Anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges often strain a marriage to the breaking point. Yet divorcing someone who struggles with mental health issues is fraught with its own challenges. Family law attorney Chelsea Gajewski works at the intersection of family law and mental health.  In this podcast episode, Chelsea explains how different divorce processes can make a difference in a divorce case in which mental health issues are involved. She candidly discusses the role professionals like parenting coordinators and guardians ad litem can have in helping families address ment ..read more

Have you ever felt a gentle whisper in your soul, urging you to take a leap of faith that doesn’t seem logical in the moment? Veronica Drake, an intuitive coach, helps midlife female entrepreneurs reconnect with their inner voice so that they can make better decisions and find creative solutions to their business and personal problems.  In this podcast episode, Veronica shares the story of her own leap of faith from a stable corporate gig to a path less traveled, guided by the whispers of intuition. Veronica unveils the intricate dance between intellect and intuition, shedding light on th ..read more

Are anger issues hijacking your relationships? If you find that you (or your spouse!) constantly get angry over the smallest things, chances are that anger is an unwanted partner in your marriage.  While most therapists talk about helping you “manage” your anger, Dr. Mort Orman has developed a system that helps you eliminate your anger completely: No “management” required. In this podcast episode Dr. Orman explains how our brain’s unconscious filters distort our perception of reality. That distorted perception often leads to feelings of anger, guilt, and other negative emotions. By diss ..read more

Understanding and navigating the financial end of divorce is one of the biggest challenges many divorcing people face. That’s especially true for those who DIDN’T handle the family finances during their marriage.  Karen Chellew and Catherine Shanahan know firsthand the financial chaos divorce can cause. That’s why they created “My Divorce Solution,” a program designed to help people going through a divorce by providing them with a comprehensive analysis of their income, expenses, assets, and debts. My Divorce Solution creates a customized financial portrait of each client’s financial sit ..read more

Divorce doesn't have to be a battleground. Attorney Andrea Vacca has cracked the code on keeping families out of court and preserving their well-being throughout the divorce process. As a trailblazer in Collaborative Divorce and other alternative dispute resolution processes, Andrea’s approach is redefining what's possible when a marriage ends. The traditional divorce litigation path is adversarial by nature, pitting spouses against each other in a zero-sum game. But Andrea has pioneered a paradigm shift - one where she and her team are committed to keeping their clients out of court. This po ..read more

Erik Feig is an attorney, a mediator, and the father of three neurodivergent children.  Navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic with his own complex family inspired him to leave the practice of law and create a mediation practice focused on helping other families with neurodiverse children navigate conflict more effectively. In this podcast episode, Erik explains – both from personal experience as well as professional expertise - the tremendous amount of extra coordination and energy that families with neurodivergent kids require.  It’s not unusual for parents in such families to ex ..read more

Lesa Koski - a lawyer turned mediator - has a passion for helping couples divorce differently and suffer less. In her work as a mediator, Lesa has identified 7 common dilemmas divorcing women face. Those dilemmas range from finances to housing and from parenting to loneliness.  To deal with all of these dilemmas, Lesa encourages her clients to educate themselves about their options and about how the divorce process works.  She explains how mediation can be superior to litigation, and how it can be the first step in empowering someone to live a happier, healthier, and more empowered ..read more

Amy Lin was married for 20 months. Her divorce took 3 years. Most of that time was spent wrangling through the arcane, time-consuming, and inefficient "discovery process" in the legal system. After her divorce was over, Amy decided to create a software platform to make the financial discovery process more efficient and affordable so that no one had to suffer through what she suffered through in her divorce.  That's why she created Anew. Anew simplifies and streamlines financial discovery in divorce cases. It provides couples with an overview of their net worth and contains income/expens ..read more

When divorce looms, people usually focus on the assets and finances first. But to divorce mediator Michael Cohen, the kids should always come first. Michael's own contentious divorce fueled his metamorphosis from corporate executive to passionate divorce mediator. As a mediator, Michael helps parents create co-parenting agreements centered on their kids' emotional health.  In this podcast episode, we dig deeply into the way that the adversarial process fundamentally clashes with preserving family bonds. Litigation pits spouses against each other with dueling attorneys battling over asset ..read more

Bela Gandhi, Chicago’s most prominent dating and relationship expert, joins the Off the Fence Podcast to share her tips and tools for creating a lasting and fulfilling relationship. In this podcast episode, Bela peels back the curtain on her transition from the corporate world into the arena of love and relationships. She also reveals some of the secrets she imparts to her clients in the Smart Dating Academy … which has a zero-divorce rate among clients who marry the love they found while working with Bela and her team. Bela describes the process her team uses to help their clients understand ..read more