As a divorce attorney in Northwest Indiana, all too often I meet with clients for initial dissolution consultations that are angry, embittered, and disillusioned with their relationships and want to take their spouse “to the cleaners.” While the beginning of the divorce process is a delicate emotional time, it is important for clients to realize early on that while emotions are high and people are angry, nine times out of ten, the divorce will settle out of the courtroom. That’s right… ninety percent of the time… couples come to an agreement on all matters regarding a divorce, and frankly, it’s for the better.
It seems most parties, at the initiation of a dissolution of marriage, have an innate inclination to fight and for the injustices of the failed relationship to be aired in front of a judicial officer. While the prospect of fighting it out in what has been all too often depicted on TV dramas as a clear-cut, instantaneous, and just trial is appealing, the truth of the matter is that litigation is everything but. If you choose to litigate your divorce, be prepared to accept the fact that a divorce will not be granted in sixty days. In fact, with litigation, a divorce could take years, not to mention the amount of energy and money spent during the process.
With that said, many believe that divorce attorneys push clients to settle cases in order to avoid doing their jobs. The truth is, divorce attorneys know that statistically divorce cases settle and would rather spend their time reaching a settlement early on in the case in order to avoid litigation. If the case reaches the brink of litigation, courts in Northwest Indiana intervene and order the parties to mediation, another costly sidetrack in the dissolution process utilized to help parties reach an agreement. The fact of the matter is that even the courts view litigation as a counter-productive force that destroys any kind of negotiation and perpetrates distrust and other family problems. Simply put, litigation further deteriorates an already broken family dynamic.
Many also view a trial as an opportunity to air the injustices, betrayals, lies and unfairness of their failed relationship to a judicial officer such as a judge or magistrate. However, the truth of the matter is that while you may think that a judge should hear about a spouse’s misconduct, a judge is bound to stick to the relevant facts and applicable law. The rules of evidence also limit what an attorney can ask at trial and, in Indiana, infidelity and other misconduct is irrelevant to court proceedings in divorce cases. Therefore, its unlikely that a litigant will be given the opportunity to say what they would like to say at trial, and even if they do, the information will have little to no impact on the judicial officer’s decision.
Litigation does not bring closure to already emotionally devastated litigants, instead, it perpetrates emotional dysfunction between parties and their children for years following.
If you are contemplating divorce, call Gordon A. Etzler and Associates at (219)531-7787 to set up a free consultation today!
