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Read Catherine Ryan’s perspective on divorce and personal injury law to understand steps you can take to protect your legal rights.

The Power of the Middle

There is a funny thing about the phrase “meet in the middle.” We usually hear it when someone wants us to compromise. “You take the first half. I'll take the second.” “You give a little. I'll give a little.” “Nobody gets everything they want, but everybody gets...

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

There is a phrase that gets used in divorce law that sounds almost clinical: “Irretrievably broken.” It has a certain finality to it. Like a vase shattered on a kitchen floor. Like a bridge washed out by a storm. Like something that cannot, under any circumstances, be...

Not Every Hill Is Worth Dying On

There is an expression I have heard most of my life: Not every hill is worth dying on. It is good advice for life. It may be even better advice for divorce. Because when a marriage is ending, suddenly everything can feel like a hill. The coffee maker. The couch. The...

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY: Three Georgia divorces. Three very different price tags.

Not all divorces are created equal. They all end with a Final Judgment and Decree. But the journey to get there? That can look very different. Over the years, I've watched divorces unfold in every imaginable way. Some are resolved with thoughtful conversations and...

Don’t Let the Split Hit the Fan

People have an interesting relationship with attorneys. They often think of us the same way they think of the fire department. Call when everything is already burning. By then, we're focused on containing damage. But wouldn't it be better if the smoke detector had...

The High Cost of Winning

Sometimes the Greatest Victory is Deciding What Isn't Worth the Fight Everyone wants to be right. That's human nature. When a marriage ends, the urge to be right becomes even stronger. You want your side understood. You want your hurt acknowledged. You want...

You Didn’t Fail: Why the End of a Marriage Isn’t the End of Your Story

Some words carry more weight than they deserve. "Failure" is one of them. It's a word I hear whispered in consultations. Sometimes directly. More often between the lines. "I never thought I'd be here." "I feel like I've let everyone down." "I guess I failed." I...

The Pen Is Mightier Than the Showdown

Edward Bulwer-Lytton famously wrote, "The pen is mightier than the sword." More than 180 years later, I'd argue it's also mightier than the argument. Especially in divorce. Because once the conversations are over...Once the emotions settle...Once everyone goes home......

Decision Fatigue

People think divorce is one decision. It isn't. It's hundreds. Some are obvious. Should we sell the house? What happens with the retirement accounts? What's the parenting schedule? Others are much smaller. When do I move? Who keeps the family photos? Should I answer...

The Waiting Room

There is a season in almost every divorce that nobody talks about. It's not the filing. It's not the paperwork. It's not even the divorce itself. It's the waiting. The months—or sometimes years—spent knowing something needs to change but not quite knowing how to...

Recent Posts

My Kid Doesn’t Want to Come With Me—Now What?

Jul 22, 2025 |

Let’s set the scene: you're the financially stable parent. You’ve got a court order saying your child is supposed to be with you every other weekend—or maybe full-time. But when it’s time for the visit or transition? Your child refuses. They cry, they cling to the...

Who Gets the Dog? How Georgia Law Handles Pets in Divorce

Jul 18, 2025 |

They were both your fur baby and your family. But now that you’re splitting up, who gets custody of the dog? Or the cat? Or the parrot who talks back like your ex? In Georgia, pets are considered property, not people. And that changes everything about how courts...