|
Family Court Resolution Many
readers may remember my friend Robert, and his tremendous legal
difficulties documented in Custody
Court Massacre. His
divorce and child custody legal ordeal was horrific.
Luckily, it appears that some of his problems have been
resolved. He
told me on the phone, before he was last called before the judge, “I
don’t care what happens. I’m
willing to go to Riker’s if I have to.
I’ve prepared for the worst.”
The
previous judicial ruling stated that Robert had to pay over $5,000 a
month for ex-wife and child upkeep.
He shared with me that this was the same amount Latrell
Spreewell was asked to pay, and there is a hundred million dollar
differential in economic power between Robert and the famous
basketball player. He had
been delinquent on past payments as his net income was less than $2,000
a month. Out of his $2,000,
he dutifully forwarded her $500 on the first day of every month.
He also became part of The
best news of all was that no sheriffs were waiting to arrest my friend
upon his arrival to the courthouse.
He anxiously hoped to receive a fair hearing on this occasion.
After
eight hours of negotiation, both parties signed what was called “A
Global Settlement.” It
turned out to be a 65 page piece of bureaucracy, and was the byproduct
of $50,000 Robert spent in legal fees. He laughed about it later as he
described his ex-wife’s mental illness as being the main impediment
to the settlement. He
said, “Being crazy is an incredible weapon in
the art of negotiation–just ask Kim Il Jong.”
Ultimately,
what made her sign on the line was that Robert’s parents dazzled her
with cash. More
specifically, his father snake charmed her with part of his retirement
savings. My friend’s dad is a healthy and spry 68 years old, and he
had previously hoped that his savings would only be used for
emergencies. He decided
that Robert’s custody drama was just such an emergency.
Money
alone wasn’t the only sacrifice.
Robert humiliated himself by giving her the grounds for
divorce. The settlement
states that he treated her cruelly and inhumanely.
This was done principally so she can petition the government
for a green card. This
infuriated my friend as his reason for marrying her in the first place
was so she could gain the status of a legal immigrant.
His
lawyer wrote the language in such a way that Rob hoped it wouldn’t
interfere with his visitation rights in the future.
Although he told me, “now she is officially a battered wife.
It’s absurd, but it should be enough for the INS.” As
for the son that has become the focal point of his life, the court
reduced Robert’s child support payments to $1,000 a month.
His father flew out to His
father forwarded his ex-wife $10,000 in exchange for her dropping
requests for alimony and spousal maintenance.
His dad then paid her landlord $5,700 in back rent and legal
fees. This further embittered Robert as he realizes his parents are
far from rich. If his
family did not live so frugally in his youth, who knows what may have
happened during this court case.
One
benefit of the cash payments was that it kept his son from having to
live in a shelter because his ex-wife was officially evicted from her
apartment the week before. Unfortunately,
his father had more blood to shed before she fixed her signature to
the settlement. His
parents paid her lawyer $8,000, and then an additional $12,000 to
prevent her from declaring bankruptcy. The $8,000 to her lawyer was
well spent, as Robert said that, if it was not paid, her lawyer was
going to quit the case. His
ex-wife’s lawyer forced her to sign the papers.
He noted that his former spouse’s childbirth provided her
with funds that she never would have seen under any other
circumstance. As
far as child visitation is concerned, the hearing was a godsend.
He received two additional overnight visits per month.
This increased the monthly days he spends with his son from six
to eight. Robert was
further allowed three total weeks of visitation over the summer months
(as he is now studying to be a teacher).
Extended holiday time increased to six days.
In total, he now gets nearly 38% of his son’s time.
This is not enough in my friend’s mind, but it is a far
better state of affairs than he ever thought he’d see before the
hearing. In
the end, Rob’s dad saved him from jail, and also saved his son from
living in a woman’s shelter. My friend was satisfied that the little
money he does make will now go to his son as opposed to his attorneys.
Robert
ended his letter to me (we also talked on the phone) with the phrase,
“Thank God it is over.” Yet,
as I began to write this piece, I received an email from him.
Apparently, his ex-wife was not satisfied with his level of
suffering. As he sat with
his son one night in his living room, six policemen [six!] came to his
apartment and presented a court order from the previous settlement
stating that he was not to be with his son on that particular day.
To no avail, he tried calling his lawyer but no one answered
the phone. He impotently
watched the police carry his screaming son down the stairs to his
mother. I’ll
let his words end my tale: “What really got to me was that she was
down there at the bottom of the stairs smiling.
She was wearing a huge grin that I rarely saw when we were
married. It made me sick.
I wish she’d pay for what she’s done.”
Bernard Chapin works as a school psychologist full-time, a college instructor part-time and writes whenever possible.
|
