In the height of wedding season, why talk about divorce? Because almost 50 percent of all unions end up in the courtroom.
In their new book, Divorce in Peace: Alternatives to War from a Judge and Lawyer, Texas District Court Judge John Roach and family law attorney Laura Roach educate and empower couples approaching divorce to take control of their circumstances and resolve their disputes with minimal damage to themselves, their children, and their finances.
Together, the Roaches have seen and participated in more than 20,000 heart-wrenching and devastating divorces and believe it is neither the couples nor the lawyers to blame; instead, the problem lies in a system that sets up husband and wife as adversaries where the supposed winner takes all.
“We are helping couples to rewrite the narrative around divorce,” said John Roach. “We have all heard, and many of us have witnessed, the worst of divorce. Many grew up in a home that suffered from divorce. Today’s couple is one who ultimately doesn’t want that, and knows that what’s best for themselves and their families is a new approach to ‘conscious uncoupling.’”
Divorce in Peace outlines and simplifies the family law court system, the high costs of fighting over a divorce, various solutions and methods for settling a divorce without a court trial, and legal steps to making your divorce decision final. Throughout the book, John provides his insights in the judge’s perspective and Laura in the mediator’s perspective.
Divorce in Peace is available to purchase online at DivorceInPeace.com, Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. ($14.99 Kindle, $32.95 hardcover, $18.95 paperback).
In addition, the Roaches believe it is crucial for couples who want to divorce in peace to find like-minded professionals (attorneys, financial planners, mental health professionals, and others) who are also committed to a peaceful resolution. They created a website of attorneys in family law who have committed to the Divorce in Peace Pledge (think Angie’s List for family law attorneys) who pledge to attempt to settle divorce in a non-adversarial manner by minimizing the emotional and financial impact of the case through mediation, collaborative law, or arbitration; they also do not pursue disputes where the cost is greater than the benefit to you and your family. This list is complimentary both to attorneys who sign the pledge and to those seeking a divorce attorney at divorceinpeace.com.
“Divorce doesn’t have to be an atom bomb that annihilates everything you have built separately and together,” noted Laura Roach. “Though there is hurt, and disappointment, and mourning, there can also be hope. For many couples, divorce truly is the answer. But a devastating divorce isn’t a necessity. With the expertise we outline in this book and in our online community, we define a divorce for a new decade.”
