What Not To Do During a Divorce

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in DuPage County divorce lawyer

Getting a divorce can be a lengthy, expensive and complicated process. Often, the parties make the process even worse through their behavior. Though this may be understandable due to the emotionally charged nature of divorces, it may cause divorce judges to punish the misbehaving spouse.

Take the case of Amy and Sunil, for example. After getting married and having two children, they enjoyed a comfortable life-style mainly due to Sunil earning over $400,000 per year working as a doctor. While Amy contributed to the marriage, her main role was raising the two children.

Eight years later, Amy filed for divorce in DuPage County. In her divorce petition, Amy alleged that Sunil was emotionally and physically abusive toward her and the children. While these types of allegations are not uncommon in divorces involving children, they caused the judge to appoint an independent representative for the children, and award custody to Amy, with Sunil only having supervised visits.

While Sunil complied with the court order and any trial-related procedures, Amy did not. Moreover, Amy went through a slew of attorneys and eventually decided to represent herself; a costly decision that she regretted. To make matters worse, a report by the children’s representative found no evidence of abuse, and suggested that Amy had coached the children so that their testimony supported the allegations of abuse.

This report caused Sunil to file for an order that Amy undergo a psychiatric evaluation by Sunil’s expert forensic psychiatric. The expert’s report showed that Amy suffered from a delusional disorder and that manifestations of the disorder were associated with violence against the children.

In light of the new evidence, the judge granted custody of the two children to Sunil and awarded Amy only supervised visitation. Moreover, Amy’s propensity not to tell the truth worked against her during the property division phase and the judge refused to order Sunil to pay Amy’s attorney fees.

A family law attorney is crucial in divorces involving abuse allegations. If you find yourself in such a position, contact an experienced Aurora family law attorney.