Who's Steering Your Divorce? A Calmer Way Through, with Paula Lawhon on Divorce & Beyond #434

Walking into a courtroom for a divorce rarely ends in justice. The most likely outcome is a continuance. People take the day off from work, pay their attorney a good sum of money, and watch the judge kick the can down the road, walking out with nothing resolved. Now picture the opposite: one skilled, neutral person at the helm of the entire divorce, guiding both spouses through the divorce process step by step until every last piece is finished.

Susan Guthrie welcomes Paula Lawhon, a certified family law specialist and full-time divorce mediator in northern California who has spent more than two decades helping families reach agreements without turning their lives into a war. Paula started as a litigator and realized in a courthouse hallway that there had to be a better way, then built her entire practice around finding it. She is the author of Effectively Steering the Ship, a new book from the American Bar Association that offers a blueprint for a divorce built around resolution instead of conflict, with one neutral person steering the whole process at a pace that fits your life and no surprises waiting after the papers are signed.

This conversation explores what a divorce looks like when it is actually managed well, why so many divorces stall out and cost far more than they should, and the one thing anyone can ask their own mediator for that could change the entire experience. For anyone facing divorce, and the professionals guiding families through it, this one changes what you think is possible.What You'll Hear:

Why there is no one-size-fits-all divorce, and how you and your spouse can design mediation to fit your family, your finances, and your timeline.

How a case-managing mediator steers the whole ship, guiding you from the first filing all the way to the final judgment and beyond so nobody is ever lost.

Why you and your spouse are the only decision-makers in mediation, with no judge, no dictating, and no one telling you what your life should look like.

How full disclosure protects you, and why, when in doubt, it is better to over-disclose.

Why you are not done when you sign the papers, since retirement transfers, title changes, and settlement payments are where good divorces quietly fall apart.

How to ask your mediator for more, including the next steps, the action items, and the "you are here" dot on the map.

Get this week's FREE RESOURCE: The First-Meeting Mediation Guide: 10 Questions That Put You at the Helm can be found on the website at htt