Wild Writing is a timed writing process we use to tell our stories and uncover the themes we want to write about. While it’s wonderfully creative, it’s also a beautifully therapeutic way to get to the heart of what we care about and what’s going on in our lives.

For women going through divorce, Wild Writing can be the compass that not only helps us locate ourselves, but inspires us to navigate our new beginnings.

For women going through divorce Wild Writing can be life saving.

For women going through or recently post divorce, Wild Writing is coming to Soul Center Marin!

Join one of the bay area’s most delightful and soulful authors and teachers, Laurie Wagner.
Choose between a one-day workshop with Laurie on April 6, 2013 from 9:30 to 1:00
Or spend two hours weekly for five weeks with Laurie, Tuesdays at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, beginning April 16, 2013 from 10:00 – 12:00.
Or best yet, register for both the workshop and weekly classes! I promise, you’ll love Laurie!

Laurie is the author of Living Happily Ever After: Couples Talk about Long Term Love, and Expectations, Women Talk about Becoming a Mother. Her essays have appeared in Glamour, Salon, Parenting, and the Huffington Post. She’s been writing with women and helping them unearth their voices for years.

The Details

Wild Writing One Day Workshop
April 6, 20113
9:30 – 1:00
$127
Snacks and treats included
Space is limited so…

Register Now

Wild Writing Five Week Classes
April 16, 20113
10:00 – 12:00
$45/class
Five week commitment
Snacks and treats included
Space also is limited so…

Register Now

Laurie’s students describe Laurie and her Wild Writing…

If you want to set yourself free, Laurie’s Wild Writing course is for you. Laurie has the amazing ability to give you the comfort, oomph and inspiration to get things on paper you didn’t know you had in you – your best writing from your deepest truest self. I’m taking every course she offers and recommend that you do too.

She has these amazing eyes that are sweet, deep and clear. And she has a sunny molasses voice that pours over you. You relax and begin to open and just when you stop self-critiquing and really quiet down, you realize she’s got you where you didn’t know you wanted to be: Ready to face the abyss, willing to keen your ears into the silence, welcoming whatever comes.

For the last five years or more I have been taking Laurie Wagner’s wild writing course. It is truly one of the most poignant, rich and satisfying classes I have ever taken. It is also the very best way I know to get to deeper places in my writing, where I am able to reveal the truth of my heart in a vulnerable and powerful way….Perhaps even more than anything else, I appreciate what Laurie so gracefully makes space for– intimacy, connection, and sacred space to do creative work.

Space is limited, don’t miss these wonderful opportunities to Write Wildly through and beyond your divorce!

Wild Writing One Day Workshop
April 6, 20113
9:30 – 1:00
$127

Register Now

Wild Writing Five Week Classes
April 16, 20113
10:00 – 12:00
$45/class
Five week commitment

Register Now

Learn more about Laurie Wagner at www.27powers.org

Wild love to you all!
Helene Taylor, Esq.
Founder, The Modern Woman’s Divorce Guide

It was a loud second quarter and as I sat watching the final minutes of the game I found myself thinking about the similarities between football and divorce and what football can teach people about getting divorced. Of course these thoughts led me to think about you.

I understand you may not be a sports fan, but bear with me as I explain how the game of football mirrors the aspects divorce. Who knows, your husband may be a sports fan and you might use this insight to explain something important to him.

Here goes.

Divorce, like football, has rules and procedures that must be followed by all players. For example, in order to get legally divorced you and your spouse must file and serve the appropriate legal forms and provide the court with particular information. In the courtroom there are standard procedures that are used and followed.

Divorce, like football, has traditional venues where games are played. The most commonly used venues in divorce are courtrooms, but divorces also may play out in lawyers’ conference rooms, mediator’s offices or, if you are representing yourself, at the kitchen table or coffee shop.

Divorce, like football, has a team of players, who can get bumped and bruised in the game. These may include you, your spouse, and perhaps, your children.

Divorce, like football usually involves a host of other participants including lawyers, forensic accountants, divorce coaches, accountants, therapists, vocational evaluators, judges, and mediators.

Divorce, like football, requires players to think on their feet often, under intense pressure.

Divorce, like football, may require players to rely on others for their expertise. For example, in complex cases players may need the guidance of an attorney or legal strategist who has years of on-the-field experience to help players develop strategies for accomplishing goals and sometimes, out-maneuvering the opposition.

Divorce, like football, doesn’t always turn out as planned (power outages) or as hoped (Baltimore beats San Francisco by a few points).

Divorce, like football, can test a player’s strength and endurance and is perfect fodder for self-growth.

Divorce, like football, can cause a player to find fault with her performance in hindsight or lead her to acknowledge that she did the best she could, given the circumstances. (Yes, girls play football too.)

Divorce, like football, ends and life goes on so players know that no matter how hard the game, how bruised the psyche, in time, the divorce can become a distant memory and a happy new life created.

Football. It is a lot like divorce. How can you best participate in the game?

Share your thoughts, I’d love to hear from you.

If you enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends.

From my soul to yours,

Helene L. Taylor, Esq.
Attorney, Author, Legal Strategist.
Founder of The Modern Woman’s Divorce Guide

Map and Directions | Register

Description:

If you and your spouse have minor children together and you are getting divorced, legally separated or dissolving a domestic partnership, you don’t want to miss this event.

In this two hour interactive lecture Helene L. Taylor will be answering many of your questions and explaining:

• Legal Custody, Physical Custody, and Visitation
• What is guideline child support and how is it calculated
• How long child support lasts
• When and how child support may be modified
• Using garnishment to collect child support payments
• Earning capacity, imputing income and vocational evaluations
• How child support is calculated when commissions and bonuses are paid

Snacks and beverages will be served.

Space is limited.
Pre-registration is required.
$65 per session
5 sessions for $275 (a $50 savings)
10 sessions for $500 (a $150 savings)

Helene L. Taylor, Esq.
Attorney, Advisor, and Legal Strategist
Founder of Soul Center Marin

REGISTER HERE

Register

Map and Directions | Register

Description:

• Will I receive or have to pay temporary and/or long-term spousal support?

• How long could spousal support last?

• How are temporary and long-term spousal support calculated?

If you are seeking answers to any of these questions and would like to learn more about the intricacies of spousal support in California, join me, Divorce Attorney, Mediator, and Strategist Helene L. Taylor for an educational evening in my Mill Valley office.

In this two hour interactive lecture I will answer many of your questions and explain:

• How temporary spousal support is calculated
• How long temporary spousal support generally lasts
• Establishing long term spousal support
• The duration of long-term spousal support
• When and how modifiable and non-modifiable support orders are used
• Earning capacity, imputing income and vocational evaluations

Snacks and beverages will be served.

Space is limited.
Pre-registration is required.
$65 per session
5 sessions for $275 (a $50 savings)
10 sessions for $500 (a $150 savings)

Helene L. Taylor, Esq.
Attorney, Advisor, and Legal Strategist
Founder of Soul Center Marin

REGISTER HERE

Register

Map and Directions | Register

Description:

I had a fluttering in my stomach yesterday while sitting in the courtroom waiting for my client’s hearing.

Some might describe the feelings as nerves or butterflies, but not professional speaking coach KC Baker.

KC has a unique explanation of the source of these feelings and on February 23, 2012 at 8:00 ET/5:00 PT she is going to teach you how to:

• Find the courage and confidence to speak-up in your divorce
• Use simple proven tools and techniques to transform fear into power
• Tap into the source that will help you clearly articulate message so people will listen
• Gracefully and confidently unleash your voice.

Whether you’re speaking to your husband, lawyer, mediator or a Judge, KC is going to give you practical exercises that you can immediately use to tap in, turn on, and let your true voice out and express your need.

About my guest, KC Baker

Devoted to helping women rewire their beliefs about fear and unleash their voices, KC is a dynamic and gifted public speaking coach. She is the founder of The School for the Well Spoken Woman, which provides the training and support women need to masterfully communicate. KC’s parents divorced when she was very young and watching her mother struggle showed her how critical it is for divorcing women like you, to be able to find and use their voices during divorce. KC is such a wonderful woman who I am proud to know personally and highly recommend.

I don’t want you to miss this event that is exclusively offered to my Insider’s Circle members.

How to Become an Insider Today

There are two ways to become a member of my Insider’s Circle.
First, by purchasing either of my books The Soul Centered Divorce, 7 Steps to Making Difficult Divorce Decisions with Confidence and Clarity or The Fast and Friendly Divorce, How to Get Legally Divorced in California without Hiring Attorneys or Going to Court.

Second, if time and money are in short supply, but you want to learn more about how to make your best choices in divorce, you also can join my Insider’s Circle and have ongoing access to my teachings at a very affordable rate – just $9.95 a month – as a monthly subscription, which can be canceled at any time.

As an insider, once a month you’ll have access to me, divorce educator Helene L. Taylor, Esq. and my special expert guests (judges, lawyers, psychologists, realtors) as we discuss the topics you are facing in divorce and share practical suggestions you can begin using immediately.

Become a monthly Insider and tune in to my interview with KC Baker today!

Join Now

KC and I are so looking forward to this online event! See you then.

Register

As a divorce attorney who has represented women in some of the most acrimonious divorces over the last 18 years, I could write a book on divorcing husband’s bad behavior. But I won’t. Instead, I am going share with you, some of the things you can expect if your husband is being despicable in your divorce.

1. Going to court. If you want to get divorced, but your husband will not cooperate, is being wholly unreasonable or won’t agree to amicably resolve your issues, you will probably need a judge’s help in order to get divorced.

The amount of time you spend in court will depend on a variety of things, but generally increases significantly if you have children, assets and debts, and spousal support, alimony or maintenance is at issue. Court time can also be increased exponentially if your husband keeps bombarding you with motions that require court hearings or forces you to ask for help resolving every short and long term issue in your case.

2. Doing a lot of work. If you have to keep responding to or filing court motions, you will spend a LOT of time reading, researching, writing, filing court papers, and going to court. If you are working with an attorney, you also will spend significant time providing him or her with factual information that is required by the court in order to decide the issues. Litigation is a very labor intensive process for even the most experienced attorneys who know exactly what, when, and how to do what needs to be done.

3. Spending a lot of money. If you or your husband is constantly filing motions and you are working with an attorney, it is inevitable that you will spend a significant sum of money. As I mentioned above, it takes a great deal of time for even the best attorneys to prepare pleadings (legal documents) and comply with all of the applicable court’s rules. So costs are going to be driven up. Alternatively, if you are representing yourself, you will likely incur copy costs, filing costs, service costs, and other miscellaneous costs and perhaps, a loss of income whenever you take a day off work to appear in court.

Of course, there are exceptions to these three expectations.

If your husband is on a warpath and you decide not to fight, none of these expectations may apply. If your husband wants the house and you say “take it” or he doesn’t want to pay spousal support and you say “fine”, your despicable husband may have papers ready for you to sign in a heartbeat.

According to the latest media news, Katy Perry’s husband Russell Brand is walking away from the purported $20 million settlement she has offered him (good move Russell), while Kim Kardashian’s husband Kris Humphries is alleging fraud in an attempt to get an annulment instead of a divorce. This will likely lead to a knock down, drag out legal battle or hefty ($$$$$) settlement. In my opinion, it really looks like the move of a humiliated man trying to vindicate himself in the public’s eye, which you should know, is also very common in divorces and something you might expect. Husbands who feel jilted, embarrassed or used often come out swinging and will spare no expense to make their divorcing wives’ lives miserably difficult – this too, drives up costs.

The expectations above also may not apply if a judge immediately admonishes or sanctions your husband during the first court appearance. When faced with the threat of further public reproach or fines, some despicable husbands do a 180-degree turn and begin behaving reasonably and rationally.

Somehow I suspect you have already heard these three expectations as most women in these situations share their tales of woe. Nonetheless, now that you are in the midst of or embarking on your divorce, it is important for you to be keenly aware of these possibilities. With this awareness you can speak with someone like me, with whom you can discuss what is most important, explore your options, develop a strategy, and make your best choices in a difficult situation, which could save you significant time and money.

If you would like to learn more about the services I offer, please read the information provided on my coaching page and call my assistant Monica for a brief discussion about your case. Telephone: 415-322-9061.

From my soul to yours,
Helene Taylor, Esq.

This article is not legal or financial advice. You should contact a lawyer, accountant and/or financial professional in your state to discuss the specifics or your case and applicable laws.

Those wishing to lose weight probably have joined a gym, hired a personal trainer, scheduled exercise time, researched dietary choices, and set a weight loss goal.

Those wishing to get out of debt probably have cancelled their magazine subscriptions, started brewing their own coffee, scheduled an appointment with a financial advisor, and created a budget that enables them to get out of debt over time.

Those wishing to save for retirement probably have….

I could go on describing some of the most common New Year’s resolutions and how they might be achieved because, when it comes to most mainstream issues like losing weight or getting out of debt, most people, myself included, know the steps that must be taken to reach the desired goal.

Unfortunately, the same isn’t true for a New Year’s resolution that goes something like this:

“I resolve to get legally divorced/finish my divorce and create a joyous new life this year!”

Not knowing exactly what to do in order to get divorced this year may seem odd, especially because divorce is a normal part of our lives. It happens everyday, everywhere, and sometimes, for some people, it happens more than once or twice or three times… (I think Elizabeth Taylor did it seven times)

But the truth is, there are many reasons why the steps you must take to get divorced are not common knowledge. Perhaps the most prevalent are that every divorce is different, state laws vary, and, more often than not, in-depth knowledge about applicable laws and the process of getting divorced or the education necessary to research and understand these, are required.

Yes, it’s true.

If you aren’t well versed in divorce laws and procedures, it is difficult to know exactly which steps to take to get divorced.

So what can you do to get your divorce done this year? Here are a few steps to help get you started.

Step One: Determine whether it is legally possible to get divorced by year-end. In order to set realistic year-end divorce goals it is best to make sure that the goals you have in mind are legally achievable. Many states have mandatory waiting periods that could prevent you from terminating your marital status before December 31, 2012. For example, if your state requires you and your spouse to be legally separated for at least a year and you are not yet technically “legally separated”, you may not be legally divorced until the beginning of 2013. If this is the case, don’t throw out the baby with the bath water. Although you may not be able to get legally divorce this year, it may not prevent you from working towards the final resolution of your divorce issues in the interim. In California, where we have a mandatory six-month waiting period before the “marital status” may be terminated, it is still possible for parties to resolve all of their legal issues before the expiration of the six-month period and even get a court approved judgment. The judgment of course provides that the marital status will not terminate until the waiting period expires, but the other issues can be legally binding and immediately effective even though the parties are still considered husband and wife. So, do a little digging so you can set an achievable goal.

Step Two: Assess your current situation to find your starting point. It is difficult to know where to begin and which goals to set if you do not have a clear picture of your current situation, both practically and legally. For example, if you already filed for divorce it is imperative for you to understand which requirements have and have not yet been satisfied. Once you determine where you are in the legal process you can identify the next steps that can, may or must be taken to get divorced this year. To find this information you may begin by reviewing your court file and/or speaking with your court clerk who maintains all filed legal documents. Your court also may have a court facilitator who can provide general information about the divorce process, but normally will not provide legal or strategical advice. If you are working with a lawyer, he or she should be able to explain the status to you and next logical steps. You also may schedule a coaching session with me where we will talk extensively about your current situation, which includes my asking a LOT of questions. We also will talk about your nonlegal situation, like your work status, living arrangements, relationship with your spouse, and other relevant factors to help you understand where you are and the issues to be considered. We discuss a number of different legal principles that you may need to consider and I help you identify possible options you might want to research. An aside, I received a wonderful email from s coaching clients today which said:

It is so comforting to have “steps” I can take to attempt to change my situation and to know someone with your intelligence and experience is available to help me along the way. ~ Mandy, Georgia

Step Three: Write down specific, identifiable steps you can take towards accomplishing your goal. It is probable that by the time you finish reading this article you will already have identified steps you must take towards creating a plan for achieving your New Year’s resolution. If this is the case, specifically write down the things you must do and sources you will need to complete the first step. For example, if you are unsure about the procedural status of your case and you are working with an attorney, you may write down: First, schedule appointment with attorney to review case status. Two, write down specific questions to ask attorney during meeting about what has been done, what needs to be done, what he or she recommends I do, etc. With respect to which questions to ask, you will find over 1000 detailed questions listed in the Toolbox of my latest guide, The Soul Centered Divorce, 7 Steps to Making Difficult Divorce Decisions with Confidence and Clarity. These questions were written by me and draw from my two decades of divorce experience.

If you do not have an attorney your tasks may look something like this: First, research online, my state’s requirements for getting divorced and the resources available for starting/completing the process. Second, go to court facilitator or clerk’s office and request available documents and information for getting divorced. Third, research do-it-yourself options. Fourth, talk to an attorney about my rights. For do-it-yourselfers in California be sure to consider my book The Fast and Friendly Divorce, How to Get Legally Divorced in California without Hiring Attorneys or Going to Court.

This article is not legal advice and contains general legal information. You are urged to speak with an attorney licensed to practice law in your state.