Sadly, we occasionally see people in divorce or family law litigation who make bad decisions at each step of the process. These tend to be rooted in vindictiveness, pride or stubbornness, and lead to negative results. As we've discussed before, in Kentucky, it is very difficult to obtain a mulligan (or "redo", for all non-golfers), so it is very important to attempt good decisionmaking from the start.
The most common bad decisions are predictable, as are the results. They are:
- Spiteful comments about or to the other parent made in the presence of the children.
- Spiteful comments about or to the other parent made on Facebook or other social media.
- Quitting a job so as to deprive the other party of child support or maintenance.
- Transfer of valuable assets or cash to a friend or family member in order to deprive the other party of any claims to those assets.
- Turning a blind eye while family members, friends, or new significant others disparage the other party to their face or in front of the children.
- Racking up debt on the account of the other.
- Needlessly disputing nominal assets or debts in order to gig a former spouse.
These are merely a few ways that a divorce or family law litigant can negatively impact their case through conduct. Other mistakes are more insidious - they include excessive drinking and escalated vice, continuing with a lawyer who has fallen out of communication, poor personal hygiene, failure to seek personal counseling and failure to see to taking adequate meals and rest.
The successful litigant guards against these problems as they arise, and recognizes their limitations.