Writing Makes Me Happy

Unfortunately, writing is also work! Saw this and had to add my 2 cents. http://www.infobarrel.com/22_Habits_of_Unhappy_People

Happy People Smile More!

On Friday, I saw a night of one act plays produced by Valencia Community College. http://valenciacollege.edu/

It did not hurt that my daughter was the star of the final act. The plays were Hilarious, Dramatic, Irreverent, Socially challenging, and most of all Creative.

13 playwrights, 29 actors, 16 directors, and one professor used "Resentment Falls" as the theme for the evening. Some chose dramatic interpretations of human interaction where one party's resentment eventually changed to respect, love, or something else. Others used the phrase 'resentment falls' within the dialogue. One referred to a fictional river leading to it; another used an onstage film crew. Tow used painters depicting the beginning and end of different relationships to milk the drama; two used Facebook https://www.facebook.com/  or Twitter https://twitter.com/ to hold distant conversations onstage.

In my most humble opinion, the most creative piece was a horserace between Pride, Anger, Serenity, Confusion, Resentment, Worry, and bringing up the rear, Flatulence. Of course after Resentment falls, taking out Pride and Anger, Serenity wins the day over the others.

My favorite however, was 'Assisted Living'. This play introduced the Resentment Falls Retirement Community, where all your disgruntled relatives can live to their hearts' contentment. Of course grumpy old men complain about everything and Resentment Falls promises to give them much about which to complain. I wanted to purchase the script for our Elder Law Section meeting! Instead, I have asked the director to bring his actors to our annual seminar to perform for 50 lawyers who work hard daily helping elders negotiate the end of life.

Unhappy people have many things in common, laughing at their situation is not one! I hope you can laugh about this blog; at least the work today was fun. Aubrey

A Non-Stressful Way for Florida Couples to Divorce

Going through a divorce in Orlando, Florida, can be a difficult stage of a person's life. Floridians considering divorce should realize that divorce could sometimes be the largest legal, emotional and financial issue they'll ever experience. Ending a marriage severs the legal marital relationship, divides marital assets and sets parenting duties for children.

However, ending a marriage in Florida could be made less difficult if a couple engages in one of several forms of alternative dispute resolution, which may help spouses divorce without the traditional stress and challenge of litigation. Many people are currently choosing a collaborative divorce process because of its different advantages. Divorce and collaborative law is a novel approach that removes the "fight and win" mindset from a divorce process. Collaborative law allows both parties to use negotiation and mediation to settle legal divorce issues.

Collaborative divorce is a popular option for couples because it prevents parties from saying or doing things just to win. Unlike litigation, the collaborative divorce process helps spouses end a marriage amicably, which can also benefit parents who want to settle child-related issues without affecting the child. Because collaborative divorce encourages parents to act as a parenting team when raising their child, divorcing with the collaborative law process can have less emotional impact on a child.
Different professionals in collaborative law may guide divorcing couples through the emotional, financial and legal aspects of divorce. These professionals will remain neutral but will provide the parties with a forum and suggestions to come to a mutual decision.

Compared to a traditional Orlando divorce where the Florida court will decide the divorce settlement, the decision making in collaborative law is done by the spouses and the final outcome solely depends on mutual agreement. More importantly, collaborative divorce may work for both parties who are willing to actively participate in the negotiation.
Source: KERA News, "Three Reasons People Choose Collaborative Divorce," Stephen Becker, March 20, 2014