What Spouses Say
Many divorce clients your comments from their spouses at some point during the divorce that are designed to intimidate and upset them . Generally the statements are made in the heat of litigation and are meant to hurt annoyed and scare you. I've heard these comments probably 25 years of practice on a regular basis. By familiarizing yourself with him in advance, I hope that you will be able to recognize them for what they are, to control your response to them, and to prevent yourself from feeling frustrated and angry and making your divorce even more difficult. All of the following comments can be found in the American Bar Association Section of Family Law publication titled Family Advocate, Summer 2011, article by Albert Momjian, from Philadelphia. These comments are the following: "You've got the most expensive lawyer around. The two lawyers are going to eat up all the assets we acquired during our marriage." "If you don't settle on a reasonable basis I will have to take the children out of school." " My lawyer knows all the judges. There's no way you're going to get a decent result in court." "I was ready to give you a fair settlement. Now that you got a lawyer, I am going to play hardball, and you're going to end up with much less than I was going to give you." "Your lawyer is too busy to handle this case." "Your lawyer is a crook. Her only interest is to drag out the case to make more money." "I am going to drag this case out for ever by the time you get your share of the property, you'll be too old to enjoy it." "I'm going to tell the children that you are responsible for this mess." "I've got the best lawyer in town he's going to kill you in your lawyers." "You're crazy for pushing this divorce case. All you're doing is taking money away from the children." "I'm going to tell the children you're responsible for this mess." "At the rate you and your lawyer are going, I'll have to declare bankruptcy and nobody is going to win." "If you don't settle on my terms, I'm going to drag your girlfriend (or boyfriend) into this case." You can't trust divorce lawyers. They always work with the lawyer on the other side to complicate things, run up unnecessary time, and make more money." As divorce lawyers we follow the highest ethical standards. These comments,made by spouses, are universal and heard across the country. Hopefully you have a good relationship with you and attorney that you trust and you must put your face in their ability to advocate on your behalf.