J's STBX or her lawyer terminated the "collaborative" divorce process tara: ...which means they're back to square one. New lawyers, new negotiations, this time they'll likely have to go litigated instead of collaborative.
He was completely blindsided -- he thought they were making progress. And, bam, he gets a certified letter out of the blue from his ex's lawyer. (He doesn't know, at this point, why this happened, or whether it was the ex or the lawyer who bailed.)
Without going into details...if it was the ex who decided this, it makes little sense financially for her, as she doesn't have assets or income to pay for a new trial. (J does. And there's no guarantee a court will award the ex attorney's fees, especially if she was the one who wanted to start over, when she had other options.)
At least my state is enlightened, in that the fact that J and I are shacking up is IRRELEVANT to the settlement, and almost irrelevant to custody (basically, the fact we're publically romantically involved, and shacking up without the benefit of marriage, and while he is technically married on paper to someone else, is not legally relevant at all here, especially because neither J nor his ex are religious, so there's no "undermining religious education" argument or what have you; they'd have to prove either I or the relationship was a specific threat to the kid -- i.e. violence, neglect, r-rated behavior in front of her, drugs, etc.).
In any case: he doesn't think she's going to try for any more custody -- they never had too much of a problem with that (the arguments were always about $$$, not the child), and she is fully aware that keeping kiddo from her dad would break the kid's heart. If she does...well, he can afford a good lawyer, and WI presumes joint custody and liberal placement/visitation for both parents is in the kid's best interest anyway. The burden would be on the ex to prove why that isn't the case.
Sigh...he thought this would be done in the next couple of months.
Re: J's STBX or her lawyer terminated the "collaborative" divorce process timetobefree: Uck. Sorry to hear it. How incredibly frustrating.
I swear, tara, every time you post something, I think to myself your life would make a great book or movie. Do all your friends say "Only tara, only tara?" ;D
Hang in there...you guys will get through this as well!
Amy
Re: J's STBX or her lawyer terminated the "collaborative" divorce process tara: Hee, thanks. I've had similar book/movie thoughts myself.
Apparently...kiddo has been sick this week...and whining to her mom that she "misses R."
R would be my ex's stepdaughter.
They've quickly bonded, and people have asked if they are sisters.
As I've been saying -- this is proof that the universe has a sense of humor.
[quote author=timetobefree link=topic=27524.msg267283#msg267283 date=1144420352">
Uck. Sorry to hear it. How incredibly frustrating.
I swear, tara, every time you post something, I think to myself your life would make a great book or movie. Do all your friends say "Only tara, only tara?" ;D
Hang in there...you guys will get through this as well!
Amy
[/quote">
