Case Study - Family Law - "I feel better now.."

Situation:

"Sally" arrives in our reception area and takes a seat waiting to see one of our family law specialists.  When the lawyer greets her it is obvious that Sally is tense and speaking through gritted teeth.  They go into an interview room and the lawyer asks her to tell her what is her present situation.  Sally bursts into tears and says, "I don't know where to start".

A conversation follows along the following lines.

Lawyer:    "Are you separated yet?"

Sally:       "No.  But that's the trouble.  We have been together 16 years.  We have been arguing for ages and the marriage has been getting worse and worse.  I've got three small children under seven and Bill is always away on business interstate and sometimes overseas.  Last night we had a terrible row and he thumped his fist on the table and said, 'That's it.  I want you out of the house by the weekend.  This is my house and you'd be nothing without me.'"  (Sally sobs)

The lawyer passes her a box of tissues and tells her to take her time and tells her she certainly doesn't have to apologise for crying as it's a stressful and difficult time.

Lawyer:      "So you would like me to tell you what your legal rights are at this time?"

Sally:         "Yes."

Lawyer:      "What else did he say?"

Sally:         (Through sobs) "He said that I wasn't allowed to take the children with me and that he would fight me all the way and make sure I got nothing and I would be ruined!" (More tears)

Lawyer:      "He sounds like a bully and he can't force you to do any of that."

The lawyer proceeds to get instructions from Sally to the effect that she has always been the prime carer and is not in paid employment.  The husband earns $300,000.00 in a senior corporate position and is never home on weekdays between 7.00am and 7.00pm.  He is also often travelling interstate and overseas.

Sally is in good health and has always been an excellent parent and has a great relationship with her extensive and supportive network of family and friends.

Response:

The lawyer informs Sally that based on the information we have,  Sally will remain prime carer of the children.  Bill has no right to kick her out of the house and she will undoubtedly receive a substantial proportion of the assets in settlement.

If he fights hard on property settlement issues, it can take up to 12 months through the Court process (if it comes to that) which in practice means that Sally will have time to catch her breath and think and plan for the future.  In fact, when analysing the overall marital finances it appears that there is a good chance that Sally would be able to afford to keep the matrimonial home and even if Bill demands that it be sold a Court will permit her to keep the family home if she wants to and if she is able to financially.

Outcome:

Throughout the meeting, Sally's mood lightens and as she gets up to go she says:

Sally:        "I feel much better now."

Lawyer:     "I'm glad to hear that.  That's one of our major roles to take the unnecessary burdens off your shoulders and we will do our best to help and be here to advise whenever you need us."

The most common parting words we hear from a new client after their first interview is something like: "I feel much better now!" - even where the client is quite settled and does not give any sign of stress at the time.  We recommend clients get legal advice soon after separation - if only to calm their fears and give them a reality check for what the future holds.  If they are not ready to formally settle up, it is often perfectly acceptable to do nothing more till they are emotionally ready.  We will discuss that with clients too.