Another Day in Court

Bill had made three motions during the course of our domestic violence (DV) hearings. They were inappropriate for DV hearings so a date of August 17 was set for them. Laura went with me to the courthouse. This was the first time Bill showed up with legal counsel. He hired an older man on a limited scope basis. Limited scope is when an attorney makes an isolated appearance for a client without necessarily being committed to going through the entire divorce. I'm not sure why he wanted someone on limited scope. Did he want to be in complete control of his case? He told Laura he had fired other attorneys because one had wanted to put a $35,000 lien on the house and another because she wouldn't what he told her to. The third was fired for reasons unknown. The attorney who came to court had been practicing for as long as my attorney, had offices out in Norwalk, and walks with the assistance of a cane. He seemed nice enough. But how did Bill find someone out in Norwalk? He charges $300/hour. Was that an important factor? He was soft-spoken; that doesn't seem like a good match for Bill.

But the man was a bit clever. The proceedings went quite smoothly, efficiently. Bill was asking for: spousal support---we had already settled that, at least on a temporary basis. He also asked for $20,000 for his legal fees, claiming that since I had spent that thus far, he should be entitled to an equal amount. And thirdly, he wanted the court to order a forensic accountant to go over our finances to expedite a settlement. Prior to the hearing he agreed to $2500 a month in support and to table the request for the forensic accountant (it's premature). I had claimed that I couldn't make any more support payments until I went back to work. After all, the reason I didn't have a summer job was because I had turned down my usual job in order to spend what I thought was going to be his last summer with Bill. That left the amount for legal fees. My attorney argued that the reason why I had accrued so much in fees so far was because of the motions Bill had made against me that had caused me to spend so much time in court and that we would be asking for some of my fees to be taken out of Bill's portion of a final settlement. In the judge's decision, he agreed that I shouldn't pay support until I went back to work at the end of September. He also ordered me to pay $5000 in legal fees in $500 increments for 10 months starting October 1. Bill's attorney set it up -----or at least I think he did,----so that I would make the payments directly to him. This way, we avoid the inevitability of Bill firing him and pocketing the money for legal fees. I think the judge was kind to me. In rendering his decision, it was clear to me that he was saying 1)Bill needs access to legal counsel and 2) we ALL benefit when he has it. And it he was right; the hearing had be devoid of non-sequitors and inappropriate motions. His decision is something I can handle; I'll have to pick up extra work, like tutoring students or teaching a night class, but I'll be able to do it. And after 10 months, I won't have to pay the extra $500 a month. I don't think the judge likes Bill.