How Power, Conflict, and Attachment Shape Decisions In Divorce

Divorce decisions are rarely made in a calm, rational bubble. When fear hits, money can turn into leverage, conflict can become a reflex, and old power dynamics can keep running the show even after you decide the marriage is over. We sit down with negotiation professor and mediation coach Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. to unpack the real drivers behind “bad deals” in divorce and how to protect yourself before the process protects you.

We dig into how finances get weaponized through control, hidden information, and pressure tactics, and why that uncertainty makes people more likely to settle out of panic. We also talk about the “conflict lens” and how constant fighting doesn’t just raise attorney fees, it drains assets, delays closure, and creates instability that kids feel first. Meredith brings negotiation and relationship science into plain language, helping us shift from rigid demands to underlying interests like security, workable co-parenting, and a future you can actually live with.

Then we get practical about divorce mediation and negotiation preparation: writing down goals, naming non-negotiables, and rank-ordering priorities so you know where to fight hard and where to trade. Meredith explains the research behind aspiration points and why your target matters, plus the role of creativity under high stakes, including a memorable “peace and freedom account” strategy that reduces emotional friction while you rebuild your life.

If you found this helpful, subscribe to Modern Family Matters, share this with someone navigating divorce or separation, and leave a review so more families can find real guidance. What part of divorce decision-making feels hardest to you right now?

If you would like to speak with one of our attorneys, please call our office at (503) 227-0200, or visit our website at https://www.pacificcascadelegal.com.

To learn more about how Merideth can help you, you can view her website at: https://merideththompson.com/

Disclaimer: Nothing in this communication is intended to provide legal advice nor does it constitute a client-attorney relationship, therefore you should not interpret the contents as such.

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Intro

Intro/Outro 0:01

Welcome to Modern Family Matters, a podcast devoted to exploring family law topics that matter most to you, covering a wide range of legal, personal, and family law matters with expert analysis from skilled attorneys and professional guests. We hope that our podcast provides answers, clarity, and guidance towards a better tomorrow for you and your family. Here's your host, Steve Altishin.

Steve Altishin 0:31

Hi everyone. I'm Steve Altishin, Director of Client Partnerships here at Pacific Cascade Legal, and today we have professor and mediation coach Merideth Thompson to talk about how power, conflict, money, and attachment shape people's decisions in a divorce. Meredith, how are you doing today?

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 0:51

I'm doing great, Steve. Thanks for having me. And how are you?

Steve Altishin 0:55

Oh, I'm doing well too. Before we start, why don't you just kind of tell everyone a little bit about yourself and how you kind of came to do this stuff?

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 1:04

Sure. So my day job is as a professor of negotiation. And I came to this, it's kind of the synthesis of my various parts of my career. I was at Deloitte as a 20-something and doing tech. And then I got divorced about 10 years ago. And a few years after that, I recognized that there's lots of research on relationships and helping people figure out my big question was, you know, do I stay or do I go from that relationship? And I stayed in what I call relationship limbo for 10 or 12 years too long, at least. And I just I recognized one day that I have access to the relationship science research that a lot of people don't have access to because of paywalls, or because research is written for other academics and it's not particularly digestible by um non-academics. And so my goal was just to bring what the research says to people who need it, who are struggling, and to make it accessible so they can actually take all the research that's done and apply those findings to whatever kind of situation they are in. So I did I don't want anybody else to spend an unhealthy relationship.

Money As Control In Divorce

Steve Altishin 2:14

Well, that's that you're perfect for this. The the it's really interesting, you know, we see a lot about, you know, power, conflict, money, attachment, and how they influence people and end up making some kind of poor decisions. And so let's start with money. And I'm I'm saying that because it's the first thing that most people ask about when they come in to talk to an attorney. And the most feared outcome. It's just, you know, they're they're very afraid that it is it's going to break them, it's gonna ruin them financially, and it really does make them susceptible, you know, to not making the right choices. So let's kind of start with that. How money is is influences that decision making.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 3:10

Sure. You know, one of the first things that comes to mind for me is how money, both in a marriage and particularly I would say in a divorce, is often used as a tool for control or trying to um maintain some some level of security. And so, you know, I think in particular in relationships where maybe there have been a lot of power imbalances during the marriage, um, maybe a lot of times abusive relationships are really not about violence. That's what we think, but it's really about power and control. And so if somebody was in a very controlling relationship, that is not gonna stop once they decide that the relationship is over and they're talking to an attorney. So, you know, a lot of times one party will try and use money to control the other one to get more of what they want out of the divorce, whether that's financially or related to the children. So it's it's can be, I I see it a lot, unfortunately, a lot of times it can be used as a weapon.

Steve Altishin 4:15

Yeah. And it's you know, people who hide money really mess up the whole system. And and it's so hard to make a decision if if you're not getting the the information you need. And and you know, it's it seems like it's a lot of people do it just to punish the other uh attorney the other person.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 4:44

Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Yeah, that's where I think it gets weaponized a lot of times. And um, I think broadly people are tempted and may often use the divorce process as a way to punish. Like they feel like they have been morally wronged in the relationship, and so they're gonna use the divorce to get their pound of flesh. And you know better than and than anyone, that's not what divorce law is there for.

Conflict Lens And Hidden Interests

Steve Altishin 5:07

No, not at all. The other one you talked about, which I really, really think is interesting, is how conflict makes everything harder. You kind of go through that because that really is a major driver of going badly.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 5:27

Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Yes, I think it it often can lead to you know destroying assets, undermining assets that the couple has, because and to like prolonging the process. Um, I have somebody who close to me close to me whose divorce process took three years. I'm not a divorce attorney, so maybe that's not that long, but you know, I think it really took a toll toll on their minor children, just the continued uncertainty. Actually, I learned recently after my mom passed away that my own parents' divorce when I was nine took about two or two and a half years. And I can look back and go, oh man, like I I vividly remember how unstable my mother was during that point in time. And so the conflict's not helpful and it delays things, it is harmful to people's well-being, and it I think really sets the stage or a foundation for, especially for any co-parenting that's going on later to go well. And the kids are the ones that suffer the most because of that.

Steve Altishin 6:29

It's like when conflict starts, like you just said, it just it it spills into everything. You know, it's like, you know, you even if you don't really have a conflict with them, you make one.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 6:43

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Actually, I kind of see it as people use conflict as a lens. And so everything with the divorce, they're seeing through that conflict lens instead of, you know, I teach negotiation. So I'm I'm constantly talking with students or people that I'm coaching in negotiation about interests. And those, those are our fundamental human needs. And I think a lot of times people forget that in a divorce. Like, what are our interests? Well, our interests are probably, you know, setting things up so the kids are as healthy and happy as can be, given the situation, especially over the long term. Our interests are hopefully in both parties having enough financially to live on or situating one party, like if one was a stay-at-home parent, getting them more education so they can be in the workforce. You know, there are there are a lot more productive ways than just yes, putting our time, energy, attention into the conflict when it should be going somewhere else.

Steve Altishin 7:40

It's like not it's saying no to everything, whether or not they want it to be no. I'm just gonna say it just uh, you know, yes.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 7:51

Actually, the exactly the um the couple that I'm aware of who spent three years trying to get their divorce done, one of the parties, every time they would go to mediation, one of the parties would just show up and say no to everything and then they'd leave. And then like three months later, they'd do it all again. And um, yeah, so you you have to have you have there has to be some willingness to collaborate. I wouldn't say necessarily compromise because I tend to think of compromise as a as a problematic approach a lot of times to conflict. But if you can't be collaborative, um it's gonna take a really long time and there are a lot of people who are gonna get hurt in the process.

Steve Altishin 8:27

Yep. And I'm sure you see this all the time, especially in, you know, your your mediation stuff, your your negotiations that is that it is the number one driver of attorney fees.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 8:42

Oh, I bet so. Oh, sure. Oh, sure. I can't imagine how much many thousands or tens of thousands of dollars some couples and couples that I know of who the where their processes drug out. Actually, I had an opportunity, I don't know, I guess it was an opportunity, the option, is what I'll say, in my divorce, to go to court because my spouse at the time was demanding alimony. Both my attorney and the mediator said there's no case for alimony here. He has this very solid full-time job. And they said, But if you go to court, you're gonna spend X tens of thousands of dollars on attorney's fees. So it might just make more sense to pay the alimony. That's what I did. And it it helped protect information from becoming public that would have hurt people in the process, and it saved time and energy.

Steve Altishin 9:28

And I was just gonna say, and that's kind of where attorneys come in when when, especially good, you know, family law attorneys, where they can sort of be a buffer for that content. And even, you know, someone can have, you know, all these just like anger, you know, wanting to fight, but you know, that can be filtered down to let's do this as a legal system works, not just try to burn each other's house down.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 9:57

Yes, yes, yeah. So I think that it's super important. I I feel really lucky the attorney that I chose had been recon to recommended to me by a friend who'd gone through the process about six months before me. And this attorney was just fabulous. And I have referred at least three friends to him who were contemplating divorce. And so I think that's an incredibly important decision, and that people should talk to probably several. And if you can get a personal referral for an attorney that, you know, was really not just good legally, but has the emotional and the relational intelligence to kind of be a guide.

Power Imbalances And Taking Power Back

Steve Altishin 10:33

Yeah. And power, power is really an interesting one. It when it's really imbalanced, it's really hard to go places and having it in the right direction. And a kind of weird phenomenon is a lot of times, you know, we see where both sides are saying the other side is, you know, has the power, you know, is the one not doing it. So it's really interesting, but boy, one if it's imbalanced, that can be that can't then be really hard to try to negotiate or settle anything.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 11:10

Absolutely. Yes. And I think when you've got power imbalances, a lot of times divorces become super destructive because whoever, if somebody actually does have more power, they have access to the finances where maybe or they controlled the finances, maybe where the other party was like kept out of it. They don't even know how much money they have, much less where it is. But when there is that massive power imbalance, um, it becomes very destructive because, yeah, especially with finances, maybe one partner probably controlled the finances. They tended to dominate whatever decision making goes on with the couple. And so there's like this pattern. There's like a um, it's some, you know, we there's a saying about we gravitate to what's certain rather than the uncertainty or patterns of familiarity. And so, you know, that doesn't stop when the couple decides like it's time for us to end this marriage. Those same patterns about who makes the decisions, and you know, especially if you have a partner um who is controlling or end with that like emotionally manipulative or uses intimidation, um, you know, it can it it leaves the other party just feeling, I think, not just overwhelmed, but yeah, it's demoralizing. And you know, when you're in that state, and especially emotions are high, you're not gonna make great decisions.

Steve Altishin 12:28

Yeah, yeah, and you end up thinking, oh, I can't win, so I'll just give it.

Intro/Outro 12:33

I'll just give up.

Steve Altishin 12:34

Yep. And again, that's where someone like you or an attorney come in because you know, it they can, they're independent, they're they're not part of the bat that battle, and they can still advocate even when you feel you can't.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 12:52

Yes, yes. Actually, you know, you bring up a really interesting point there that I think is important for people who maybe are contemplating ending a relationship and they, you know, maybe towards the end or maybe they've known for a long time, they're recognizing that their partner was very controlling, you know, emotionally, physically, financially, sexually, the divorce process and the negotiation andor mediation of that process can help them take their power back. You know, it's they can see it as if they see if they can see it as an opportunity. And I, I, and I'm I'm speaking from experience because I was in a very controlling relationship, even though I made the majority of our income. My then spouse controlled it all. And so it was an opportunity when we got divorced and in that mediation to really start taking back that power. And it felt really good. It was, it was, it was kind of scary on the front end because it wasn't something I'd really done before. But I think that can be, you know, the one of the first steps towards someone um recreating or growing a new life that they absolutely love. That it, you know, divorce isn't the end of the world, the sky won't fall down. Does it suck? Is it scary and sad? Absolutely. But it also provides an opportunity for people to start down that path that says, okay, my life has been like this, and going forward, this is how I'm gonna show up in the world.

Attachment Styles And Future Focus

Steve Altishin 14:20

Interesting. On this, on this last one, and and attachment. And attachment, you know, we find you it can be to anything. I mean, it can be to your house, your your you know, job, your your kids, your, I mean, all these attachments that that people are so cling to as they are. And it's really tough to get around that sometimes, isn't it?

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 14:50

Absolutely. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. We want to dig in our heels. And I think part of the attachment comes from, you know, we're attached to what has been, we're attached to what's certain because looking ahead, the future may feel and actually be very uncertain. And so, and you know, with different attachment styles also show up differently with respect to you know, divorce processes. Anxious attachment people tend to often, I think, prolong the divorce process because they're, you know, just not ready to give up that connection, even if they, you know, know this is what's healthier, it's like letting go of that connection is really hard. And then avoidance, um, you know, show up in their whole in a in a different way, trying to maybe create more distance or maybe not come to the table as collaboratively.

Steve Altishin 15:38

It's just that emotional kind of it's hard to control your emotions in this situation. Absolutely.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 15:48

Yes. That's where I think it's so important. And I kind of alluded to it a minute ago, but I have a different phrase for it at this moment. Helping people focus on the future. And I think about it and suggest friends think about like what does your future self want? And so we can get so stuck or overwhelmed by what's going on in the present. And, you know, maybe getting to a conclusion of the divorce very quickly or drawing it out, or you know, that can look like a lot of different things, but really thinking about what do I want my life and who do I want to be a year or three years or five years from now. So focusing on the future, I think can help people, you know, not feel the emotions because a lot of times we we have to feel them in order to heal for them, but to not let our emotions um hijack the process that is should be helping us set up our life and our happiness for success, you know, several years down the road.

Mediation Prep Goals And Nonnegotiables

Steve Altishin 16:43

Okay. These are the things that you had had talked about get in the way of making good decisions. So I come into you and and these are happening. I mean, it's how can I deal with them? I mean, how can I avoid making them, even if they're there, make bad decisions? And I know that that you're uh you you talk a lot about mediation, and mediation is a huge part and the a great opportunity to resolve stuff, but sometimes people just can't get to the place to be able to even want to go, much less, you know, try to do it effectively. So what do you I mean, what how do how can you help people when they're just like stuck?

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 17:32

Well, I'm a huge fan of mediation for all kinds of reasons, but especially because you know, mediation, different from arbitration, mediation, the mediator controls the process, but the disputants or the parties getting divorced, they control the outcome. So I think that's super important. So you have somebody like the mediator who's supposed to be an objective third party to all of this, um, who can guide, who can maybe make suggestions or put options on the table. And the thing I think is so critical before you have any sort of mediation like that with attorneys involved who you're paying, you know, for however long the mediation takes, is figuring out what are your goals. Yeah. Like getting to mediation and not knowing what you want to get out of it, other than, you know, what some people say is, I want everything, or I just don't want him to have anything or her to have anything. Like again, that's that's leading with the emotion. And emotions are our reality, but they don't serve the purpose. And so figuring out what are your goals and and so and maybe that's what do we want for our children over the next, you know, until they're they're not minors anymore. What do we want their lives to look like? And so that's where I think thinking about what does their future self want or need. Part of that too is like figuring out their non-negotiables. What won't they agree to? Because a lot of times, you know, again, mediation is still emotional. You still can drive, you know, the you can drive each other crazy and step on toes very easily. And I think some, especially controlling partners, will do that just to get a reaction from the other party. But figuring out what your goals are, what are your non-negotiables so that you don't have regret after the mediation is done if you come to an agreement. So knowing, knowing what you absolutely will will not tolerate or will not agree to, I think those are super important. And you know, a lot of people either go into a mediation, I think, thinking that they're not going to get anything out of it and they're just gonna get taken to the cleaners, or vice versa, like I'm gonna get everything, I'm gonna make sure the other person has nothing. My perspective on negotiation is each, hopefully, if it's a win-win, each party walks away with whatever, as much of whatever is most important to them as possible. And you know, maybe that's financial resources for the children, or children are involved agreeing to stay within so many miles, the partners of each other until the kids get older. But understanding not just what you want, but I tell people to rank rank order those interests because you're not gonna get everything you want. But and if you are clear with like my highest priority is X, and Z is, you know, further down here, well, then you're gonna fight like crazy to get as much of X as you can. And then, you know, you can give more on whatever issue Z is, you know, maybe it's the weekend at the home in the Hamptons or whatever. I don't know. But really understanding the order priority of their interests is super important, or knowing where to fight hard for something that you want or need in the mediation and where to like say, okay, this isn't that important to me, but it sounds like it's important to the other side. Give them more of what they want. I personally wanted to be done with my process as quickly as humanly possible. I'd known too many people where I just drug on and on, and I did not want that. And so I was also willing to like pay alimony to have the process done quickly. So money was more important to him, time was more important to me. And so we traded off those issues.

Steve Altishin 21:01

Yeah, and that that's that's really good. I mean, knowing, should I write that stuff down? I mean, oh yes. A lot of times it's you you know what you want, you know what you want, then you get into it, and you you you get flustered.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 21:18

Oh, absolutely. Yeah, I I I say for any negotiation or mediation, write it down, write everything down. Um, I had for mine, and I I would encourage others to do this, especially if there's lots of assets. There weren't a ton of assets in mine, but I wanted to be really clear with myself about what I would give and what I would not give. And I knew that emotion was going to be part of it. And so write it down, work your spreadsheets, bring those to the mediation. Nobody says you have to show up to mediation empty handed. Like write it down. Also, there with respect to that, it's it's not only helpful to you in the mediation to like remember what your priorities are, but it helps you be accountable to yourself. Because in psychology, there's a thing that says we live up to what we write down. So if you write it down, it's much and you're looking at it towards the end of the mediation, you're like, no, I gotta hold firm because I wrote it down. This is a promise to myself. I think that's profound, it's way more important and impactful than people probably think on the front end.

Steve Altishin 22:19

Yeah. And I also love what you talked about like prioritizing because it feels like if you start with what you want the most and you get uh it satisfactorily, it relaxes you and it and it allows you to say, uh, okay, I'm gonna be a little more giving on some of these others because I really have you, you're you're kind of like in a position where, you know, if you start with the with the things you don't care so much about, and so they get this, that, that, then you get like, oh my God, this is the one thing I want, and and I haven't gotten anything, and now you're really frustrated.

Negotiation Science Aspiration And Creativity

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 23:02

Yes, yes, and likely to act with emotion or anger that kind of undermines what you want. So, yes, focusing on what what is that your highest priority first and fighting really hard for that, super important.

Steve Altishin 23:15

Kind of goofy question. You teach this stuff, and how do you kind of figure out this stuff to help people? I mean, it's you you talk a lot about it's just part of your reality, but that's there's also science to it. There's there's factual backing with a lot of the stuff you said in there.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 23:38

Sure, sure. Yes, uh specifically with goals, or even if if we want to get really specific about it, setting a kind of an overall goal. So it's a little complicated. I I I like my uh whiteboards, but if you say you have a situation with three issues and you rank order them, which one is the most important, then middle and then least, figuring out what would be your not your ideal, and you're not being necessarily optimistic, but you're being realistic about like how much you can get. We call that in negotiation an aspiration point or a target point. And so what the research shows is our final outcome, whatever we get out of the negotiation, is correlated at 0.7 to whatever aspiration we set. So in other words, like if you walk in, if you walk into a, I love to ski in Utah, but I'm not a snowmobiler. But you know, if you walk into a snowmobile shop and the ticket says, you know, 10 grand, and you you're like, well, yeah, I'm not gonna pay that. You might, if you set your um aspiration like 9,000, you may be able to get it for like 6,300 because you know, take whatever that is. So 0.7 is a really high correlation, you know, one 1.0 is a one-to-one relationship, but it it has a profound impact because it gives us something to strive for. If we don't know what we're striving for, we're not gonna have great tactics, we're not gonna bring great behaviors, and probably we're not gonna bring creativity to the negotiation. I I my guess is maybe that's not something people think a lot about in a divorce situation. It's like, how can we be creative here? But I think anytime a negotiation or mediation is high stakes, the more creative or innovative people can be, you know, within the bounds of the law, uh the better it is for everybody.

Steve Altishin 25:38

Oh that that's uh the you just hit it like totally on the head. The more you know conflicted, the more difficult, the more hard it is, that's where creativity is most important.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 25:56

Oh, I agree. Yes.

Steve Altishin 25:58

Yeah, and you can see it. And so so what if I, you know, I I come into you or or go to one of your classes, I I can learn these things from you and then and you like work through me and my issues.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 26:14

Yes, absolutely. That it's one of um the best parts of my day job and something I love to do outside of that is help basically coach people in their preparation for a negotiation. And so working one-on-one to help them figure out, okay, what are my goals here? What are my interests? No. And then um figuring out, you know, helping people really get clarity about, you know, because a lot of people will say, well, everything's important. Like that may be true, but not every issue has the same level of importance. And so helping people get clarity on that and recognizing too, especially I would say in in a broader situation, though, you know, a divorced couple may negotiate later several times, who knows? But with people that we negotiate with repeatedly, knowing that we may have to do that. And so protecting the relationship as much as we can is really important. I mean, especially if this is somebody you're gonna co-parent with. And so recognizing that nobody walks out of a divorce with an outcome, probably that they're super excited about. But I would also say most we shouldn't necessarily walk out of most negotiations being super satisfied with what we got. Because if we are, then either we didn't ask for enough, we weren't ambitious enough, or we were an absolute bully and the other side didn't get much of anything. And neither of those, like you can have a win-win without one or both parties getting everything they want. If both parties got everything they want, then you know, I think most of the time something was a little askew somewhere.

Steve Altishin 27:51

Oh, yeah. And I love how you say you're gonna have to live with this person in in most cases. And and it's you make decisions that that affect the future, and that's part of you know, goes into the the mix of the making those decisions. Wow.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 28:10

Yeah, yeah.

Steve Altishin 28:11

Oh, wow.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 28:12

One thing I'll add to that about being creative is especially being creative and thinking about what kind of life you want and who you want to be down the road. One of the things that I did, and it was not my idea, it was actually my therapist at the time. So after mediation, I had a session with her and I was like, well, this sucks. And pay an alimony to, you know, what's his name and blah, blah, blah. And I was not happy about it. But I knew, like logically in my negotiation brain, knew that was less costly and more helpful than going to court. And so what she suggested was make a separate bank account that the alimony gets paid out of. And so for X months until I had enough alimony saved up, I put all that into a separate account. And from then on, I sent out those alimony checks on auto pay from that account. I never had to see it.

Steve Altishin 28:59

Oh my gosh.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 29:01

It was it it I called it my peace and freedom account, my peace and freedom fun. It was, it was so helpful to my brain space and to not think about it, but to look over there, you know, once I had it all saved up and go, yeah, I saved that. And I'm gonna deal with him and I'm gonna go off and live my best life. And so getting creative, you know, in a lot of different ways, super helpful.

How To Reach Merideth Thompson, Ph.D.

Steve Altishin 29:22

Oh, but that's great. Wow, we just blew through 30 minutes and unfortunately we are out of time, but are almost before we go, if someone wants to get a hold of you, wants to talk to you more about this, gets more information, how can they reach you?

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 29:38

Sure. Uh I would say the two best ways are on LinkedIn. I'm happy to chat with people that way or connect in some form or fashion, especially for listeners who might be contemplating divorce. I'm the founder of Partner Lab, where we use relationship science to help people make better decisions. We offer basically relationship decision support, especially with regard to whether they want to stay in the relationship or end it. And so you can find us at mypartnerlab.co. And um, yeah, I love to connect with people and share what the research says and make it relatable and help people live their best lives.

Steve Altishin 30:15

Yeah, it's all you know, you're just giving them a reality check. I mean, you really are. Wow. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for being here today. This was wonderful.

Merideth Thompson, Ph.D. 30:24

Thank you, Steve. I really enjoyed the conversation. Thanks so much.

Steve Altishin 30:28

Me too. Me too. And and everyone else, thank you for joining us today. If anyone has any further questions on today's topic, you can post it here. We get you in touch with Meredith, or you can contact her directly. And until next time, stay safe, stay happy, and be well.

Intro/Outro 30:47

This has been Modern Family Matters, a legal podcast focusing on providing real answers and direction for individuals and families. Our podcast is sponsored by Lander Home Family Law and Pacific Cascade Family Law, serving families in Oregon and Washington. If you are in need of legal counsel or have additional questions about a family law matter important to you, please visit our websites at landerhome law.com or Pacific Cascade Family Law.com. You can also call our headquarters at 503-227-0200 to schedule a case evaluation with one of our seasoned attorneys. Modern Family Matters, advocating for your better tomorrow and offering legal solutions important to the Modern Family.