It would appear that Gary Lineker and his
wife are divorcing because he does not want a family and she does. He feels that he is too old at 55 and with 4
children already whereas she is 36. You would
have to wonder if they discussed this before marriage? This is Gary’s second
marriage. His first marriage ended after 20 years or so, and it is likely that
Gary had to pay up handsomely and why not, it was a 20 year marriage with
several children and all that entails. However, we are told it was amicable. Perhaps so, but we should probably bear Gary’s
history in mind here when examining Gary’s comments about divorce lawyers.
Gary slams out at divorce lawyers for
apparently striving to “up the ante” to incur more legal fees. He wants the divorce process simplified so
that it becomes a mathematical equation.
I am sure that there are divorce lawyers
who cynically manipulate separating couples in order to get more fees because,
of course, legal rows and court battles are expensive. But everyone knows that! Gary Linekar knows that if you walk into
steel and chrome in an up market financial district or perfectly preserved
Victorian or Georgian buildings, to a large firm with large overheads and a
reputation for winning, then you are going to pay and pay dearly for that. You are paying for the art work, the
architect, the upkeep, the large plants and so on and so forth as well as the
advice. That’s not just true of lawyers,
it is true of all professionals. There are also many, many family lawyers, and
in Ireland I would say that is the majority of them, who behave honestly and
with integrity, however, even with such lawyers, like it or not, court battles
are expensive even when they are done by people with integrity. However, there are alternatives, lawyer
negotiation, mediation outside the legal system and mediation within the legal
system as well as collaborative practice, all of which offered Gary and anyone
else wishing to avail of these services, an opportunity to deal with their
affairs in an non adversarial manner.
Since in all of these alternative processes lawyers will be involved at
some stage, however, at significantly reduced fees, there is a very good chance
of the agreement standing up if challenged in court at a later date. I would find it difficult to believe that
Gary was not made aware of these alternatives.
Two points arise, however, the first being, that people generally get
the type of representation they are seeking.
If I shop or seek recommendations for rothweiller solicitor/lawyer then
that sort of representation comes with an ethos and a price tag and secondly,
it takes two to make peace. If both
parties want to settle their case, then they will seek the representation that
will ensure that result. Lawyers are
obliged to tell you what they are charging and you know well in advance of
going down a particular path what the likely price tag will be and while there
can be some leeway as some people demand more time from their lawyers than
others, you should still know the ballpark figure and if you don’t that is an
issue to take up with the lawyer or change lawyers. It should also be noted
that if only one party wants to settle then with the best will in the world on
the other side, it cannot happen. It
would seem that in the instant case, they did resolve matters through a DIY
website. Hardly wise in this type of
case.
The other thing that occurs to me is that
angry people whose marriages are ending or over are seldom cool, calm and
collected. Mostly, they are angry, upset
and in pain. Anger transference is
something that lawyers deal with every day of the week. It can be really difficult to manage angry
clients particularly, when we have no training for this. Our core training is in adversarial
litigation. We are likely to respond to
anger in kind. Those of us with advanced
training in alternative dispute resolution are likely to spot this and try our
best to manage it but not always successfully.
Clearly, Gary Linekar should perhaps reflect on his role in the two
marital breakdowns, the choices he has made and consider the impact of that,
rather than blaming solicitors however, it may be easier and less painful to
just blame the solicitors. Bit like
shooting fish in a barrel really and as a sportsman Gary should be up for more
of a challenge than that.
It would seem that Mr LInekar went online
and found himself online assistance for a DIY divorce costing €400 and he now
seems to be suggesting that everyone should avail of this. If there are no assets and if there are no
issues, such assistance might work for some people and can save in costs,
however, if there are significant assets, as there probably are in Gary’s case,
then there are significant potential problems in doing a DIY. To protect yourself in such a situation it is
very important that both parties make a full financial disclosure to each other
on affidavit (sworn document) with vouching documentation attached. Each should
have the means and opportunity to raise queries and to ask whatever questions
they might have about the disclosure. Each should have time and opportunity to
consult with a lawyer should they wish and to sign an indemnity if they do not.
It doesn’t matter what process you
choose, whether it is mediation in any of its forms, negotiation, collaboration
or adversarial, then the exchange of financial statements with vouching
documentation on affidavit is built in to all these processes. Not to have exchanged such vouching documentation
as well as raising queries and consulting with a lawyer leaves any agreement
wide open to challenge in a number of areas going forward. Another problem which frequently arises with
DIY divorces is that having paid the money the other party changes his or her
mind half way through and decides that they are not consenting after all and
accordingly, that money is entirely wasted.
Like I say for some people they work but the vast majority of people
have property of some sort, income needs and children and accordingly, in those
situations they are an exceptionally ill-advised choice.
It is seldom that family lawyers see a case
in family law that is entirely issueless.
It is also seldom that family lawyers see a case where there is no anger
or bitterness and both parties are working with their higher instincts and
clear heads to the fore. Few people
marry without emotion and few exit without emotion. Where there are families, there are
complications. Families are messy. Not all issues are to do with finances, they
can be, and frequently are, to do with children and extended family, the
choices the other party has made or is making, lost opportunities, lost
futures, mental health in the broadest sense of both children and parents,
resistance to change as well as the usual financial issues, child support,
spousal support, family homes, other properties, pensions, life insurance,
investments and savings. It is extremely
hard to see how a mathematical equation would deal with this lot. It is also extremely hard to see how such a
mathematical equation would result in anything except gross injustice to some
parties. How would a mathematical
equation deal with people who are unable to work for any number of reasons such
as age or infirmity? How would an equation handle the parents of a special
needs child or any one of many situations which would not conform to a
mathematical equation? And what about child abuse, domestic abuse, extended
family issues, child mental health difficulties, parental mental health
difficulties and so on and so forth?
Because families are messy and with few
exceptions, breakups are painful, there is often a breakdown of trust arising
out the separation and an intense toxicity in the communication or lack of
it. This is why many family lawyers have
embraced Alternative Dispute Resolution as it affords people an opportunity to
work with lawyers acting together rather than against one another and for the
parties. They also have the benefit of a
trained collaborative professional who has a professional background in
psychotherapy/psychology/counselling and with whose assistance, both with and
without the lawyers, the parties can deal with their emotions and communication
issues enabling them to deal better with their financial problems. ADR solicitors feel that this offers clients a
space to deal with their sea of emotions while at the same time ensuring that
whatever deals they make are scrutinised by lawyers whose role is to ensure
continuity for their family albeit in new circumstances, promote inter- partes
communication and ensure equity for all given their particular
circumstances. A bit different from a
mathematical equation and highly skilled work deserving of reasonable remuneration.
It is my experience that DIY sites are very
mixed in the quality of service provided.
Without some knowledge it is hard to gauge the value of what is on
offer. It makes no sense to buy
something on bargain basement if it does not meet any need that you have. I wonder if Mr Linekar knew about the
alternative ways of resolving divorce?
We would have been happy to help him here in Cork in exchange for the
kind of publicity in favour of collaboration that his ludicrous remarks about
resolving divorce by mathematical equations is garnering but it seems that he
has trusted his affairs into the hands of a person who charges £400 – you be
the Judge!
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