Divorce Team Radio - Your Source for Divorce and Family Law Matters

Did you know that almost 90% of divorce cases manage to avoid a final trial in front of a Judge. That is due, in large part to ADR, or Alternative Dispute Resolution. Tune in to hear Leh and Todd review Five (5) different ways to resolve your divorce or family law matter without a formal, public trial. These different alternative methods include informal settlement conferences, mediations, late case evaluations, Judicially hosted settlement conferences, and Arbitrations.

Last week, Leh and Todd approached the issue of Family Violence from the perspective of the victim. This week they address this issue from the side of the accused. Unfortunately, there are some that have taken advantage of the Family Violence Act. They have used what was meant for good to gain an advantage in a divorce case. In this show, they talk about what to do when you have been false or unfairly accused of family violence.

They go over many helpful tips for those caught in this situation, including:

• Steps to take to avoid a TPO;
• What you do when you are served;
• How you should prepare for your hearing;
• Difference between innocence and being found not-guilty;
• The evidence you need defend an TPO; and
• Settlement alternatives to avoid the TPO hearing

Domestic or family violence is not a new phenomenon, and it is not something that is simply going to go away. This type of violence is much less visible than other types of violence. It happens behind closed doors. It can be a pattern of behavior rather than an isolated incident. Because of these issues, victims of abuse can often times be scared to seek protection of any kind.

In this show, Leh and Todd discuss how to obtain a Family Violence Protective Order (FVPO), also called a Temporary Protective Order (or TPO for short). Specifically, they get into:

• The wording of the law.
• The evidence you need to present in order to obtain an ex-parte FVPO and a 12 month protective order.
• The filing process.
• The different types of terms that can be included in orders.
• The protections a Family Violence Protective Order provides, including the possible penalties for violating the terms of a FVPO, and other issues related to issuance of a FVPO (like placement on the FVPO Registry, prohibition against possessing firearms, etc.).
• Obtaining a 3 year or Permanent Protective Order

The term "Gray Divorce" developed about a decade ago as certain researchers started to notice a trend. They noticed that, while the overall divorce rate was going down, the rate of couples over 50 getting a divorce was going up. Some studies show that the rate has doubled since the 90's. In this show, Leh and Todd examine what Gray Divorces are, what is leading to their increase, and the challenges that they present for husbands and wives.

In this show, Leh and Todd discuss the anatomy of a final trail. In particular a divorce trial. Other family law cases are very similar, so you can apply this same information to modification of custody and support cases, as well as to legitimation cases. They explain the timeline of events at a trial so you know what to expect. They also provide common sense explanations of the different elements of a trial, including: Opening Statement; Direct Examination; Cross Examination; and Closing Argument.

For the most part, people follow their settlement agreements and Court Orders. When people are amicable through the Court process, most of them actually put their divorce agreements and parenting plans in a drawer and forget about them. Then there are the cases where one party just does not want to follow what they agreed to or the Court has ordered after a hearing. In this show, Leh and Todd tackle what to do when someone does not follow the rules. They discuss several scenarios. They explain how you can collect on unpaid alimony and child support. They identify steps to take to enforce certain aspects of a parenting plan that are not being followed. They also highlight what the Court can and cannot do in a Contempt of Court case. They identify how the Court can help in making sure the settlement agreement is followed when it comes to dealing with the assets and liabilities in a divorce. They share some cautionary tales of what can happen if you wait too long to take action. And, they wrap up the show with some defenses that can be raised in a Contempt of Court action.

Most of the time, people dealing with a divorce or support modification report their financial assets, liabilities, and income honestly. There are those occasions, where people try to 'game the system' and hide money from their spouse. Even though many of these schemes are complicated, they are usually discovered by the lawyers in the case, often with the help of forensic accountants. In this show Leh and Todd discuss some of the crazy ways they have seen people try to hide money from their spouse (or ex-spouse).

Your Attitude in a divorce or similar family law matter can make all the difference in your case. As lawyers, we hear it from Judges, Guardian ad Litems, and Custody Evaluators all the time, i.e. a positive attitude makes a difference. We have even heard from mediators that it is difficult to convince someone to pay more money to the person that has been nasty during the case. In this show, Leh and Todd break down just what they mean by a positive attitude. They share practical examples of how a positive attitude helped win cases and how a negative attitude can sink an otherwise winnable case. The challenge is how do you maintain a positive attitude in the middle of something that really sucks. When you are hurting, it is very hard to keep your chin up. That is why Leh and Todd wrap the show up with suggestions and resources on how to strive for the best attitude in the middle of the pain.

Last show we took a series of family law questions that did not deal directly with divorce. In this show, Leh and Todd tackle divorce specific questions. A few examples of the questions they cover include:

• If a stay-at-home mom has suddenly been taken off all the bank accounts and credit cards, how can she go about obtaining legal counsel to help her?
• What is the potential impact of domestic violence in a divorce case?
• When a wife asks a husband to leave the marital home and pay her alimony, does he have to honor her demands?
• Do you have to file your marriage certificate in Georgia if you were married in a different state and want to get a divorce in Georgia?

For those that may not know, Meriwether and Tharp represented Belinda Skelton (a popular radio personality in Atlanta) in her divorce. Recently, she invited us onto her show, "Atlanta Living". This is a replay of her show. Based on the nature of the show, Leh was able to take questions from callers during the show. It was a lot of fun, even though one caller almost stumped Leh before he realized what the real question was.