When a divorce or child custody case has drawn to a close, it is important to keep in mind that there aren’t any ‘winners’ or ‘losers’ in the traditional sense of the words. Instead, one person will walk away feeling as though they have received a much better outcome than the other. As family law lawyers in Melbourne will tell you, often this is the result of the other person making a number of crucial mistakes during the court process that has caused the judge to find not in their favour. So, what shouldn’t you do?
- Denigrate or abuse your Ex
Nothing will make you look more like the ‘bad guy’ in court than if you are cruel to your ex husband or wife. Just keep in mind that the law isn’t the only factor involved in deciding the outcome of your case; the court also has an interest in protecting marriage as a promoter of family values.
- Involve your Children
You should always consider that your children will be most affected by your divorce or custody battle. You should try to protect them from the repercussions of the case as much as possible – don’t turn them into a messenger and don’t move away from their other parent.
- Be unreasonable in Regards to Custody and Visitation
Unless your ex has actually caused harm to your children, it is important that they have both of their parents in their lives. If you are unreasonable in custody or visitation rights (or if you deny visitation altogether) it will make you look like a bad parent and a vindictive person.
- Fail to Provide Support
In family law cases, support refers to child support and alimony. The court doesn’t like it when people refuse to pay reasonable amounts of support; they actually take it as a sign that you don’t care about your children. Child support will be awarded in almost all cases.
- Hide your Assets
Whilst some people can get away with hiding their assets, a good family law lawyer will be able to find them. When they do, they’ll be sure to let the courts know about them. This lands you in a world of trouble, as you have more assets to divide and you lied about owning them.
- Let Emotion Guide your Actions
In layman’s terms, this point should read ‘don’t be a jerk’. Whilst most divorce and custody disputes can be solved outside of court, if it does go that far you must remember that the judge is the ultimate decider and that if you come across as a jerk, they will not be kind to you.
If you are currently going through a divorce or a child custody battle, you should stop thinking about the case as being a win or lose situation because this is simply not the case. Instead, you should think of it as being a turning point in your life, when you are given the chance to start fresh and the chance to be the parent that you always wanted. As family law lawyers in Melbourne will tell you, you cannot achieve either of these goals without first avoiding making one of the above major mistakes.