Posted April 4, 2018 | by Lorisa Stein |in Child Support, Collaborative Approach, Collaborative Divorce & Toronto Family Law, Family Business, Separation Agreements

A Lawyer is Drafting Your Separation Agreement?

Online kits to help you complete your separation agreement with checkboxes may look like they solve all your problems: they are readily available, fully customizable, and easy to skip over language you don’t understand.  The old adage ‘you get what you pay for’ aptly applies.   You won’t recognize conflicting provisions or out of date

Posted March 27, 2018 | by Lorisa Stein |in Collaborative Approach, Collaborative Divorce & Toronto Family Law, Divorce, Domestic Contracts, FAQ, Legal Advice, Mediation, Negotiation, Separation Agreements

Collaborative Separation Agreements: Pros + Cons

How you proceed forward once the decision to separate has been taken by one spouse requires some consideration. The values, work ethics, and best practices of the lawyer you retain are just as important as the forum in which you proceed. It is also important that you and your lawyer see eye to eye on

Posted February 15, 2018 | by Lorisa Stein |in Client Confidentially & Privacy, Collaborative Approach, Collaborative Divorce & Toronto Family Law, Legal Advice, Separation Agreements

Separation Agreements: Choosing your Lawyer and Your Approach 

Being ready to decide and choosing to separate is difficult and emotional. Readiness means you have accepted that your relationship is no longer viable and can’t be ‘fixed’. You are self-aware how that emotional roller-coaster can hijack logical thinking and you’ve taken steps to manage your grief and start the process of addressing your future.

Posted February 7, 2018 | by Lorisa Stein |in Arbitration, Child Support, Cohabitation Agreements, Collaborative Approach, Collaborative Divorce & Toronto Family Law, Divorce, Family Business, Marriage Contracts, Mediation, Negotiation

Why Ask a Family Law Lawyer for Advice?

Transitions in our personal lives signal a new journey tumbling with emotion, stress, and at times overwhelming our daily lives. Families aren’t predictable. Alliances are dynamic and change over time. Emotional responses interrupt our brain’s natural ability to think clearly, analyze data, and make plans appropriate to the situation. Some of that emotional stress interrupts

Posted December 18, 2017 | by Lorisa Stein |in Child Support, Co-Parenting, Collaborative Approach, Collaborative Divorce & Toronto Family Law, Custody & Access, Divorce, Family Dispute Resolution, Family Issue Resolution, Mediation, Post Separation Changes, Seasonal, Separation Agreements, Shared Parenting

Holiday Separations:  7 Critical Considerations

Separating during the holiday season can be complicated, balancing your own needs with the needs of your children and family expectations. Keep these considerations in mind as you transition into a separated family this season. Your children always come first Regardless of how you feel about your spouse, the key to good co-parenting is making

Posted April 27, 2015 | by Lorisa Stein |in Child Support, Collaborative Approach, Divorce, Domestic Contracts, Family Business, Marriage Contracts, Property Division for Married Couples, Property Sharing for Common Law Partners, Spousal Support

More Tips for Business Owners Contracting Into, During and Out of a Relationship

When entrepreneurs and small business owners are transitioning their personal relationships such as cohabiting or separating is to learn about their right to secure their wealth and prepare for an orderly distribution if that relationship doesn’t succeed. Another time of transition requiring a good look at securing wealth is upon the transfer of an inheritance.

Posted April 2, 2015 | by Lorisa Stein |in Collaborative Approach, Collaborative Divorce & Toronto Family Law, Divorce, Legal Advice, Separation Agreements

More Maxims & Musings Which Matter: Part 2

For more than two decades Lorisa Stein, an experienced family law lawyer practicing in Ontario, has listened to her clients express their needs and wishes as they journey through life. Embarking on a new relationship, taking their marriage vows of facing the sometimes challenging path of separation and divorce her clients have appreciated Lorisa’s direct

Posted March 23, 2015 | by Lorisa Stein |in Collaborative Approach, Family Dispute Resolution, Family Issue Resolution

Maxims & Musings Which Matter: Part 1

MAXIMS and MUSINGS WHICH MATTER:  PART 1 Lorisa Stein is a senior Ontario family law lawyer who, after more than a decade in the courts, moved to a settlement-focused collaborative family law practice. Through this lens and her interests in sports, design, mentoring, and ethics, she has developed some favourite truisms for her clients. Some

Posted March 5, 2015 | by Lorisa Stein |in Collaborative Approach, Collaborative Divorce & Toronto Family Law, Family Dispute Resolution, Family Issue Resolution

Essential Notes to the Collaborative Approach for Resolving Family Differences

Essential Notes to the Collaborative Approach for Resolving Family Differences What is it? For families, the collaborative approach is different. It’s a private and effective issue resolution process. It’s for those who want to help each other find the best solutions for their family problems. For the immediate concerns and for the long term. Couples

Posted June 24, 2014 | by Lorisa Stein |in Collaborative Approach

Divorce Satisfaction: Litigation vs. Collaboration vs. Mediation

How satisfied are family law or divorce clients using the different processes available to them? Let’s compare client experiences and people’s satisfaction under each process within the various family law approaches: the Litigation / family court process, the Collaborative approach to family law, and the Mediation process to family law by considering the available literature

Posted February 18, 2014 | by Lorisa Stein |in Collaborative Approach

A Child’s Place? Being a Child

From a parent’s perspective: the goal is to keep the children away from their adult business. Private conversations. Absences by one or both parents at meal times. Hushed voices. From the children’s perspective: the emotional huddles, the atypical outbursts and the squabbling over simple scheduling matters spell out something is amiss and very wrong. The