Big Step, Big Picture
Many of our posts focus on legal information regarding family law matters such as divorce and child custody as well as child welfare cases. While providing readers with basic legal information to help clarify the proceedings they face is important, once in a while it is necessary to help illuminate the big picture as well. In divorce, the big picture is your future. Divorce is a complicated legal proceeding, but it’s also a major life event through which many need more than just legal guidance.
It’s All About the Decisions
Without understanding the big picture, you risk making poor short-term decisions that have long-term ramifications. Focus on what lies ahead: your future. Without this in mind, your decision-making might be guided by your emotions from past events rather than your long-term goals. When making a decision in your divorce, be it regarding alimony, child support, child custody, or property division, consider the impact it can have on your future. Too often people let their feelings over the past guide their actions in family law matters. Now, I’ll review a few common mistakes people make in their divorces and what the long-term effects can be.
Fighting for pieces of property you don’t need or want. People waste a lot of time and money fighting over property that won’t contribute to their future in a positive way. They are motivated by emotions and spite rather than practicality. After the divorce judgment, however, what matters is practicality and not getting revenge.
Fighting against a custody arrangement without considering your child. Put your short-term feelings aside and imagine how custody will affect your child. Maybe you want sole physical and legal custody, thus severely minimizing the impact the other parent can have on your child’s life. Or maybe you want supervised parenting time. When your child turns 18, how do you think that arrangement will have affected them? When it comes to custody, you should fight for what will be in your child’s best interests in the long-term. In many cases, it’s best for a child to have continued and meaningful contact with both parents and certain custody and parenting time arrangements can complicate that.
Fighting for an unreasonable amount of alimony or refusing to pay alimony. Alimony is almost always short-term, but it has a valuable purpose. It helps the dependent spouse transition into a self-supporting life. Refusing to pay alimony can save you money short-term, but it could have long-term effects on your child’s life if the other parent struggles financially and is unable to get back on their feet after the divorce. Likewise, asking for an unreasonable amount of alimony can set you and the other parent up for future court action when it isn’t paid. It can also impede his or her ability to pay child support and properly care for your child during custodial or parenting time.
Consider these issues, and speak with an experienced New Jersey matrimonial attorney if you are contemplating divorce. How you execute your divorce can have long-term repercussions for your well being and that of your child. An attorney can explain how divorce works in New Jersey, explain your options for getting a divorce, and help you make decisions in your divorce that will help you build a more positive future.
If you are looking for compassionate legal defense in New Jersey, the Williams Law Group, LLC can help you. Our skilled child custody and matrimonial attorneys can help you navigate your case and will defend your rights every step of the way. Located in Union, New Jersey, Williams Law Group, LLC provides compassionate and dedicated legal services to Union, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Monmouth, and Middlesex counties, and the surrounding areas. Our knowledgeable attorneys handle divorce and family law, child custody, and child abuse/neglect cases. Call our office at (908) 810-1083, email us at info@awilliamslawgroup.com, or contact us through our confidential online form to schedule a consultation and ultimately get you connected with an experienced New Jersey divorce and child custody attorney.
