Massachusetts Collaborative Law

Join us for the 2024 Roundtable: Putting Children First

This is a virtual event featuring 2 exciting days of presentations and workshops! Register for one or both days. If you register for both days, you'll save $20!

Home Will Never Be the Same Again: Help for Parents of Gray Divorce and their Adult Children, Who Are Stakeholders in their Parent’s Divorce

Since 1990, the U.S. divorce rate for couples age 50 and older has doubled and is expected to triple by 2030. This phenomenon called "gray divorce" has created a seismic shift in the American family and families in other countries. It has been unfolding without much comment, and three to four generations are experiencing its effects.

Every year in the United States, over a million divorcing couples and their adult children experience the effects of gray divorce. Yet overlooked in the issues affecting these couples are the adult children. In their book Home Will Never Be the Same Again: A Guide for Adult Children of Gray Divorce, our Roundtable presenters, Carol Hughes and Bruce Fredenburg, share related research and give voice to these adult children -- men and women, 18 to 60 years old, who are in different stages of shock, fear, and sudden, dramatic change.

Adult children say they feel overlooked and forgotten, when they express their feelings and experiences, and the most important people in their lives frequently ignore and dismiss them. This damages the ongoing relationships between parents and their adult children, between siblings, and among grandparents and grandchildren, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Eventually the divorce will resolve, but many divorced couples are left with their most treasured family relationships shattered.

During this interactive workshop, you will learn how adult children are major stakeholders in their parents' divorce, who can be instrumental in bringing their parents to equitable and durable agreements. You will also learn how to help your clients avoid one of the worst consequences of divorce -- fractured family relationships.

Lars Lambrecht, Private Wealth Advisor and owner of Island Time Financial Services, is a Certified Student Loan Professional (CSLP), Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA), and Certified Financial Planner (CFP). With his extensive college financing and divorce financial planning expertise, Lars will guide you through the latest developments and strategies in this evolving landscape.

Navigating the New Landscape of College Financing: Implications for Divorce and Beyond

In recent months, student loan repayment and forgiveness have undergone significant changes, impacting borrowers and families nationwide. This timely session delves into the critical updates, what they mean for your clients and their college planning strategies.

    Key Topics:

• Changes in Student Loan Programs: Understand the phasing out of the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) program effective July 1, 2024, and what it means for borrowers.
• Parent PLUS Loan Consolidation: Explore the current opportunity for parents to consolidate their Parent PLUS loans and qualify for attractive repayment options, as well as the impending closure of this window on July 1, 2024.
• The SAVE Program: Learn about the newly introduced SAVE program, which offers the most favorable repayment and forgiveness terms among available programs. We'll discuss eligibility, application processes, and potential benefits for borrowers.
• College Financing Options: Gain insights into various college financing options, helping your clients navigate the complexities of funding higher education.

Attorney Robert (Bob) Jutras’ major practice areas of family law, estate and trust planning, as well as elder law, provide an interesting perspective on the role of children, their concerns, and protection in the event their parents’ divorce.  The perspective and relevant concerns vary depending on the age of the children and divorcing parents.  If there are minor or young adult children, the focus is on trust planning and financial protection for the minor or young adult children.  In the event of longer-term divorces, the adult children may have significant influence and be concerned with possible remarriages of their parents.  Graying divorces present significant additional considerations.  A comprehensive understanding of family law, trust planning and the Medicaid rules and regulations are essential when evaluating the options for a later in life client faced with the prospects of divorce and/or long-term care expenses.  As baby boomers continue to age and second and third later in life divorces are more common, the need for mediated or collaborative discussions, analysis and resolution will become increasingly frequent in all our practices.

Bob has been practicing law for thirty-five years and is licensed in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and is a long-standing member of the Collaborative and Elder Law communities. Bob is a Certified Financial Litigator. From 2018 to date, Bob was nominated and voted as one of The 10 Best Elder Law Attorneys in Massachusetts. He is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), MA and NH NAELA Chapters, the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP), Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council (MCLC), New Hampshire Collaborative Law Alliance (NHCLA), Mass. Bar Association, NH Bar Association, Haverhill Bar Association, Middlesex County Bar Association and the Essex County Bar Association. Bob frequently presents on the topics of Graying Divorce, estate, trust and Medicaid planning.

Dr. Robert DiGiammarino is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in child and family care and divorce psychology.  In this presentation, Treating Children of Divorce: Research Findings and Clinical Interventions, Dr. DiGiammarino will explore the research in the effects of parental divorce on children, including behavioral, emotional, health, and trust/intimacy implications.  He will delve into the intergenerational transmission of divorce and theorize regarding the influence of attachment bonds and relationship outcomes.  He will close with remarks related to relevant, research-based psychiatric interventions for both health care providers and family members.

Scholarships are available. Please contact MCLC at admin@massclc.org for more information.