considering divorce to simultaneously create a parallel path of personal growth. It highlights common scenarios, presents thoughtful options and constructs optimal outcomes. The workbook helps people structure and pre-think their process so that logic can prevail during a time fraught with high emotion.