What All Divorcees Can Learn From a Couple That Spent 500K on a Child Custody Battle
While some may cringe at the term “conscious uncoupling” used by star divorce couple Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, the idea of collaboration during a divorce can be valuable to a couple that’s ready to battle in court. Divorce is rarely a pleasant experience for either side of the marriage, but the damage that a broken relationship causes may be minimized for all family members involved.
No doubt, there are times when a spouse must defend themselves against an aggressive or abusive marriage partner, requiring forceful action. However, for most couples who are going through a dissolution of marriage, putting aside the pettiness and focusing on mutual benefit reduces the emotional and financial cost of divorce.
Bitter Legal Disputes Are Always Expensive
The longer any legal dispute drags out, whether a family case or otherwise, the more expensive that process becomes. In extreme cases, costs can rise high enough to wipe out a large chunk of a family fortune. Recently, a divorced couple in Hamilton was singled out as an example of a worse case scenario by Ontario Supreme Court Justice Alex Pazaratz.
During the case, this Hamilton couple ended up spending $500,000 on lawyers, with the husband paying $300,000 and the wife spending $200,000 on battling legal council. This extreme cost was made possible by the complete lack of cooperation between the two, instead choosing an adversarial path to determine the custody of the child. After presiding over a legal trial that lasted 36 days, Justice Pazaratz became somewhat apoplectic, stating “How does this keep happening? What will it take to convince angry parents that nasty and aggressive litigation never turns out well?”
He then went on to note that the entire debacle started with an email in 2012, with the husband pleading that they could save $50,000 in lawyer fees by amicably working out a custody solution. Unfortunately, this plea ended up falling on deaf ears, leading to three-and-a-half years of strife and a bill ten times the expected amount.
The judge went as far as stating that the mother went out of her way to poison the relationship with the child, in addition to engaging in predatory behaviour such as stalking. Rather than responding well to an attempt to collaborate through divorce, she took an aggressive, threatening route instead, causing damage to everyone involved. In the end, she lost custody and was required to pay a large chunk of the husband’s fees.
Collaboration Is Usually the Best Route
Something went wrong in the relationship, which is leading to your divorce. While it may not be possible to be entirely amicable, at the very least, you can save yourself and your family heartbreak and financial difficulty through reasonable negotiation that respects everyone’s post-marriage rights. Since emotions typically run hot during divorce, skilled lawyers, mediators, and family specialists may present the best option moving forward. A perspective outside of your divorce will help to ensure that you or your ex-spouse don’t hijack the process.
When children are involved, it’s especially important to proceed in a way that focuses on their mental well being and future development. This requires that both parties move beyond blame, and instead take responsibility for creating a process that minimizes costly negativity.
Expert Legal Mediators Reduce Overall Costs
The best legal representation is able to determine the best course of action during your divorce, working with your unique situation to arrive at an outcome that protects the interests of you and your family.
Fine & Associates Professional Corporation is a well-respected Toronto Law Firm that prides itself on providing quality personal service and favourable outcomes in Family Law and Divorce Law.
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