Tonight’s post about an aspect of Family Law was written by our Marietta Family Law Attorney, Darrin Keaton.
“As for Phileas Fogg, it seemed just as if the typhoon were a part of his programme”
– Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days
Everyone knows family law cases are perhaps the most stressful matters fought over in Court. Keeping your composure through this process is imperative in managing your expectations and achieving a reasonable outcome. You can’t avoid the stress, but how you manage it can make all the difference.
Keeping your composure means facing your difficulties head on; being calm in the face of chaos; acting decisively with resoluteness; being realistic in your expectations and keeping a positive attitude. If you are able to do this, even in some small way, you will reap benefits in your case.
You will be able to effectively assist your attorney throughout the case.
If you are composed, you can focus on the advice you get from your attorney and tasks that need to be accomplished. Often you will be required to compile a great deal of paperwork regarding your finances, medical treatment school information, etc.. If you are not able to keep your composure, you will not be very helpful in getting vital information to your attorney. You and your attorney will be frustrated and information could be missed, which might lead to disastrous results.
Your children will see you as a resource of strength and comfort, regardless of who is primary custodian.
Children are often referred to as sponges. They soak up all the stress and discord around them and project it in unhealthy ways. As a parent, you owe it to your children to be composed and resolute in front of them. There is plenty of time to vent in private, away from the children. But your children need to know they are loved and that everything will work out, even if there is some uncertainty in the outcome. If your children see you composed throughout the process, they will see you as someone they can count on in times of stress and need. And that has nothing to do with where they live primarily.
You will be an effective advocate for your reasoned position in conjunction with your attorney.
Hearings and trials are especially stressful. If you are involved in a family law case, it might do some good to watch a few hearings in which you are not involved. Invariably, the ones who are the most successful in making their case to the judge are the ones (litigants and attorney alike) who can maintain their composure in court and not let their emotions of fear, anger, resentment or frustration get the better of them.
At The Manely Firm, we pay attention to details like these. We foster a feeling of calm resolve for our clients. We encourage and assist them in achieving their own sense of composure and resolve, for the benefit of both them and the children involved. Regardless of the outcome, maintaining your composure helps get through the process.
Darrin Keaton