Divorce and child-related issues are difficult and emotional. You and your previous partner are no longer a couple, and maybe that’s a shock to you. What’s happening to you feels so unfair, and so out of your control. You didn’t want this, and you don’t agree with it. You have (hopefully!) retained an excellent family law attorney who is giving you the best legal advice, and specifically what he or she thinks could happen if you go to court. Their job is to tell you what your best day in court looks like, what your worst day in court looks like, and what the judge could do, which could be either the best day/worst day, or something in between. Judges have to follow Indiana law, and sometimes while that feels like a resolution, it doesn’t feel right. You hear what your attorney is telling you, but you don’t like it, and as a result, you simply cannot let yourself agree to something you are not completely on board with. You think you want to hear it from the judge. Or do you?
Remember that your has a duty to uphold the laws of the state of Indiana, even if the result is that one party feels that they were not treated fairly. This can mean that the person doesn’t receive as much of the assets in a divorce or doesn’t get the parenting time that he/she wanted. Issues like these can be very fact-sensitive, and there is simply no way for your attorney to be able to convey to the judge every single piece of evidence about those issues, whether because they are not allowed to be shared for a legal reason, or because there is simply not enough time on the court’s calendar. Judges have to decide important issues with limited information, and many times, neither party likes the decision. Or if they do, they don’t like it when they get their attorney’s bill later for all the time it took to prepare for the trial. You may also go to trial and not hear from the judge for up to 90 days. Worse yet, you may get an order you love, but the other side filed to appeal the order. You may be stuck in months and months of additional court costs and lost time and still end up back where your attorney said you might be.
You always have the right to NOT settle your case if you don’t want to. But listen to your attorney. You’ve paid for his/her advice. If they are telling you that what you want is not legally possible, believe them. If you want a second opinion, better to get one from another attorney than the opinion you may receive from the court.
