Divorce Advice for Men | Fathers Rights Divorce | Child Custody

By Jennifer M. Paine

Attorney, Cordell & Cordell, P.C., Detroit office

Note: This is Part 3 of a three-part series. Click here to read Part 1 and click here to read Part 2.

Insiders and Property Division

Faced with a sizable loss if forced to divide an investment account, sell a vacation home or otherwise divide property acquired during the marriage, some spouses divert their assets to friends and family. They quip, “I don’t have to divide it if I don’t have it.” A blank stare, mouth open, face white, falls across them when their attorneys say the property still counts and, worse yet, they might have committed a crime. 

By Jennifer M. Paine

Attorney, Cordell & Cordell, P.C., Detroit office

Note: This is Part 2 of a three-part series. Click here to read Part 1 and click here to read Part 3.

Demanding Relatives and Child Custody

If you feel like your life is a scene from Everybody Loves Raymond, you are not alone. When a family dissolves, strained emotions are inevitable. So too are crazy outbursts we would not usually make – such as the demand to your attorney to “spend whatever it takes” just to get back your tools or the   “With Sympathy For Your Loss” funeral card your spiteful mother sends to your ex-wife as a dig when your divorce is final.

These things happen, and most divorce statutes are built to accommodate them. Custody statutes require the court to consider “the totality of the circumstances,” as opposed to an isolated night of yelling in front of your children. Child support and alimony are based on income and earning capacities, as opposed to who is the “smarter” or “crazier” spouse.

But beware overbearing relatives.

By Jennifer M. Paine

Attorney, Cordell & Cordell, P.C., Detroit office

Note: This is Part 1 of a three-part series. Click here to read Part 2 and click here to read Part 3.

“You have to pay her how much alimony? What about our ‘business trip’ to the Bahamas?”

“Billy, why don’t you bring the children over for a nice, long weekend with Grandma? Who cares if it’s Susan’s weekend? What is she, still your wife?”

“How can the court make you give that ring to her if you give it to me first?”

Sound familiar? If you are dealing with other women, be they girlfriends or second wives, grandmas or aunts, sisters or mothers, you have probably heard statements like these. These women are excellent at giving advice, helping you deal with your family dissolution, and comforting you when you are down.

But beware. They look and talk like angels, but they may be devils in disguise. Whether you are in the midst of a family dissolution or your family dissolved years ago, the other women in your life will affect your family harmony – and possibly your legal rights.