Cecatiello Attorney Interview on FORBES

FORBES Journalist: [00:00:04] Friends of leading Forbes, today we offer you an in-depth study that can certainly be useful to the lives of all of us. You have surely heard of the increase in separations and divorces that unfortunately occurred during the pandemic and is a part of life that almost half of marriages are said to have to contend with. We have here a guest, a specialist, a familiarist, a lawyer who has national and international experience; I am going to introduce him immediately: he is the lawyer Armando Cecatiello whom I thank for being here with us at Forbes Leader.
So let's start from the career of this professional who has specialized in this matter. So I ask you something. What prompted you, what is the episode that led you to specialize in this area?

Attorney Cecatiello: [00:01:17] Well, I've always had a passion for family law and child protection. And so it was right from my university days; at the time, there weren't any specialized courses in family law, and I'd stolen a few courses from other faculties, which later turned out to be very useful for my profession. So, let's say I'd already made up my mind back in university; I'd been told it wouldn't be as profitable as other specializations, but I kept going. Instead, it turned out to be a successful choice, I must say.

FORBES Journalist: [00:01:54] The lawyer is the author of several books on the topic. Just before we started recording this interview, he told me he was working on other books on the topic. But before we talk about his publishing activities, I'd like to ask him if it's true, as we've read around, that the number of separations and divorces has increased during the pandemic. And what's your impression of how Italy has changed in recent years?

Lawyer Cecatiello: [00:02:28] Regarding separations and divorces, we, as professionals, have a truly high demand for interventions that are always almost emergency-level. We had a very, very difficult period with the first lockdown, but with the first lockdown, people saw an end to it. Now, with the second and third lockdowns, people have truly lost all hope, and family tensions have increased dramatically. All the normal entertainment that each of us has been taken away, and this has led to increased tension at home and the exacerbation of already difficult situations. Therefore, there has been a great complexity of situations that have led to a huge increase in separations; separations that start out really badly in the sense that they are the result of long-standing tension that hasn't had the chance to settle or perhaps take a more relaxed approach, perhaps with the help of other mental health professionals. The problem is that tension is currently very, very high, so we also have requests for truly urgent interventions.

 

FORBES Journalist: [00:03:52] So, in short, your business has certainly increased during this period and requires expertise beyond the legal sphere, because these are people who have also been through psychological stress. I have another question, which is perhaps the most obvious one. When there's a separation, the first thought always goes to the children, followed by the protection of the assets. What tools do you suggest to ensure that this divorce, this separation, is less traumatic for all parties involved?

 

Lawyer Cecatiello: [00:04:36] So. I say this with all my heart. The ideal is to reach agreements. How do you reach these agreements? It depends on the individual. Personally, I evaluate the couple's personal situation, if they come together, but very often, in most cases, only one of them comes. I try to understand what's best for them and from there I propose various alternatives. There's the possibility of collaborative practice, the possibility of mediation, and the possibility of assisted negotiation. Appealing to the courts is the last resort when it's simply not possible to reach a different type of agreement or when the other spouse, as can very often happen, has already moved forward and engaged in activities that are perhaps even financially detrimental to the children and the other spouse. At this point, appealing to the courts is inevitable. However, alternative avenues are usually found to protect the children. You said that the children come first. Unfortunately, in our experience, we specialized lawyers are the ones who have to remind the parties about their children, because in our system, this isn't always a given. For example, in collaborative practice, children are central, whereas in normal negotiations, children unfortunately always take a back seat to financial considerations.

 

FORBES Journalist: [00:06:08] This "collaborative practice," as you defined it, is one of the aspects, one might say, that you have taken on in your experiences abroad and then imported into Italy; it is an aspect that, in short, distinguishes your way of working somewhat compared to other firms that deal with the same subject matter.

 

Attorney Cecatiello: [00:06:29] Yes, with collaborative practice, which I initially learned in the United States, and then discovered it was also present in a group of collaborative lawyers in Italy. And from there, we studied it and, so to speak, refined it compared to our Italian system. Now I also teach collaborative practice and am a trainer. The purpose of this process is for each party to have their own lawyer, and, tying in with what I was saying before about the psychological aspects and multidisciplinarity, we have involved and continue to involve other professionals, such as a communications expert who helps the parties regain the communication that is normally lost with separation, divorce, and family crises.

 

FORBES Journalist: [00:07:20] The tension doesn't help…

 

Attorney Cecatiello: [00:07:22] Absolutely not. And then we'll have the child's expert if necessary, and also an accountant, a tax advisor, who can also help with the management and distribution of assets or, in any case, find solutions for those two people that will allow them to close a chapter, that of their marriage, and live out their remaining years peacefully. Also because it's incredibly important to see and make people understand that the crisis of a marriage and the end of a marriage can be the beginning of something positive, something new.

 

FORBES Journalist: [00:07:58] So you were telling me earlier that abroad there's more scope for protective and preventative action, so to speak, when it comes to disputes. In Italy, however, from what I understand—you'll surely explain it to me better—there are fewer tools available in this regard, and you have to work more on the collaborative aspect. When a separation occurs, in short, to try to smooth out the more difficult aspects.

 

Attorney Cecatiello: [00:08:34] Of course, all of us, as professionals specializing in family law, hope to see the introduction in Italy of Anglo-Saxon-derived prenuptial agreements. We believe these would lead to a reduction in litigation. Currently, they're not possible in Italy, but preventative solutions can be found that can help people protect their assets and potentially resolve any issues later if a marital crisis should arise. No one wants a marriage to go into crisis, but statistically, the number of marriages that do go into crisis is very, very high, so it's best to prevent this and therefore reach agreements, especially when you have very significant assets. At this point, it's essential to assess the situation before getting married and rely on a professional who can best advise.

 

FORBES Journalist: [00:09:38] Listen, I mentioned your publishing activity earlier. I mean, your latest book, I think it's the last one you published, focuses on teenagers. How did this publication come about?

 

Lawyer Cecatiello: [00:09:56] This is the genesis. I'm a father and I have a teenage son. But I'm a father and it's as if I were the father of many other teenage children because the Milan court often appoints me as a special guardian. So, from this experience and from the collaboration with Dr. Veneroni, a psychologist I work with, we decided to offer help both to parents and to all those who collaborate and, above all, are inclined to deal with adolescents, to give them a hand, advice on adolescence. Very often, we all know that when someone has a teenage child, it's as if they've had a misfortune, "Oh God, I don't understand him anymore, he was a child before, he was so cute, he's become truly unmanageable." In reality, he's the same boy who has changed, but the problem is how we treat adolescents. I mean, we've all been adolescents once, and so we should remember that. Unfortunately or fortunately, we should remember how we were, how we were, and from there we can help them. So it's a very… in my opinion, very well done manual with regards to the help that can be given to our children and also suitable for educators to help teachers understand how to best manage children.

 

FORBES Journalist: [00:11:20] What's the title of this book?

 

Lawyer Cecatiello: [00:11:22] “ Adolescents. Educate and grow without fear .”

 

FORBES Journalist: [00:11:28] And it came out in December…

 

Lawyer Cecatiello: [00:11:29] Yes, it's on Amazon.

 

FORBES Journalist: [00:11:31] You were telling me that you're working on another book, but can you say no more or can you tell us something?

 

Attorney Cecatiello: [00:11:38] It's a job that can be revealed because it focuses on protecting family assets and therefore on the more strictly economic, and above all preventive, aspects of marriage; therefore, regarding the potential marital crisis, but also regarding the management of the family's assets.

 

 

 

Cecatiello Law Firm advises its clients on the best possible management of separation and divorce proceedings, both consensual and judicial, as well as asset protection, child custody, and collaborative practice.

 

 

Cecatiello Law Firm, Milan. Matrimonial and divorce lawyer specializing in family law, children's rights, and juvenile criminal law. Contact us.