Many Family Lawyers agree that the biggest mistake people make in divorce is, “she wants to keep the house.” Generally, lawyers and mediators and financial advisors and collaborative law participants try to explain to her why or how it would be a mistake to try to keep the house. After all, it may be clear that it is impossible to refinance the mortgage into her name only. And the house may also be an expensive enterprise to maintain. Her spouse is either unwilling or unable to stay on the mortgage or otherwise financially support her decision to keep the house. All too often, there is no amount of logic or calculation or convincing, short of coercing her, that persuades her that insistence on keeping the house is unreasonable. Often, dispute resolution professionals get very frustrated with her and begin to label her as irrational and not credible and incompetent as a participant in the process. What she thinks, begins to be dismissed. This is one of the tragic outcomes of dispute resolution in divorce matters.
Her wanting to keep the house against all odds is not irrational. The problem is not with the client. The problem of an inability to resolve this matter lies with the dispute resolution professional. She will keep raising her “wall of resistance” as high as it needs to be to resist all arguments against her desire to keep the house. Sound familiar? She isn’t the one making the mistake.
Divorce Coaching is a dispute resolution process. CDC Certified Divorce Coaches are dispute resolution professionals who have been trained to a professional standard to assist with this very circumstance, as well as many others. The dispute resolution techniques the divorce coach employs, assist the client to self-discover for herself that it would be important for her to consider other housing options. Time after time, divorce coaches “kick the log jam loose” in a dispute. This requires time, patience, technique, and non-judgement to accomplish.
Avoid the Six Biggest Mistakes in Divorce.
To learn more about techniques for dealing with the resistance that dispute resolution professionals encounter, join us for the free mini-training webinar Helping Your Client Avoid the Six Biggest Mistakes in Divorce. You can find more information and a link to register here.
If you are unable to attend that webinar, and want to talk with us about divorce coaching, click here to set up a one-on-one call at a day and time which works best for you.
The Missing Link in Divorce Support: Why Coaching Completes the Professional Team
Divorce is rarely just a legal event. It is emotional, financial, relational, and deeply personal — often all at once. While attorneys, mediators, financial professionals, and therapists each play critical roles, there is often a gap in the support system: someone...
A Career That Changes Lives – Including Your Own: Why Professionals Choose Divorce Coaching
At some point in many professional journeys, a quiet question begins to surface: Is there work I could be doing that feels more meaningful? More aligned? More impactful? For many professionals - across law, finance, mental health, education, business, and beyond -...
Be the Divorce Difference®: What It Means to Coach with Compassion and Professional Integrity
Divorce is one of life’s most emotionally charged transitions. For the individuals and families experiencing it, the process can feel overwhelming, isolating, and uncertain. At CDC Certified Divorce Coach®, we believe that how people move through divorce matters — not...
