Archives for October 2013

If you are going to insist on getting even with a former spouse during an acrimonious contested or high asset divorce, you should be prepared for a number of worst-case scenarios you will have to deal with for the rest of your life:

1) Everyone in your neighborhood, and your county, and the state, nation and world, thanks to the reach of the internet, will know your Arizona family’s deep, dark secrets when revealed in open court.

2) Your child or children will have access to this damning material in future years. If they are not emotionally affected by these bulletins in the here and now, they very well could be during their adulthoods.

3) Litigation costs a lot of money — a LOT of money. You could very well be tossing out the financial “baby” with the bathwater, and still run the risk of losing.

And those are just three reasons why contested and high net worth divorce litigation are dangerous — for your reputation, for public consumption of what were once private problems, and for what your children think of you, once the truth is known.

There are ways around these consequences, if an experienced divorce and family law attorney can be given just a moment to talk sense to you. You can mediate or negotiate your differences with your spouse privately. You can come to an agreement that no one has access to — one you might be able to live with for years to come.

You have a right to protect your interests and investments in your marriage without harm coming to how people think of you. You have an obligation to those you love most, your children, to minimize the damage of a court battle that may produce no winners whatsoever.

Above all, you need to decide whether you want to make the good-faith effort to undo the damage of your marriage yourself or allow strangers in a court to make uninformed decisions on your behalf.

Steven Zachary is a family law and divorce lawyer who truly cares about your future. In Gilbert, Arizona, the Zachary Law Group believes that every problem has a solution. You can ignore it, you can postpone it, litigate it expensively or use other less destructive methods to … “Zach it.” Call today and take your worries away. For an initial consultation, call 480-389-3533 or send an email message.

And now, a David Letterman-esque Top Ten List of the reasons to choose the divorce mediation method of ending your Arizona marriage, rather than resort to costly, contentious litigation of your contested or high net worth divorce in a courtroom.

10. Mediation is private rather than in open court. No “dirty laundry” will be aired publicly.

9. Mediation is pocketbook-friendly — far less expensive than the attorney fees and court costs that litigation requires.

8. Mediation is not as time-consuming. Once the parties are on “the same page,” issues can be resolved.

7. Mediation is not as stressful as the back-and-forth bickering heard during litigation.

6. Mediation encourages an honest, open exchange of views. You may be hearing some complaints for the first time, but a skilled mediator can moderate discussions in ways that bring order to what looks like conversational chaos.

5. Talking things out is what you should have done during your marriage. To this end, a series of productive private conversations during mediation can end your relationship with dignity, honor the good in what you had, and minimize the potentially harmful emotional impact of divorce on your children.

4. Did we mention that mediation costs less money? It bears repeating amid an uncertain economy. Litigation is a lousy investment anyway, if you lose.

3. Mediation projects a tone of collaboration that can be sustained during your transition to a brighter post-divorce future, and beyond. Practice makes perfect, and the cooperative atmosphere of mediation is good practice for keeping things civil for the sake of your child when future misunderstandings arise.

2. Your child will thank you someday for the low-impact route you’ve chosen to segue into single life, yet continuing your financial, emotional and in-person time commitments to children you share.

And the Number One Advantage of mediation over divorce litigation is … drum roll please …

1. Control. If you found your spouse to be controlling during your marriage, now you have a chance to be controlling together. Mediation gives you control of your destiny, directions, goals and resolutions, rather than leave your fate in the hands of strangers in a courtroom.

All you need now is the assistance of an experienced divorce and family law attorney who knows how to mediate and truly cares about your future. In Gilbert, Arizona, that compassionate lawyer is Steven Zachary of the Zachary Law Group. Our law firm’s founder believes that every problem has a solution. You can ignore it, you can postpone it, litigate it or use mediation to … “Zach it.” Call today and take your worry away. 480-389-3533.

The natural inclination during a contentious divorce is to think primarily, or only, of yourself — the years spent in a disappointing marriage, material possessions accumulated and an emotional investment that has no price tag.

Word to the wise: you should also think of the child or children of that marriage … and this divorce. This is why states like Arizona stress “the best interests of the child” for custody and visitation matters, financial support issues and the need to keep a family “together” following a parental relocation.

Studies show that a child benefits from both parents’ sustained roles in his or her upbringing. An experienced, compassionate family law attorney can create all kinds of methods for accomplishing that goal.

Your lawyer can arm you with the facts about appropriate levels of child support that conform with income-based calculations; coordinate a co-parent’s availability for regular visits, weekend stays and vacation time-sharing; and generally, smoothly, transition all family members into a comfortable routine that minimizes the emotional impact of divorce on a child.

Family members who are further separated by a child relocation outside Arizona can continue contact through technology such as email, Skype and phone conversations. And if visitation obligations spelled out in a divorce settlement agreement are not being met, regardless of where you live, you can have your lawyer seek a contempt order, or enforcement, that compels the non-custodial parent to cooperate.

Are the best interests of your child being treated as a priority during the run-up to your Arizona divorce? If not, Gilbert divorce lawyer Steven Zachary of the Zachary Law Group will work hard to even the playing field for children caught in the middle of pointless bickering by selfish, unreasonable parents.

Steven Zachary’s successful service to his family law clients has taught him that every problem has a solution. You can take that problem lightly, pooh-pooh it, shove it under the rug, or you can … “Zach it.” Contact the Zachary Law Group today and take your worry away. Just call 480-389-3533 or send an email message to arrange your initial consultation.