Off the Fence with Karen Covy: Mastering Decision Making, Divorce & 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...

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...

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...

Karen Knab is not your average executive coach - she's a master at transforming conflict into constructive dialogue. Whether navigating the choppy waters of family drama or the boardroom's fierce currents, Karen's expertise helps you take back control and resolve your arguments with your ex, your kids, or your boss, more amicably. Karen has cracked the code on managing the emotions...

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...

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 a...

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 t...

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 thr...

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 podcas...

In this episode, Lisa Johnson, co-founder of Been There Got Out, shares her story of going through a high-conflict divorce with an emotionally abusive husband who lived a secret double life. Lisa's divorce ultimately cost her over $80,000 in legal fees to resolve - and that was just the beginning of her legal journey. Lisa then spent 10 years fighting to enforce her divorce judgment after she...

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 Dat...

Navigating the intertwined paths of love and entrepreneurship can be as complex as a Brazilian Tango. But Meg Schmitz is an expert who shares the secrets to building BOTH a flourishing relationship AND a successful business. In this podcast episode, Meg opens up about her own complex journey, which began when her then-husband purchased a franchise (without her consent) in an industry he knew nothi...

Karen McMahon understands the challenges of high-conflict divorce. After surviving her own divorce from an emotionally abusive ex-husband, Karen turned to coaching others on how to deal with the complex emotions and dynamics of high-conflict divorce and co-parenting more effectively. In this podcast episode, Karen describes how she helps her clients build confidence, establish boundaries, and rema...

When Alexis Skigen Rago was laid off from her corporate marketing job she knew that – as much as she loved her children - she wouldn’t be happy as a stay-at-home mom. Yet, returning to the corporate world – with its rigid culture and grueling time demands – was equally unappealing.  So Alexis took the bold step of starting her own marketing strategy consulting firm.  During her career transition,...

Living with a narcissist is hard. Divorcing a narcissist is even harder.  Tracy Malone, the powerhouse behind NarcissistAbuseSupport.com,  knows firsthand how ugly divorcing a narcissist can be.  In this podcast episode Tracy opens up about her personal journey of divorcing a narcissist, including the manipulative behavior, gaslighting, and abusive litigation tactics that went with it. Her experie...

When Kathleen Brigham and her husband divorced, they did something most parents never do – they “bird nested.”  What’s more, not only did they bird nest during their divorce, but they continued to rotate in and out of their family home for years after their divorce, all while their children stayed put. In this podcast episode, Kathleen Brigham walks us through her personal bird nesting journey, pr...

Have you ever felt stuck in indecision and trapped in a life you no longer want to live?  Have you hesitated to get a divorce because you KNOW how ugly your toxic spouse will make it? Are you worried about getting a divorce and starting all over again "at your age"? ( ... i.e. when you're over 50!) Have you suffered from trauma in your marriage and wonder if you'll ever be able...

For 15 years Jessica Kaskov worked as an engineer in a manufacturing company. When the company announced layoffs, Jessica did some deep soul searching. She realized that, while she was good at engineering, her real passion came from working with people. Even though Jessica ultimately survived that round of layoffs, she began searching for work that would do more than just pay the bills. It would p...

With over 40 million Americans regularly visiting porn sites, pornography is the "dirty little secret" that's hiding under the hood of more divorces than most people realize. In this podcast episode, guests Kevin White and Polly Fleming (who are not married to each other!) share their deeply personal experiences with porn addiction and the crippling effects it had on their marriages...

If given a choice, most people would prefer to divorce amicably, affordably and efficiently. Yet the divorce system isn't structured to make any of those things happen. As a divorce lawyer who litigated divorces for decades, Tracy Moore Grant got tired of seeing people get dragged through time-consuming and expensive divorces simply because that's the way divorces "have always been...

Ever wished for a comprehensive guide to navigating divorce with your child's best interests at heart?  Rosalind Sedacca, divorce and co-parenting coach, as well as the founder of the Child-Centered Divorce Network, helps her clients view divorce from their children's eyes. Drawing from her own life experiences as well as her expertise in working with divorcing parents for over 15 years,...

Jason Sposeep has helped his clients get divorced in every way there is to do it. As an experienced litigator, mediator, negotiator, and Collaborative Divorce professional he has guided his clients through almost every divorce process during the course of his career.. In this episode, Jason explains what each different divorce process is, how it works, and (most importantly) the factors to conside...

Ever felt stuck in your life, unable to move forward or find a way out of a seemingly dead-end situation?  Alison Smith has developed a unique coaching technique that she uses to help her clients break through the "stuckness" of difficult situations so they can finally move forward with their lives.   As a speaker, trainer, breakthrough coach, author, and podcaster, Alison has pioneered...

What happens when you bring together financial expertise and personal experience with divorce? You get Mandy Walker, our guest for this episode of Off the Fence. After going through her own difficult divorce Mandy switched careers from finance to divorce mediation. She now helps divorcing couples who want to end their divorce amicably through mediation do exactly that. In this episode, Mandy explo...

Do you feel like you and your spouse have been having the same fight - and engaging in the same destructive behavior - for years (maybe decades!) and you can't seem to change?  Nancy Pickard, a certified integrative coach, is a master at helping couples see the patterns they have subconsciously created in their marriages that are getting in the way of them building a true connection. Nancy gi...