Top 25 Laura Wasser Quotes

I’ll tell you, I never thought I’d ever be going into law, and certainly not the same kind of law as my dad.

Everybody should get married – once. I was 25.

Couples counseling gets many couples back together. But not all, and not always. For your own sake and that of your children, however, I recommend it – I almost insist on it – as the first step for anyone unhappy in a relationship.

Just about every therapist or counselor or social worker is practiced in dealing with people going through failing relationships, ending them, and confronting issues of custody and support.

As a society, we’ve evolved, and we’ve recognized that the American family structure has undergone enormous changes. Divorce is all around us, and who among us doesn’t know someone who is divorced or has been impacted by divorce. It’s not as scandalous as it was.

I think it is really important that people at least have some potentially difficult discussions about what their expectations are – and not just financially – prior to getting married. It should really even happen prior to people living together or casting their lot together.

Especially where financial matters are concerned, when it comes to dissolving a marriage, any dissembling at all is strictly against the law – on penalty of perjury. You need to disclose fully and factually, which is precisely what the discovery process is all about.

Conversations about money certainly are not sexy, but they should give each of you some clarity and enable you to enter into your marriage with a better understanding of each other and what is important. Work and home responsibilities, joint or separate accounts, budgets, etc. are all subjects which should be discussed.

Just as you go to the gym regularly to keep your body fit, regular couples counseling can keep your relationship fit as well.

Sometimes, just the act of venting is helpful. Counseling provides a safe haven for precisely that kind of free-ranging release: You can say things in the therapist’s office, with the therapist present, that would be incendiary or hurtful in your living room.

For me, I don’t participate in the filming when I represent a reality show star in a case, because that would mean waiving my right to attorney-client privilege, and that would hamper my ability to mount an effective case.

There is probably no such thing as a good divorce, but clinging to an old idea of how relationships are unraveled can make a bad thing even worse.

I’m not a divorce monger by any means, but if you’re not happy in a relationship, and you’ve grown apart, it’s not healthy for a couple to stay together. It’s better for kids to see two happy parents than two miserable parents.

I don’t know that human beings were meant to mate for life or be monogamous. But, for me, the aspect of marriage that is troubling is that it’s a contract that is governed by the state, and I don’t want the state to have control over my personal affairs.

There’s something about sitting face-to-face with an attorney in an office that enables people to come to grips with the very idea of divorce – or to reconsider the idea. Like a number of my colleagues – not all – I offer that preliminary consultation for free.

You don’t want to move in with someone and find out that they don’t have auto or health insurance. That’s a rude awakening.

In seeking a lawyer, you are looking for an advocate, an expert advisor on the law and on your rights and responsibilities, a strategist, a negotiator, and a litigator.

Evening bags should be just big enough for my phone, lipstick, house key, and credit card.

I represent celebrities, but I am not a celebrity.

I don’t try to be sexy, but I do want to look as good as I can.

My go-to jeans are old Levi’s I’ve gotten from boyfriends; they’re worn-in and really yummy and perfect.

Many states favor joint custody.

If one person is spending all of their income on clothes, travel, hobbies, and entertaining, and one person is saving it, that may not be quite fair if and when you guys split up, depending on what the law is and what you decided to do.

Dissolution and custody matters are the great equalizers. Having done this for a while, you do realize that everybody has the same issues. It doesn’t matter how much money you have or how much power you have, you are always afraid you’re never going to see your child.

Like the marriage contract you entered into, your divorce is a legal transaction. Treat it that way. Try not to let emotion, hurt, fear or anger dictate the circumstances of your discussions or negotiations.