The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) has just received one of, if not the highest honor: a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. Advocates and professionals trained in this method of family law continuously and routinely speak about its benefits — the way it promotes respect of all parties, its ability to maintain civility in and out of the courtroom, and how it encourages empathy and understanding amongst all parties. 

On this episode of Divorce, Healthy!, we respect the National Adoption Month of November with bring in Ashley Michael, one of only 25 recognized adoption specialist attorneys in North Carolina and co-owner - managing attorney of adoption firm Michael & Russell, PLLC, joins her partner and co-owner host Ashley-Nicole Russell to discuss the need for respect and contempt, their success with collaborative law, the ways in which they see its positivity ripple throughout their clients’ lives, and the need for more familial courtrooms to adapt its policies.

“Areas are waiting for it. They're wanting it. They're needing it. They just need the attorneys who are going to provide it. And that's what we're working on now,” Ashley-Nicole says of the effort to spread the power of collaborative law. “I do think that it is an easy choice for clients once they truly understand [collaborative law]. What we have battled in the past is awareness — now we have it.” 

With the publicity the IACP is receiving from its Nobel Peace Prize nomination, both women are hoping this powerful form of conflict resolution will be more widely adopted in courtrooms across the country.

Tune in to this episode of Divorce, Healthy! with Ashley-Nicole Russell, Collaborative Attorney serving Beaufort, Raleigh, Wilmington and Greenville, NC.

Name: Ashley Michael, Esq. 

What she does: Ashley is one of only 25 recognized adoption specialist attorneys in North Carolina, the co-owner and managing attorney of Michael & Russell, PLLC, the only collaborative family law firm and adoption firm in southeast North Carolina. Whether she is working on domestic, juvenile, or guardianship cases, Ashley uses her training as a litigator, mediator, and collaborative law professional to resolve people’s issues with empathy and respectability.  

Words of wisdom: “In collaborative [law], we are part of these people's lives that we're helping, and that's just a beautiful thing that we get to engage in.”

Connect: Website | LinkedIn 

⭐ To inquire about speaking engagements, purchase your copy of Ashley-Nicole’s book “The Cure for Divorce Culture,” or to schedule your private orientation meeting, head to www.anrlaw.com. 

⭐ You can also find us on social media @ANRLaw. 

⭐ Divorce Lawyer Ashley-Nicole Russell has law offices serving clients in Greenville, Raleigh, Beaufort and Wilmington, North Carolina.

⭐ Find a better way forward, right here, on Divorce, Healthy! Subscribe in your preferred podcast app.

Cryptocurrency, Non-Fungible Tokens and Digital Assets are now common enough to frequent  divorce cases as assets to be divided, but still new enough that most people are unfamiliar with what it represents. Attorneys need to understand how these digital assets are purchased, how they are stored, and how they are maintained.  

In this episode of Divorce, Healthy!, host Ashley-Nicole Russell speaks with attorney Ben McLawhorn of McLawhorn & Russell, PLLC about cryptocurrency and other non-fungible tokens in divorce court. Ben aims to educate both clients and fellow attorneys on digital assets and how to approach them in litigation and settlement discussions. The two discuss at length the equitable distribution of crypto, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Smart-Contracts, NFT’s, Blockchain and the Metaverse and how those concepts play out in collaborative law proceedings versus in family law litigation. Ashley-Nicole discusses that Collaborative is an evolved model allowing the value of the assets to be obtained in a more transparent way across North Carolina and throughout the country.

How do you know if you even have Crypto or what if your spouse understands it far better than you? Ben discusses the challenges that come with digital assets, such as ensuring clients disclose them to their attorneys, the difference between mining and trading cryptocurrency, and how to store and cash in digital assets. There are so many facets to cryptocurrency that need to be understood and considered when dealing with it divorce cases; from Bitcoin to NFTs and Ethereum to blockchains, Ben uses his knowledge to ensure his clients are being treated fairly. 

Tune in to this episode of Divorce, Healthy! with Ashley-Nicole Russell, Collaborative Attorney serving Beaufort, Raleigh, Wilmington and Greenville, NC. 

Name: Ben McLawhorn 

What he does: Ben is an attorney at McLawhorn & Russell, PLLC, where he specializes in employment law, Social Security disability, and family law. Ben also works in tandem with Ashley-Nicole Russell, using an individualized litigation approach to ensure their clients’ rights and interests are protected.

Words of wisdom: “You need to have somebody who's knowledgeable in this space, who understands what these digital assets represent, and how they are to be handled during a divorce.” 

Connect: Website | LinkedIn 

⭐ To inquire about speaking engagements, purchase your copy of Ashley-Nicole’s book “The Cure for Divorce Culture,” or to schedule your private orientation meeting, head to www.anrlaw.com. 

⭐ You can also find us on social media @ANRLaw. 

⭐ Divorce Lawyer Ashley-Nicole Russell has law offices serving clients in Greenville, Raleigh, Beaufort and Wilmington, North Carolina.

⭐ Find a better way forward, right here, on Divorce, Healthy! Subscribe in your preferred podcast app.

Ashley-Nicole Russell, Esq  believes that mindfulness during divorce can make all the difference in how and what process is chosen and thus will affect the result. Her guest Eranda Jayawickreme applies his research in post-traumatic growth to illustrate divorce as a result and not a one-time action. As a psychologist and researcher, Eranda uses his work to show that divorce is not an isolated incident but an outcome of a long process. 

On this episode of Divorce! Healthy, Ashley-Nicole and Eranda walk through the cycle of divorce, how it impacts everyone differently, and what we can learn about our divorce process from our childhoods. Eranda dives deeper into collaborative versus litigation approaches and whether one event can define who you are today or will be tomorrow.  

“One reason why people struggle with divorce is that they may have had a childhood or they may have had prior life experiences that don’t necessarily give them the tools to help navigate complex problems successfully,” Eranda says. 

“The secondary control that you can put in place is of how you're dealing with the situation, finding a resource that won't amp up the animosity between you trying to protect your own mindset so you can protect your children”, Ashley-Nicole says.

As the cycle of divorce continues, it can be easy to give into building tensions but by being mindful of the end goal, that each party involved receives what is fair. This tension and giving into animosity can lead to heightened anxiety, depression, and can take a harsh toll on your overall mental health. It’s important that in situations where it’s possible, to choose a collaborative approach during the divorce process. Collaborative between the divorcing parties can ease future decisions such as child custody and settlement negotiation. Awareness of yourself, of children, family, and others that are affected in the divorce process will help this difficult time pass more easily.

Name: Eranda Jayawickreme  

What he does: Eranda received his Ph.D. in positive and social/personality psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010. He is Harold W. Tribble Professor of Psychology at Wake Forest University, and he conducts ongoing research on integrating philosophy and psychology, with an acute focus on post-traumatic growth. Eranda is involved in several projects monitoring the possibilities to strengthen character following adversity, challenge, or failure and the integrative theories of personality. 

Words of wisdom: “I do think, when you go to the experience of ending a marriage, it is an opportunity for you to step back and reflect on what you think you've done, how you think you're behaved well, ways in which you think you could do better.” 

Connect: Website | Twitter

⭐ To inquire about speaking engagements, purchase your copy of Ashley-Nicole’s book “The Cure for Divorce Culture,” or to schedule your private orientation meeting, head to www.anrlaw.com. 

⭐ You can also find us on social media @ANRLaw. 

⭐ Divorce Lawyer Ashley-Nicole Russell has law offices serving clients in Greenville, Raleigh, and Beaufort, North Carolina.

⭐ Find a better way forward, right here, on Divorce, Healthy! Subscribe in your preferred podcast app.

For decades, the family court system has done a poor job of showing children how to handle conflict and strife. In North Carolina, three women have set out to be generational chain breakers, modeling positive and effective communication through conflict resolution. 

On this episode of Divorce, Healthy!, host Ashley-Nicole Russell speaks with collaborative law attorneys Robin Mermans, owner of Road to Resolution, and Irene King, founder of King Collaborative Family Law. The trio delve into the significance of collaborative practices and the future of divorce law in general. 

Each attorney discusses her own tumultuous path with divorce and court proceedings that led them to study, pursue, and practice collaborative law. They all agree that collaborative practices don’t just help the separating couple remain civil, but also demonstrates to children and family circles how divorce can be handled with mutual understanding.  

“A divorce can be a way that you're able to move forward in a positive nature and in a healthy way for your family,” said Ashley-Nicole. “It can still be handled with respect. And I think that the respect aspect is such a large piece of this.” 

Tune in to this episode of Divorce, Healthy! with Ashley-Nicole Russell, Collaborative Attorney serving Beaufort, Raleigh, and Greenville, NC.

Name: Robin M. Mermans 

What she does: Robin is an attorney, who runs Road to Resolution — Divorce Mediation and Collaborative Family Law in North Carolina. After going through her own relatively amicable divorce, Robin left her job at a Fortune 500 company to pursue law school and practice collaborative mediation. 

Words of wisdom: “Once I learned about collaborative [law], I was hooked. It was exactly what I was looking for. Two parties still have attorneys, so you're not in that unlawful-practice-of-law landscape. You're problem-solving, and helping people, ideally, close the chapter and start a new one in a healthy manner.”

Connect: Website | LinkedIn | Facebook 

Name: Irene King 

What she does: Irene is the founder of King Collaborative Family Law. She found her way to collaborative law after decades of suiting up as a gladiator in family law each day and seeing families fall apart.  

Words of wisdom: “We can do really amazing things for families by keeping them out of the courtroom. We can keep them talking. We can ensure that their next chapter will be a viable one for the family, even if they have to reframe the way that they look as they move forward with their lives. It's completely possible.” 

Connect: Website | LinkedIn | Email

⭐ To inquire about speaking engagements, purchase your copy of Ashley-Nicole’s book “The Cure for Divorce Culture,” or to schedule your private orientation meeting, head to www.anrlaw.com. 

⭐ You can also find us on social media @ANRLaw. 

⭐ Divorce Lawyer Ashley-Nicole Russell has law offices serving clients in Greenville, Raleigh, and...

In this season of the Divorce, Healthy! podcast, we’re diving deep into the collaborative process. From mediation, to co-parenting, to top-notch resources for demystifying collaborative practice, this season is going to cover all corners of collaboration to help navigate divorce. 

Divorce can be a nightmare for all parties involved. That’s why Lori Gephart, President of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP), is on a mission to share the benefits of collaborative practice.

There’s a great deal of fear and emotions that come with divorce. There are legal, financial, and emotional burdens that weigh down the people involved. Not only that, but many children face psychological issues after the process, often developing an ingrained fear of divorce. So what can people do to mitigate fear, find better co-parenting options, and foster a healthier, smoother process?  

This is where Collaborative comes into play. Collaborative practice is a healthier alternative to litigation. It promotes communication, builds on empathy, and works toward a shared goal. It also lowers conflict and addresses common fears that occur in the process. Lori says that “when fear walks into the room, we talk about what’s important to you.”

So, how can you get involved in Collaborative practice? Through webinars, resources, conferences, and a global network of professionals, the IACP is educating people on the impact of Collaborative practice and why it’s so important. 

If you’re going through a divorce, the IACP can help you find mediation professionals in your area (like those at ANR Law) who can coach you through the process. If you’re a professional in the Collaborative space, you can become a member of the IACP and gain access to a vast network that is always willing to learn, teach, and work together. 

On this episode of Divorce, Healthy! host Ashley-Nicole sits down with Lori to talk about Collaborative practice and how it can foster a healthy divorce process. 

Tune in to this episode of Divorce, Healthy! with Ashley-Nicole Russell, Collaborative Attorney serving Beaufort, Raleigh, and Greenville, NC.

Name: Lori Gephart

What she does: Lori Gephart is a collaborative divorce coach, licensed psychologist, and the President of North Hills Psychological Associates, which is the first collaborative practice east of Raleigh. Lori was the first collaborative attorney to start directly out of law school in North Carolina, having studied under the first collaborative attorney in the state during law school. Now, she helps families separate and divorce without going to court for a healthier, more respectful divorce. Lori also started training with the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) in 2011, eventually moving up to her current role as President. 

Words of Wisdom: “I do this work because I believe that it's healthier for children and families.”

Connect: LinkedIn | Twitter | North Hills Psychological Associates | IACP | Facebook (IACP) | Twitter (IACP) | LinkedIn (IACP)

⭐ To inquire about speaking engagements, purchase your copy of...

The expense of divorce can be quite a burden, especially with today’s rising costs forcing us all to do more with less. Erin Levine, founder of Hello Divorce, is seeking to change that narrative.

An experienced divorce attorney herself, Erin wanted to find a way to reduce the most expensive part of the divorce process — attorneys. She recognized that most divorces don’t require litigation. Instead, clients need a basic set of resources and support from compassionate professionals who can help make the legal divorce process as painless as possible.

“The goal of Hello Divorce is to make divorce easier, friendlier, and a lot more affordable,” Erin says. “It doesn't mean that there won't be conflict. There's almost always conflict. But it doesn't mean that we need to ramp up the divorce such that we're battling it out in court.”

She developed Hello Divorce to be a checklist and one-stop-shop for attaining divorce resources — from compiling documents, to mediation, to working with an attorney to draft and submit the final paperwork to court.

Hello Divorce is customizable and can be tailored to fit each person’s particular needs. Its competitive pricing packages and à la carte services provide options that are typically out of reach for most people. Though the full suite of offerings is currently available in just a few select states, Erin plans to expand so she can serve more people.

On this episode of Divorce, Healthy! host Ashley-Nicole sits down with Erin to discuss how Hello Divorce is driving change and creating space for more comfortable divorces. 

Tune in to this episode of Divorce, Healthy! with Ashley-Nicole Russell, Collaborative Attorney serving Beaufort, Raleigh, and Greenville, NC.

Name: Erin Levine

What she does: Erin Levine, Esq. is an experienced divorce attorney who developed her company, Hello Divorce, to help streamline, cut costs, educate, and reduce overwhelm for uncomplicated divorces. Her mission is to make divorce easier, friendlier, and more affordable.

Words of wisdom: “[Divorce is] not an event. It’s a journey.”

Connect: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Pinterest

Top takeaways from this Divorce, Healthy! episode 

• Most divorces don’t need a litigating attorney. When there are two willing parties in a divorce, it’s often easier to come to an agreement without going to trial. Hello Divorce is a great option for those cases because it saves money and heartache.
• Reduce the overwhelm through education. It’s easy to feel lost when starting the divorce journey. Hello Divorce offers worksheets and checklists to help you work through the basics and manage the anxiety around the entire divorce process. 
• Hello Divorce’s resources aim to democratize divorce in all 50 states. While Hello Divorce isn’t yet available across the country, you can use its worksheets to get organized no matter your location. Also, prospective clients can use Hello Divorce’s mediators, then use a local attorney to draft the needed documents.

[04:16] The goal for Hello Divorce: Erin wants people to leave her website with the ability to “reduce the overwhelm” and feel more comfortable with an uncomfortable subject. 

[07:03] Who can benefit from Hello Divorce: Erin gives an...

Divorce, Healthy! was started to help people find a way to get through divorce in non-destructive ways. Ashley-Nicole Russell’s passion has inspired her personal mission statement: to change how divorce is handled in America.

Ashley-Nicole launched the Divorce, Healthy! podcast with a monologue. In today’s episode, she shares a new reflection of her journey thus far in achieving her goals and changing divorce culture.

 “That statement grew over time. It started with my mission to change divorce in my small town, to my state, to my entire country. And I really want to make sure that I save families from the destructive effects of what happens during divorce,” Ashley-Nicole says.

On this episode of Divorce, Healthy! Ashley-Nicole shares her personal experience as an adult child of divorce and as a divorcee, why she wrote her book “The Cure for Divorce Culture,” and how she’s a living example of what she writes.

“As we say in the south, the proof is in the pudding, right? … In the book, you get a big view of what happened [in my divorce]. There are some things that are a bit unsaid. And then, of course, there's the finished product of me actually moving on, having my own family, and curing [divorce] in the ways that I can for the next generation,” Ashley-Nicole says.

Ashley-Nicole reflects on child custody, support, the duty of HR and Alternative Dispute Resolution in divorce. Additionally, she touches on parental alienation, father’s rights, mother's rights and self-awareness.

Through her own personal journey, Ashley-Nicole has learned how to heal past traumas and find her own way to a happy and healthy life.

Tune in to this episode of Divorce, Healthy! with Ashley-Nicole Russell, Collaborative Attorney serving Beaufort, Raleigh, and Greenville, NC.

Name: Ashley-Nicole Russell

What she does: Ashley-Nicole Russell, Esq. is an award-winning family law attorney, author, speaker, and host of the podcast Divorce, Healthy!. She has created a new area of practice for family law in North Carolina and wrote the book, “The Cure for Divorce Culture,” which is helping to change the way couples divorce in the U.S. Her mission is to change how divorce is handled in this country over the next four years.

Words of wisdom: “I have a beautiful passion that's fueling me. And that's to fix divorce in America.”

Connect: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Top takeaways from this Divorce, Healthy! episode

★    Stigmas attached to divorce hurt children. Divorce as it has traditionally been viewed can have long-lasting negative effects on children that last into adulthood. This is why Ashley-Nicole knows it’s so important to change the culture of divorce.

★    Eliminate the battleground with divorce. Moving away from a litigation focus with divorce has opened up opportunities for parents to pursue shared parenting and allows families to come together and do what’s best for their children.

★    Model the behavior you want to see in your children. As a new parent herself, Ashley-Nicole has seen how important it is to model the behavior you want to see in your...

Casey Sowers followed 14 years of military service with a long career as a project manager in the private sector. During this time, he found himself fighting for equal shared custody of one of his daughters.

Prior to this, it had never occurred to Casey to look into the custody industry, or to consider the custody rights of divorced fathers. But after the stress of his own custody battle seriously affected his mental health and job performance, he started to get more involved. Now, Casey is Executive Director of The Fathers’ Rights Movement, a nonprofit made up of parents who advocate for 50/50 shared custody.

At first, Casey thought the impact of his own custody battle was all psychological. However, when he stopped to think about how many times he’d had to take a call from a lawyer, or find evidence related to his case during work hours, he began to wonder whether custody battles are costing corporate America significant amounts of revenue.

This motivated him to launch a pilot study to test this theory. So far, it includes 4,300 people.

The groundbreaking study is being released to addresses the impact that inequality in the United States Family Court System has on corporations. This is the most comprehensive research project of its kind that observes the effects that shared parenting and the court system has on not only families, but also corporations and communities.

Companies are growing increasingly concerned about the negative effects of divorce litigation on their employees and families, including emotional hardship and mental health issues that lead to decreased productivity and time away from work. Additionally, subpoenas are causing taxing issues for companies to produce massive amounts of documents and testimony under these duress cases.

Casey hopes to prove that poor mental health — such as the kind he suffered during his custody battle — affects job performance. And since job performance is tied to corporate revenue loss, it’s in corporate America’s interest to advocate for a system in which fathers have a fair chance at gaining equal custody of their children.

Tune in to this episode of Divorce, Healthy! with Ashley-Nicole Russell, Collaborative Attorney serving Beaufort, Raleigh, and Greenville, NC.

Name: Casey Sowers

What he does: Casey directs The Fathers’ Rights Movement, a group of fathers and mothers who advocate for divorced parents to receive equal custody of their children. 

Words of wisdom: “My duty as a father is to do whatever I need to in the best interest of my child. It's about being patient, not being reactive, and staying mentally healthy. Even if you're not able to see your child, you need to be complete and whole as a person.” 

Connect: LinkedIn | Instagram

Top takeaways from this Divorce, Healthy! episode 

★   Consider collaboration instead. In North Carolina — which the National Parenting Organization awarded a D- in its 2019 Shared Parenting Report Card — it’s not unheard of to pay $150,000 for child custody litigation, depending on which county you live in. Casey spent $140,000 over the course of two years for his litigation in Florida. Settling through a collaborative legal approach is far less...