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If your spouse is a louse…

February 19, 2023 By Joy Rosenthal

If your spouse is a louse I’ll get you the house. That Dr. Seuss-like saying was the on the business card of a litigator I met at my first training on collaborative law.   While his card was memorable (that was over 16 years ago), alas, his name was not.  (I just googled the saying to see if I could find his name and came up with a lot of information about head lice. Hah.)  That little diddy is funny, but … read more »

Filed Under: Divorce, Families, General, Negotiation, Property Distribution Tagged With: Divorce Finances, family, win-win

Why I Don’t Caucus

August 23, 2021 By Joy Rosenthal

Mediation Divorce

One of the things to think about when you are looking for a divorce mediator is whether they will meet with both of you together or will meet with you each separately.   Meeting with each person separately in mediation is called “caucusing.”  Mediators who caucus often do “shuttle mediation” — they go back and forth between parties who are in separate rooms, helping each identify their priorities and working toward a resolution. But I don’t do it. I meet with … read more »

Filed Under: Collaborative Process Tagged With: Conflict Resolution, divorce, family, mediation

Breaking the news to the kids

August 16, 2021 By Joy Rosenthal

How to tell your kids you are getting divorced

Are you the child of a divorce? If so, do you remember when you realized that your parents were separating? My guess is that you do.What do you remember about it–Do you remember what room you were in? Or what you heard? What did you feel? Who comforted you? What was said? Did your parents tell you or did you overhear something? Was it in the context of an argument or was it presented to you calmly? Did your parents … read more »

Filed Under: Children, conflict resolution, Divorce, General Tagged With: children, divorce, family, listening, mediation

Learning and Teaching

June 8, 2021 By Joy Rosenthal

  I just finished teaching Family Law for the third semester in a row at the CUNY School of Law.  Every semester, I learn almost as much as I teach.  It is a pleasure to have a beginner’s mind, as they say – to remember what it is like to NOT know.  CUNY students are particularly inspiring – many are going back to school after or while they are working, and there is always a wide range of life experiences … read more »

Filed Under: Cultural Competence, Families Tagged With: assumptions, CUNY Law School, family, Family Law, Family Law class, learning, New York Family Law, teaching

Mother’s Day 2021

May 9, 2021 By Joy Rosenthal

Today is Mother’s Day, 2021.  I am thinking about what it means to be a daughter to my mother, and a mother to my daughter.  I am thinking about my grandmother, Ida, who taught me about unconditional love and hard work, and about my other grandmother, Cecile, who taught me how to express your love through cooking and knitting.  I think about the ways I mother my nieces and nephews, my young friends, and about those who have mothered me … read more »

Filed Under: Adoption, Caregiving, Families Tagged With: family, Ma'Khia, mothers, village

I Hear You

August 31, 2017 By Joy Rosenthal

I Hear You by Joy Rosenthal

“I hear you.” Listening is a very simple act. It’s a subtle act. It is something that we do naturally with the people we love, and when things are going smoothly. Yet one of the most powerful statements that we can ever make is to say honestly, “I hear you. I recognize what you’re going through.” What is listening? Being open to hearing not only the words the speaker is saying, but also to her tone of voice, to read … read more »

Filed Under: Divorce, Mediation Tagged With: collaborative process, divorce, divorce mediation, family, hearing, listening, mediation

Why Do I Love What I Do?

July 11, 2017 By Joy Rosenthal

Why do I love what I do? by Joy Rosenthal

Our families grow and change over our lifetimes. We transition from the family we were born into to the ones we create. We form different types of families by falling in love, by having babies, by adopting children, by divorcing, by being step-parents, by having (or being) God parents, or by treating extended family like our own. Our children grow up and leave, our parents may move in with us. As a result, the idea of the nuclear family is … read more »

Filed Under: Adoption, Divorce, Families, Mediation Tagged With: Adoption, collaborative process, divorce mediation, family, mediation, pre-nup

Are You My Mother?

June 22, 2017 By Joy Rosenthal

Are You My Mother? by Joy Rosenthal

I have always been fascinated by families. They drive us crazy and they keep us sane. They are the rock upon which we stand, and can be the bane of our existence. We all know what it is like to be somebody’s child, and many of us know what it is like to be somebody’s parent or somebody’s sibling. But each of our experiences is so particular. So different. This article takes a closer look at 2 very basic questions … read more »

Filed Under: Adoption, Children Tagged With: Adoption, children, custody, family, LGBT

Finally, A Better Definition of Family

September 21, 2016 By Joy Rosenthal

New York’s highest court, the New York State Court of Appeals, made a long overdue and unquestionably important decision last month—that a de facto parent who is not a biological or adoptive parent has standing to petition for custody and visitation. This comes up in the context of same-sex relationships where one parent is related to the child biologically, where the parents have raised the children together but are not married.  The issue is whether, if they break up, the … read more »

Filed Under: Caregiving, Children, Divorce, Families, LGBT Tagged With: children, compassion, conflict, court, custody, divorce, family, gay, lesbian, LGBT, marriage

How History is Written

April 8, 2016 By Joy Rosenthal

I just read a beautiful tribute to the late Hon. Judith Kaye (1938-2016), who was the much respected and beloved Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of the State of New York.  The tribute was written by Roberta Kaplan, Esq., who represented Edith Windsor in US vs Windsor, the landmark Supreme Court case that, overnight, extended equal rights of gay and lesbian Americans in unprecedented ways.  Ms. Kaplan recently remembered Judge Kaye at a dinner for Le-Gal, the LGBT … read more »

Filed Under: Adoption, Children, Families, LGBT Tagged With: family, gay, law, lesbian, LGBT

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Rosenthal Law & Mediation
212.532.4704

Joy S. Rosenthal, Esq.
226 Prospect Park West #156
Brooklyn, NY 11215

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