5 THINGS THAT CAN COST YOU DEARLY IN A
DIVORCE AFTER YOU HAVE BEEN SUED
Although
the marriage is undoubtedly over, the Complaint for divorce you just received
has taken you by surprise. This is the
norm. Unfortunately it is also the norm
that the filing spouse is way ahead of you mentally and strategically. He or she has been planning this for some
time. By the time you get the Complaint
your joint account is wiped out, the spouse is gone and so are the kids along
with a few prized possessions. So what
do you do and what don’t you do now?
1.
IMMEDIATELY secure any and all finances, if its not already too late. Do it before you even call a lawyer.Open new
accounts in your name only. Take money
out of the joint account, cancel all credit cards and debit cards. Get copies of all financial records, i.e.,
bank statements, account balances, retirement account balances, loan balances,
paystubs, tax returns, etc. Protect your
money and assets. In short, know and
have proof of what, where and how much.
2. DO NOT assume that the divorce will be “friendly”
and uncontested. If that were the case
the complaint would not have bolted out of the blue. The head-in-the-sand, my-life-is-over approach
is a prescription for disaster. You can
bet your children, child support, custody, house, spousal support and
disproportionate division of your marital assets and debt that your spouse is
praying for you to take this approach.
Don’t do it. In 26 years, I have
seen many cases start out this way but only a handful end this way.
3. AVOID CONFRONTATION. Confrontation WILL be used against you for
custody purposes since domestic violence is a custody factor. Confrontation may also result in a Personal
Protection Order being entered against you.
It may then result in your incarceration.
4. DO NOT ABANDON the home and or children, even
temporarily, as it may result in the Court determining that you have de facto
recognized that the children’s best interest is to reside with your
spouse. After all, you would not have
left the children, even to find a new home and settle in, if your spouse is an
unfit parent. Do not leave unless
absolutely necessary to protect yourself.
If that proves to be necessary, take the kids with you and immediately
seek legal counsel.
5. Gather Evidence to prove your spouse’s fault
for the divorce, i.e., an affair, drugs, alcoholism, abuse, etc. and to acquire
custody and support. Typical sources of
evidence, include, but is not limited to, those listed above in paragraph 1 and
Facebook, police reports, counseling and medical records, school records,
telephone records, e-mails, text messages, letters and notes, receipts,
photographs, and Child Protective Services Reports, etc. When thinking about evidence, think about how
to prove the 12 Custody Factors that the Court will rely upon to determine who
should be awarded custody of the minor children.
These
12 Factors, and the thousands of cases that interpret how to apply the 12
Factors are the only issues that the Court will consider in a custody
dispute. If you have children and are in a
divorce, get the 12 Factors now, along with valuable insight into how the 12
Factors will be applied to your case before it is too late. Contact Dimitriou Law Offices at 616-454-7969 or kristle@wmichiganlegal.com for your free copy today or call for a free consultation
regarding your divorce case!
