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Modern-day methods for conscious uncoupling are making ‘the D word’ less intimidating
anuary may mean a fresh start with a new year, but it is also often referred to as “Divorce Month,” as the number of divorce filings surge more than any other month. When we think of divorce, it is often associated with messy, complicated situations that have spouses fighting in court for months, even years. While that is still the case for some, new trends in divorce have made the process easier for all parties involved, but especially for the kids, whose needs are put front and center. “Divorce is a series of choices from start to finish, and the choices that are being 12 January 2020 CHICAGOPARENT.COM
BY LORI ORLINSKY
made by couples going through divorce have changed,” says Jennifer Mitchell, coauthor of Stress Free Divorce and creator of the Oak Park-based Solace Divorce Mediation, a family law practice that uses mediation and life coaching. “In the past, the majority choose to litigate due to a belief that it was the only option... Now, there is more awareness surrounding the power of accountability, choice, self-care, self-love and the notion of living a powerful life existence, which has led couples to explore alternative options.” Laura Wasser, divorce attorney to celebrities including Angelina Jolie, Kim
Kardashian and Ashton Kutcher, says in general, people are cutting out the “middle man” — attorneys, accountants, child custody evaluators — in favor of ultimately settling their cases as opposed to litigating them. She acknowledges no one wants to think about getting a divorce, but she sees the tide changing on how parents view divorce. “It’s time for a change,” Wasser says of the old-school divorce. “No one is going to approach it with open arms, thinking it’s a fun, great time, but people are starting to approach it with more knowledge and from a place of acceptance and really,
