Judith Kaluzny, long-time North Orange county divorce lawyer and mediator, has  been accepted as a presenter for family law mediation at the 19th annual Mediation Week observances, Therese Gray, member of the OC Mediators Committee, announced yesterday.

This year’s event, “Celebrating Mediation Week in the OC,” will be held March 18 at Coastline Community College Garden Grove campus. Download the Mediation week flyer.

“We anticipate the conference will attract approximately 200 dispute resolution practitioners from all over California and beyond, said Ms. Gray.  The Orange County Mediation Conference committee sponsors include CSP, Inc. – Dispute Resolution Services; Mari Frank, Esq. and Associates; Gray Mediation; OC Human Relations Commission; Scott Mather and Debra Rocha.

Judith Kaluzny’s topic is, “The Elkins Family Law Task Force: Do Private Mediators Have a Role in the new Regime?”  She has attended nearly all the public meetings of the Elkins Task Force which was appointed by the California Judicial Council to fix family law courts.

Kaluzny, who practices in Fullerton, was a presenter at the first mediation week observance in Orange County, instituted by then-chair of the Board of Supervisors, Roger Stanton, in 1992.         Other areas of mediation that will be addressed include     the Community Practitioner – landlord-tenant, neighbor, HOA, peer, school; the Civil Mediation Practitioner – small claims, limited civil, unlimited civil, unlawful detainer, civil harassment; the Restorative Justice Practitioner – victim-offender, criminal restraining orders, restitution, talking circles, spiritual; the Business Practitioner – construction, employer-employee, labor contracts, malpractice, personal injury, insurance, real estate; and the Face of the Practitioner – ethics, dispute resolution styles, practice building

The task force appointed in California to reform family law uses the word “litigant” in their chapter titles in their report. They assume every person who wants a divorce should fight it out it court? Not necessary! Interview a mediator! Save your child’s college fund for your child, not the lawyer’s.

I’d like to recommend two wonderful books regarding divorce and mediation.

Nolo Press has a new book, “Divorce After 50″, a fine addition to their plain-English law books, legal forms, software and website. “Divorce at any age is a time of upheaval. But after age 50, divorce has a different feel, a different context, and a collection of issues not encountered by younger spouses,” says an introduction. This is very true and these issues are very common; you’re not alone. To learn how to combat these issues read the book or call us today for assistance.

You should also check out “Divorce Without Court”, a guide to mediation and collaborative divorce in the new second edition.

I hope you enjoy!

64% of people who file for divorce in California do so without benefit of counsel by a lawyer and/or mediator. Not long ago, that statistic was 50%. Many of these couples have reached agreements for support and division of property with assistance of knowledgeable mediators. Without proper counsel how can these couples know if they caught everything, or if the division is even fair?

More startling is the statistic that by the end of their case, 80% are without lawyers.

These statistics were stated recently at the April 2009 Family Dispute Resolution Statewide Educational Institute event. Sponsors for that event included the Center for Families, Children and Courts, Administrative Office of the Courts, and Administrative Office of the California Judicial Council

Prince Frederic Von Anhalt of Munich, Duke of Saxony, and 26 year resident of California, has tossed his hat, not crown, in the ring for governor of our fair state. All in the divorce industry should support him; he and his wife are testimony to our great offices and services. His 1986 marriage to Zsa Zsa Gabor was his seventh marriage. and Zsa Zsa’s eighth. Such optimism is refreshing.

Where there is conflict, chaos is a close companion. While in other aspects of life it may be advisable to avoid this unpleasantness, disorder must, in a sense, be embraced when it comes to dealing with conflict. Clarity and resolve can only be achieved by accepting the disorder and chaos that comes along with conflict.

“Stakeholders” in the culture of divorce are multiplying. The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts will host 115 mental health professionals, 63 lawyers (some dual degrees) and 32 judges to ponder “alienation” and high-conflict parental break-ups. One woman told me, “The system forces you into conflict.” Start with the initial papers you have to file to get a divorce in California; you have to choose a form of “custody” and “visitation.” You are starting out with fighting words from the beginning.

Do you wish you had negotiated a property agreement before you had gotten married? It’s not too late to clarify your intentions regarding property rights. Husbands and wives can make valid agreements during marriage to change community property to separate, separate to community, or to alter the status of their earnings. What you earn from work during marriage is community property. That’s the default rule. But you can change that with a written agreement. It is advisable to create a written agreement with the help of a mediator, who will be able to assist with the negotiations.

To be effective in mediation, it is necessary that you be willing to disagree. Disagreement can be painful. People feel tension with conflict. Conflict can be especially painful in personal matters such as: children, homes, property, income, and debts.Do not try to avoid the messiness of conflict because then you avoid clarity, resolve and the self-determination at the heart of the process. Actually, the ability to disagree opens possibilities of agreement.