In this article, you will learn:
- How significant issues can be resolved
- When to fight or back down, and how to tell the difference
When it comes to child support and spousal support, it is important for somebody to hold their ground if the other person is really being unreasonable. I do not make assumptions based on who is paying or whose expectations are reasonable or not because it is not always consistent. It is not always the payor that does not want to pay, and it is not always the recipient that wants too much. Sometimes it is the other way around.
It is important to understand, especially for child support, what the correct amount should be. For spousal support, again, it is two-fold. There is spousal support during the divorce process, which it is very important to demand because many times there are young children at home or there is a time period where that person needs to get back in the workforce because they have not been working outside the home for many years during the marriage. It is each party’s expectations in making sure they are reasonable and if that requires somewhat of a fight, then it might be necessary.
And by fight, I do not necessarily mean that it is going to be a trial. It might be with some strongly worded letters and the idea of going to court if they do not agree, which nobody wants to do. Being able to arrive at a settlement with the idea of litigating if the unreasonable party does not adopt a more reasonable position is the way to go.
Options For Resolving Divorce Or Other Family Law Matters If There Is A Significant Issue
This is what I call developing a strategy to get to the end point. This is not going to be the same for everyone, and requires understanding what the circumstances are at that point and what has happened before.
I have people come to me and say, “Oh my spouse and I agreed to mediate the case,” and they often do not understand what that means. I help them understand what their expectations are with that and what exactly they mean by something. There are instances where someone describes to me an acrimonious situation with mutual lack of trust as well as anger and resentment, yet they are saying they want to mediate the case without attorneys. This is not likely to be successful, at least until the people achieve more reasonable expectations and have more reasonable approaches. Sometimes, people will use a term thinking that it means one thing, when it means something else to lawyers and courts. There are other matters as well. Sometimes people will say, “Well, I want you to represent both sides.” The state of California does not allow a family law attorney to do that, but I can represent one side and help the other side to get to a resolution.
I also pride myself in being fair enough to the other side that they do not feel taken advantage of or that they need to go get a tough lawyer to represent them.
There are situations where we go to a retired judge who works for and is compensated by the parties as a private mediator. The attorneys help to get the case to the mediator judge and they are often very helpful in settling case. Sometimes the other side may have up to this point been told everything they wanted to hear, whether it is by their friends or well-meaning family or coworkers, and it is not always correct information. So, for the first time perhaps, they are hearing, “Hey, you might want to settle this because this is what’s going to happen if you go to court: you’re not going to get the result you want.” It is not a one-size-fits-all get to a resolution, but our goal at SoCal Family Law Group is to try to keep it as simple and as cost-effective for the client as possible.
For more information on Family Law in California, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you seek by calling us at (858) 225-4840 today.
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