By Deborah L Jacobs

When Christine Clifford’s marriage ended two years ago, she found herself solely responsible for the payments and maintenance of her million-dollar home. For months she scrambled to keep up with the bills, but finally made the difficult decision to sell her jewelry – including two one-carat diamond rings, and a pair of diamonds earrings– to stave off foreclosure. “Today, I don’t have any ‘nice’ jewelry,” says Clifford, CEO of Divorcing Divas, LLC, “but I have the peace of mind that I kept my house afloat.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahljacobs/2012/02/10/four-tips-for-selling-your-diamond-jewelry/

By Annamarie Pluhar

Theresa, divorced mother of one, fell into sharing housing. A family friend offered to rent her a house she couldn’t afford alone. When she had drinks with a former colleague, she discovered that he was also a divorcing dad and in need of a place to live. So after discussing some basic ground rules and looking at the house together, they agreed to be housemates.

There are four good reasons to opt for having a housemate.

(Hint: Learn How to Be Your Own Valentine)

By Divorcing Divas

Alone on Valentine’s Day because you are divorcing, divorced or thinking about divorce? Follow these top 10 tips on how to not only survive but thrive on Feb. 14, 2012:

Top Ten Tips for Surviving the Holidays- Divorce Style

By Christine K. Clifford, CSP

The holidays can be an especially difficult time for people facing divorce. Often families are separated for the first time. Perhaps you are in a new home. Maybe there is no money for holiday gifts. Here are Divorcing Divas’ Top Ten Tips for Surviving the Holidays:

Trend in the Future of Family Law

By Linda A. Olup, Esq.

The focus in family law over the last decade has been to find litigation alternatives that resolve conflict in a manner that allows the participants to minimize the financial and
emotional cost of the family court experience, maximize the outcome for all involved and do so in a way that preserves the dignity of the family.

The use of litigation, for years the only means of resolving disputes, is no longer favored as the line of first defense in cases especially when children are involved, whether in a case of marriage dissolution or paternity.

The current dispute resolution services that are being most widely utilized to settle cases are mediation and early neutral evaluations. It is important to understand the differences between these processes. If you are involved in a family court matter there is a strong likelihood that you will participate in one or more of these processes.

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When facing divorce, your life gets turned around and upside down.  And then, on top of everything else, you may need to make changes to the mortgage and title on your home, or perhaps find a new home.  We often get the questions: “I want to buy a new house, but our divorce isn’t final.  Will I qualify?” and “How do I get my ex-spouse off the title?” and “What needs to happen to change the mortgage into just my name?” 

Although nearly everyone agrees that divorce is expensive, there are things you can do to help contain costs.

By Linda A. Olup

Linda A. Olup is a principal at Olup and Associates, a family law firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota (www.oluplaw.com).  Ms. Olup provides services as a litigator, mediator, and early neutral evaluator.

The first step to controlling costs is to understand the process and your role in it. A divorce is like a fingerprint. The curve of the lines identifies the pattern as a fingerprint, but every fingerprint is unique. Each divorce, too, has its own unique set of facts, emotional issues, and cast of characters—including the parties, their attorneys, the judge, and perhaps mediators among others.

Video - In Japan, couples mark the end of an unhappy marriage with a highly symbolic ceremony.

By Christine K. Clifford, CSP, CEO/President of Divorcing Divas

Friends and family mean well, they truly do. But often the words that come out of their mouths seem hurtful, discouraging or insensitive. It’s good to reach out to people going through divorce: it helps them feel supported, that they are not alone, and that life will, indeed, go on. Here are the Divorcing Divas Top Ten Things You Should Never Say to Someone Going Through Divorce, and some valuable suggestions on how to say things better:

M.A. Williams Auctions and Appraisals is a Minnesota based online auction company founded in 2009 by Michelle Williams. Williams' company performs online auctions and appraisals throughout the Minneapolis and greater Twin Cities area. While eBay.com (Wikipedia entry) is the undisputed leader in online auctions, Williams has been able to differentiate and successfully grow her business in the short time it has been operational.

How the business works

M.A. Williams Auctions and Appraisals assists sellers in preparing their collections and marketing their upcoming online auction. This preparation involves cataloging and photographing of items so they look great and are clearly explained when buyers reference the items online during the auction. The collection can be anything: Asian art, an antique store's going out of business inventory, a coin collection and everything in between. As a licensed auctioneer, Williams brings experience and knowledge to the online auction process that greatly increases the benefits to both sellers and buyers.