Divorce Happens

Hey Olivia, how do I explain to my divorce lawyer that I've been doing everything?

"Does it matter that I've been doing everything? Or am I going to sound like I'm just complaining?" That's the question at the heart of this week's Hey Olivia letter, a

Hey Olivia, our daughter was stillborn and we're separating. What do we do with her nursery, and who decides?

"I can't lose any more of her. What do we do, and who decides?" This week's Hey Olivia letter is a really tender one, and I read it slowly. It comes from a parent whose

The Paperwork After the Paperwork: What No One Tells You About Divorce Finances

Your divorce decree is signed, and you assume the money part is done. Then the loose threads start showing up: the beneficiary you never changed, the deed still in both n

You're Not Meant to Do Divorce Alone: How to Build Community When You Need It Most with Monique Alexander

Monique Alexander has never believed we can exist in this world without community. Not the most famous people, not the most successful, and not anyone going through a div

A Divorce Without Court? How Family Law Arbitration Works with SOLAGREE Founder Amanda Mason

After more than 20 years as a divorce attorney, Amanda Mason calls herself a "recovering divorce attorney." She spent those years watching families get "absolutely tortur

What Is a High Conflict Divorce, and How Do You Avoid One? With Family Law Attorney Christina White

One parent wants to keep the Social Security cards at their house. The other says no. And suddenly a question that will matter a handful of times in a child's life is a l

The Divorce Is Final, So Why Don't You Feel Better? Divorce Recovery with Leah Marie Mazur

The papers are signed. The ink is dry. And somehow you still don't feel better. Olivia Howell remembers that moment exactly: standing in her marital house, thinking she h

Will Divorce Ruin My Kids? How to Rewrite the Stories You Tell Yourself with Divorce Coach Lyerly Spongberg

"I'm not strong enough to be a single mom." That was the story Olivia Howell told herself when her marriage was ending, and it felt like a fact. Most people going through

How to Find Joy During Divorce (Even When You're Angry, Scared, and Exhausted) with Divorce Coach Lisa Lisser

There is a particular kind of grief that comes from sitting in a school auditorium, watching your child on stage, and realizing you are not really there. Your body is in

Hey Olivia, how do I feel the joy for my rainbow baby at the same time I'm planning to end my marriage?

This week's letter is a tender one. A listener wrote in after a pregnancy loss, holding the rainbow baby they prayed for and quietly planning to end their marriage. Every

From Full-Time Mom to Co-Parent: How to Let Go Without Losing Yourself After Divorce

There is a particular kind of grief that comes with realizing you are not going to be with your children every day anymore. For so many moms going through divorce, especi

Who Files FAFSA After Divorce? What Divorced Parents Need to Know About College Financial Aid

College can feel impossibly far away when your children are young and you’re in the middle of a divorce. And then, somehow, senior year arrives—and suddenly you’re starin

Divorce Is Not Failure: Why We Need to Retire the Phrase “Failed Marriage”

It’s time to retire the phrase “failed marriage.” A marriage can last twenty years, contain children and homes and illnesses and inside jokes and terrible fights and beau

You Do Not Have to Know Yet: How to Know If You Should Get Divorced

You do not have to know yet. You do not have to wake up tomorrow morning certain that you are getting divorced, certain that you are staying married, certain that the rel

What Is a Parenting Plan? How to Build a Child-Centered Divorce Agreement with Mediator David Fein

When you’re getting divorced with children, there are some decisions that look deceptively simple on paper: Where will the kids sleep? Who takes them to soccer? What happ

Hey Olivia, how do I figure out what I actually deserve when I've spent years talking myself out of wanting anything at all?

"I started believing that the criticism, the feeling small, the walking on eggshells, was just what marriage was. I've caught myself telling friends 'it's not that bad' a

A Divorce Lawyer's 3 Unexpected Tips for Getting Through Divorce

Sometimes, when your life is falling apart, the thing that helps you hold yourself together is something as ordinary as getting dressed. Not because a great outfit can so

How to Survive Shared Custody: 5 Ways to Stay Connected to Your Kids After Divorce

One of the most heartbreaking parts of divorce can happen after the agreements are signed and the custody calendar becomes real: suddenly, you may no longer see your chil

Think You’re Divorcing a Narcissist? What to Do Before You Tell Them

There is a very specific kind of fear that comes with thinking about divorce when you have no idea how your spouse is going to react. Maybe every difficult conversation s

Shifting Perspectives: Why Are We So Afraid of Divorce?

Sometimes the hardest part of divorce isn’t only ending the marriage. It’s realizing how many beliefs you’ve inherited about what ending a marriage is supposed to say abo