the modern woman's divorce guide

Over the weekend I dutifully spent a number of hours watching several different online family law seminars to satisfy my continuing legal education requirements for the State Bar of California. During these “edge of your seat” performances, which were totally unrelated and presented by different esteemed lawyers, Commissioners and retired Justices, I was surprised to learn that one of the trial cases I worked on while I was an associate at a renowned San Francisco family law firm a few years ago, is now a precedent setting Appellate case in the arena of divorce mediation and mediated marital settlement agreements. (See In Re Marriage of Kieturakis)

Needless to say, it was exciting to discover this information and it led me to read the California Appellate Court’s opinion that discussed the Kieturakis’s case at length. While reading the Court’s opinion, which quoted the partner I was working with in the courtroom one day during the hearing, I was taken back in time and vivid details of the case flooded my thoughts. I recalled the months of preparation time leading up to the hearing, the expert testimony, the Commissioner’s rulings, the tension between the parties, the legal briefs and meetings with the Appellate attorney. More importantly, however, I was reminded that the Kieturakis’s, in their attempts to “win” the issues they had each raised in the hearings and appeals that comprised their post-divorce case, had spent over half-a-million dollars in legal fees and costs and spent eight years of their lives in court battling out the terms of their divorce.

EIGHT YEARS AND $500,000+!!!

Can you imagine? If you can’t, please try. And as you do, think about your children and how much they have grown in the last eight years and think about what you could do with half-a-million dollars. Now hold these thoughts at the forefront of your mind as you proceed with your divorce, and before you tell your lawyer to file a motion or take a deposition, ask yourself if you want to spend your time and money in court fighting over the terms of your divorce or if you’d rather be with your children and living your life to it’s fullest. Sure, it might not take eight years or half-a-million dollars to finalize your divorce, but if you run the risk of spending even a fraction of that amount of time and money, consider forgoing the battle and instead, let your life and children get the best of you!

This is not legal advice. You should consult an attorney if you have legal questions that relate to your specific divorce. Technorati Tags: divorce appeals hearings legal fees time mediation getting divorced divorcing women woman law