Matt Sossi Mediation

Creating a community for co-parents in San Antonio. Connect to fellow co-parents or to professionals in your community. The divorce circle is a free platform to stop think and gather your thoughts.

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Co-parents transitioning through the divorce process are successful when they share the same qualities:

1. Co-parents who share one common goal to keep their children out of conflict and peacefully transition through the divorce process.
2. Co-parents are mindful of the emotions they suffer during the divorce process. Co-parents are able to manage their own emotions to the point where they are able to make difficult decisions that best address their childrens' needs.
3. Co-parents are mindful of where their child's other parent is in the process of the divorce. Having empathy provides the ability to listen, understand and respond to one another.
4. Co-parents who come up with a method and means to communicate with their child's other parent. Co-parents who find ways to reduce tension and lessen conflict.
5. Co-parents understand the need to focus on their children. Co-parents who understand that the divorce process doesn't just affect them, it affects their kids as well.
6. Co-parents who are constantly on the lookout for options and resources that can help solve the conflict they have with their child's other parent.
7. Co-parents don't try to solve their conflict by first running to the courthouse. Co-parents exhaust all other options to resolve their dispute before involving a Family Law Judge.
8. Co-parents understand that the Co- in coparenting stands for collaboration, not conflict.
9. Successful co-parenting takes patience and dedication to a defined process.
10. Co-parents understand that coparenting is more about the journey than it is about a destination. Mistakes will be made.

Patience is the word of the day.

An unplanned pregnancy can leave you struggling to decide which direction to take. With open adoption, you can place your child in safe, responsible hands while still maintaining the right to be a significant part of his or her life.

Laws on how money is split in a divorce vary from state to state, but they will almost always employ one of two traditional methods of distribution - The "Community Property" Method, or the "Equitable Distribution" Method. In a Community Property State, marital property is divided 50-50. In an Equitable Distribution State, marital property is divided equitably (fairly), based on a range of considerations.

Divorce is hard at any age, but it's especially tough when the relationship has lasted for many years and you don't even remember single life. We're here to help untangle your shared world and get you back on your feet for the next chapter.

Conventional wisdom will sometimes suggest to avoid officially tying the knot with your Chapter Two partner so as to not lose your rights to alimony from your first spouse. The truth is, however, that even moving in with your partner could be grounds for the court to modify an alimony arrangement. In this case, it's best to get specific advice before you make any changes.

Alimony and child support agreements tend to be for fixed sums, and typically take into account the possibility that the sides' personal and financial circumstances might not stay entirely on track. Still, if an individual experiences a particularly extreme life change, they can always petition the court to have the agreement reexamined.

While many responsibilities of legal guardians don't factor in socioeconomic status, wealth can sometimes color how much burden the court will place on a parent. For example, a well-to-do non-custodial parent could be expected to fit the bill for private school education if that is the standard in the community where the family is living.

Divorce is a step that should only normally be taken when the relationship can't be repaired. If the differences can be bridged, mediation or couples counseling should at least be attempted.

Building a blended family with children from previous marriages comes with all kinds of lifestyle decisions. However you decide to do things on a daily basis, it's usually a good idea to keep at least some of your finances separate so that your children know that their inheritance is distinct from their step-siblings.

In an uncontested divorce, the parties agree on all the arrangements without filing claims against each other and only need to go to court to have arrangements certified by a judge so that they can be enforced later on. Aside from the fact that uncontested divorces are far more stress-free, an added bonus is that you can get imaginative and find personalized solutions to your unique issues that only you and you alone can solve.

Being in an abusive relationship can make you feel powerless, but you don't have to go through this alone. To start improving your better situation, one small step that you can take right now is to pick up the phone and call someone you trust and let them know how you feel.

An annulment is a way to dissolve a marriage so that legally it never happened rather than going through a divorce. This option is key, in particular, when finances are at stake. If you discover that you or a loved one has entered into a relationship with someone who was in it for the wrong reasons, find out if an annulment is an option.

Nobody gets married thinking that it isn't going to work out. If things suddenly aren't going as smoothly as you'd planned, don't face this journey on your own - seek the help of licensed professionals as soon as possible.

Getting fewer custody and visitation rights than you feel you deserve can be devastating, but it's not a fixed situation. If you can upgrade your career and show the judge that your home has become a better place for a child, you can try to get the court order changed.

You can reconcile with close family members after you've had a falling out, even years later. You will often have to reinterpret the past in ways that you find counterintuitive, but it may be a small price to pay for having positive relationships with the people around you.

Mediation as an alternative to conflict resolution in court can start out great, then go off the rails as things move ahead and end up in front of a judge anyway. Don't let that scare you away from exploring your options and offering creative solutions. Anything you say or offer during a mediation session can't be used against you or legally bind you if the negotiations fall through.

When entering into a second marriage, setting expectations ahead of time is critical. It's better to sit down before the wedding for a frank conversation with a lawyer or marriage counselor rather then finding yourself in court later on.

It can happen sometimes that shortly after marriage the "masks come off" and you discover that you married a completely different person than you'd thought. When that happens, it may be recommended to try and have the marriage annulled rather than going through a full divorce process.

Not every unsuccessful relationship needs to end in the courtroom. With a little patience and willingness to listen, a fair divorce or custody settlement can be arranged with the help of a lawyer or mediator.

Being a single parent is tough work. If your co-parent needs a gentle push once in a while to keep up their end of the deal, have your lawyer reach out to theirs before you waste your breath chasing them on the phone.

When negotiating a custody settlement, it usually helps to start with a set of demands that leaves room for negotiation. Vacation days, education and school choice, child support, and anything else you can think of should all be fought over. As long as you don't make demands that are too insulting or unreasonable, aiming high will give you something to compromise over.

If you want to get an annulment instead of going through a divorce, the window of opportunity is usually not very big. If you or your child realizes that they've made a big mistake shortly after the wedding, contact a lawyer as soon as possible to find out how an annulment rather than divorce can save time, money, and heartache.

Just because your first marriage didn't work out the way you had thought it would doesn't mean the next relationship will be the same. Life is a journey, and Chapter 2 is just a page away.

Custody arrangements come to an end the moment the child reaches legal age, but child support could continue for another few years if the court determines that your young adult is entitled to certain things like help with college tuition.

Children have enough to deal with when their parents are going their separate ways. Help them adjust to this new period in their life by having a custody arrangement that puts their needs first.

Starting over after leaving an abusive relationship is no easy task. Sometimes the best approach is to simply take things one day at a time. What steps will you take today to lay the groundwork for a better tomorrow?

Life doesn't always follow the textbook circumstances. For all of those times when your custody arrangement doesn't mesh with reality (like summer vacation or a special event), you can request the court to issue a temporary modification.

Vacation clauses in custody agreements typically provide a right for a parent to take the kids on vacation for a certain number of days a year. Don't confuse that with solo vacation - if a non-custodial parent wants to get away and chooses to give up their visitation rights for those few days, it shouldn't come at the expense of their right to quality time with the kids.