Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE

Diane & Rick talk to expert and researcher Dr. Ben Garber about the necessity of family law professionals approaching family law litigation from a systems perspective, using a Sherlock Holmes method of elimination to understand the dynamics of each case.

Dr. Garber’s website is at https://familylawconsulting.org/

The book (The Family Law Professional’s Field Guide to High Conflict Litigation) can be purchased at:
https://www.americanbar.org/products/inv/book/418772451/

The Balance of Gray
God, doubt, and proof walk into a podcast... it goes better than you’d expect!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

>>>>CONTACT US >>>>RATE THE SHOW >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITE

CO-PARENT RESOURCES:

• Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a 7-day FREE trial OR give it as a gift
• If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book, I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE
• THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents
• CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents
• For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!
• To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelp

FOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONAL...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE

Diane talks with Rick about her frustrations with how the court system often works against the high-conflict family in litigation. Too many cooks (professionals) in the kitchen (on the case) can prove to be a cure that is worse than the disease.

Diane plugs the organization, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC):
www.AFCC net.org

The book (High Conflict Litigation) she refers to at the end of the episode can be purchased at:
https://www.americanbar.org/products/inv/book/418772451/

The Balance of Gray
God, doubt, and proof walk into a podcast... it goes better than you’d expect!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

>>>>CONTACT US >>>>RATE THE SHOW >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITE

CO-PARENT RESOURCES:

• Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a 7-day FREE trial OR give it as a gift
• If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book, I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE
• THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents
• CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents
• For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!
• To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelp

FOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONAL...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE

Tara emails a question about her co-parent, who she thinks spoils the children and is too permissive. What is the best parenting style in divorce? Will the kids reject  you if they don’t like your style? Diane & Rick discuss four parenting styles and the importance of balance in all situations.


Become a CPDilemmas patron and monetarily support our work with co-parents. Visit our Patreon page to get special listener perks

The Balance of Gray
God, doubt, and proof walk into a podcast... it goes better than you’d expect!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

>>>>CONTACT US >>>>RATE THE SHOW >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITE

CO-PARENT RESOURCES:

• Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a 7-day FREE trial OR give it as a gift
• If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book, I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE
• THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents
• CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents
• For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!
• To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelp

FOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONAL...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE

Travis writes in and asks about the nuances of co-parenting an infant when he and the other parent were never married. Is co-parenting after divorce different than if you were never married? What does the research say about sharing time with very young children? Diane & Rick answer these and other questions about this sensitive topic.

Social Science and Parenting Plans for Young Children (article by Richard Warshak, mentioned in this episode)

The Balance of Gray
God, doubt, and proof walk into a podcast... it goes better than you’d expect!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

>>>>CONTACT US >>>>RATE THE SHOW >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITE

CO-PARENT RESOURCES:

• Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a 7-day FREE trial OR give it as a gift
• If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book, I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE
• THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents
• CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents
• For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!
• To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelp

FOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONAL...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE

Diane & Rick unpack the risks and benefits of using social media in long-distance parenting, as well as what details should be included in a long-distance parenting plan.

RESOURCES discussed on this episode:

https://cnfc.org/wp-content/uploads/Family-Court-Review-2016-Stahl-Critical-Issues-in-Relocation-Cases-A-Custody-Evaluator-s-Response-to-Parkinson-and.pdf

Creating the Perfect Long Distance Parenting Plan | OurFamilyWizard

How Having a Distance Parent Affects a Child - distanceparent.org

 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1126&context=extensionhist

Long-Distance Parenting: A Co-Parenting Guide for Divorced and Separated Parents | MU Extension

https://www.sessumsblack.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/12th-Judicial-Long-Distance-Parenting-Plan.pdf

https://www.delta.com/us/en/children-infant-travel/unaccompanied-minor-pro

The Balance of Gray
God, doubt, and proof walk into a podcast... it goes better than you’d expect!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

>>>>CONTACT US >>>>RATE THE SHOW >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITE

CO-PARENT RESOURCES:

• Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a 7-day FREE trial OR give it as a gift
• If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book, I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE
• THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents
• CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents
• For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!
• To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelp

FOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONAL...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE

Tom emails a question  about how to respond when his co-parent goes silent on a time-sensitive decision and how to react to the children, who seem to be using the same passive-aggressive techniques with him. Diane & Rick discuss how to resolve time-sensitive conflicts and talk to teenagers who are clearly stuck in the middle of the adult conflict.

The Balance of Gray
God, doubt, and proof walk into a podcast... it goes better than you’d expect!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

>>>>CONTACT US >>>>RATE THE SHOW >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITE

CO-PARENT RESOURCES:

• Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a 7-day FREE trial OR give it as a gift
• If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book, I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE
• THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents
• CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents
• For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!
• To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelp

FOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONAL...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE

In this episode, Diane & Rick answer a question from a parenting coordinator about how to define a medical expense and an extracurricular activity, especially as it pertains to financial reimbursement from one co-parent to the other. What might seem simple to address when parents create a parenting plan can become very complicated if you are working with an impossible co-parent. Setting things up for success requires a more detailed framework in the parenting plan than using simple terms.

The Balance of Gray
God, doubt, and proof walk into a podcast... it goes better than you’d expect!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

>>>>CONTACT US >>>>RATE THE SHOW >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITE

CO-PARENT RESOURCES:

• Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a 7-day FREE trial OR give it as a gift
• If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book, I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE
• THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents
• CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents
• For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!
• To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelp

FOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONAL...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE

David asks if he should ask the court for more time with his kids because of alienating behaviors he suspects their mom is encouraging. Diane & Rick discuss the risks of making an already insecure parent more insecure by further court action and how that may affect the children. They also provide advice about the importance of the non-custodial parent creating an environment where the children can be themselves and simply be children, regardless of what the other parent is doing.

The Balance of Gray
God, doubt, and proof walk into a podcast... it goes better than you’d expect!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

>>>>CONTACT US >>>>RATE THE SHOW >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITE

CO-PARENT RESOURCES:

• Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a 7-day FREE trial OR give it as a gift
• If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book, I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE
• THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents
• CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents
• For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!
• To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelp

FOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONAL...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE

Diane & Rick help a mom with a daughter who is angry at her because she had an affair on her dad. How much detail do kids need about their parents’ breakup? What value is the “truth” in these situations? Listen to a discussion about how children form their identities through what they believe about their parents and how to protect a child’s self-esteem by limiting negative information about the divorce.

Diane mentioned a 2018 study about how adult children of divorce struggle with the parent who badmouthed their other parent when they were children. We couldn’t locate the exact study mentioned, but here is an article that discusses this topic in detail (with various studies cited).

The Balance of Gray
God, doubt, and proof walk into a podcast... it goes better than you’d expect!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

>>>>CONTACT US >>>>RATE THE SHOW >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITE

CO-PARENT RESOURCES:

• Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a 7-day FREE trial OR give it as a gift
• If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book, I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE
• THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents
• CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents
• For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!
• To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelp

FOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONAL...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE

Emma from Atlanta thinks one of her co-parent’s decisions isn’t fair to their child, who is experiencing anxiety and nightmares. How much of it is connected to the dad’s decision, and what part does the co-parent conflict play? Diane & Rick unpack this complicated, but common, dilemma.

The Balance of Gray
God, doubt, and proof walk into a podcast... it goes better than you’d expect!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

>>>>CONTACT US >>>>RATE THE SHOW >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITE

CO-PARENT RESOURCES:

• Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a 7-day FREE trial OR give it as a gift
• If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book, I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE
• THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents
• CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents
• For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!
• To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelp

FOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONAL...