Alison Patton

"Why do some women do well after divorce, while others get stuck?" a divorcing client asked me, confronting her worries head on. "I want to be happy again. I want to rely on myself and not be afraid of the future. I can't make it without his support, but it's...

Mingling at a New Year's Eve party, I heard the "boiling frog story" for the first time. More an anecdote than a story, it goes like this: a frog will jump out if placed in a pan of boiling water, but if submerged in cold water that is...

One of the nicest things my parents did after their divorce was to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner together as a family, not just one year but several. At the time, I didn't realize how unusual this was, nor did I have any understanding of how difficult this must have...

After years of handling divorces, I thought nothing could shock me. And then a client told me about Ashley Madison, the website for "The discreet who want to cheat." Their slogans are: "Life is short, have an affair," and "When divorce is not an option, isn't it time...

Divorce is not a step most couples want to take. But when the papers are signed and the dust has settled, I've found that most couples ultimately recognize the insurmountable problems they had in their marriage.

Still, getting divorced is like going through chemotherapy to become cancer free. It...

Charlie Sheen keeps telling us he's special, but is he really that unique? We've read volumes about the king of custody battles, Alec Baldwin. We've followed the ranting of Mel Gibson, most recently from recorded tapes leaked by his ex-girlfriend during their child support battle.

What a relief to drop the whole idea of forgiving your spouse after divorce...and instead just "move on" with your life. Hundreds of readers seemed to feel this way after reading Erica Manfred's provocative post, "Why Forgiveness is Overrated." After all, if you've been wronged by your ex,...

I've watched friends get divorced and friends get sober, and it's always surprising to me how much the process is the same. Those first several months, it can be a struggle to make it through each day. For the alcoholic, the overwhelming urge is to take that drink. For the...

Like most of America, I have been riveted by Amy Chua's Chinese parenting techniques described in the media over the past week. I've greedily followed the global debate about parenting methods--eastern vs. western.

The divorce lawyer in me, however, can't help imagining what Amy Chua's parenting experience...