ALIMONY, CHILD SUPPORT, CUSTODY, OR…?
I found an article dealing with violence in custody battles, online today and thought I would pass it on. I’m not vouching for Mr. Baer’s viewpoint but I think he has something interesting to say. In my experience as an office manager in a family law firm in MN, I’d say violence and threats of it are rare in our practice, but it does exist; and I think Mr. Baer makes an excellent point in how justice delayed is injustice; and, in stressful times like these, can result in violence.
In Mr. Baer’s view, it is the court system itself – which he maintains is not organized to deal with such violence in a divorce — that should be held responsible.
Court matters are legal matters, for sure, but they are also emotional matters; and not everyone, not every lawyer, not every client, not every court official, is prepared for what could happen.
VIOLENCE IN DIVORCE MATTERS IN MN
In my personal experience, this beingMinnesota, perhaps, what I find most of all is not actual violence but that we occasionally have to deal with opposing attorneys who think they can scare us off with noise, bluff, and personal vindictiveness. That does not work but it is stressful for everyone else. Another emotional response is for a lawyer to delay, delay, delay everything; yet another response is for an attorney to fight over EVERYTHING!!! We’ve covered these in our blogs before so I won’t go into these particulars I’ve found in family law; divorce, child custody, alimony, and child support matters — but you get the idea. And, to close, let’s not forget that some divorce cases are handled by lawyers who ACT vindictive, angry, irrational, and so on as part of a conscious strategy. The result is the same on those divorce clients or attorneys who are on the receiving end – stress, emotional upset, wasted time, and, often, more cost to the clients on both sides.
Food for thought.
Tom Moore
Office Manager
MooreFamily Law, PA
