State Rep. Barbara Gray proposes adding a warning label to marriage licenses saying that domestic violence is a criminal offense--news only to cave dwellers and illiterates who couldn't read warning labels anyway.
Consumer protection statutes require full disclosure, honest advertising, and even the right to change your mind. Similarly, marriage licenses should advise men that they are almost certain to lose custody and pay extraordinary financial support (by national standards), and advise women that they may loose a co-parent and 50% of net household income.
In related news, we recently posted a fully interactive Massachusetts Child Support Guideline Worksheet on our Internet site at www.DivorceNet.com. Users may fill out the form and receive immediate guideline numbers.
A recent critic of the Massachusetts guidelines claims that Massachusetts has the "toughest" guidelines in the country, which exploit most noncustodial parents. He also notes that when the custodial parents earns more than the noncustodial parent, the high earning parent uses more than her proportionate share of resources. Other critics contend that judges fail to listen to compelling arguments for higher or lower child support orders, deviating from the guidelines.
One judicial commentator, however, responds that the guidelines call for more thought than the use of a seven dollar calculator.
Some recommendations:
Lawyers, too, benefit from an alliance with mental health professionals. One experienced divorce practitioner routinely consults with a psychiatrist about his cases, claiming he develops more effective settlement strategies.
Some lawyers require psychological testing for clients before agreeing to represent clients in custody cases. They want to know "up front" whether you qualify as a "winner."
Other lawyers do not screen out clients through testing, but consult with mental health experts to prepare for custody trials. The experts help determine whether psychological testing should be done and interpret the results.
But psychology has its limits. "There is no 'good parent'...profile that has been developed. Instead, the psychologist must look at how the parent's psychological profile matches the child's needs," according to Marc Ackerman and Andrew Kane, authors of "How to Examine Psychological Experts in Divorce and Other Civil Action."
To match profiles, some experts ask both parents and the children to submit to psychological testing. Others rely on their own impressions of the parents and children from face-to-face meetings.
In the final analysis, if the parents cannot settle, a judge will decide the custody case "in the best interests of a child" by weighing all of the evidence, including the experts' opinions.
Experts come with different educational backgrounds and training.
Many are impressed by the medical degree held by psychiatrists, but some observers believe psychologists have the more appropriate background and training for custody cases. Assess your needs for different expertise as follows:
Mental health professionals are also needed in divorce cases where a spouse may be legally incompetent. For example, if a spouse suffers from a major mental illness such as schizophrenia, the court will hold a hearing to determine whether the spouse is competent to participate meaningfully in the divorce action.
If the spouse is ruled incompetent, the judge appoints a guardian ad litem who in essence becomes the incompetent spouse for purposes of the divorce litigation and is entitled to be represented by counsel. On advice of counsel the guardian ad litem can sign a separation agreement or participate in the divorce trial.
(source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Nolo Press publishes an excellent series of self-help books for people who want to conduct their own custody and divorce negotiations or litigation. Write to Nolo Press at 950 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA for a list or visit their home page at http://gnn.com./gnn/bus/nolo/index.html.
Cross examination "takes the place in our system which torture occupied
in the medieval system..."
-- John Henry Wigmore, writer on evidence
"It's difficult to tell which gives some couples the most happiness,
the minister who marries them or the judge who divorces them."
-- Mary Wilson Little, "From I Do to I'll Sue"