Getting a divorce can be a scary proposition. How are you going to support yourself? How are you going to take care of your children? Going through an endeavor like divorce never comes with easy answers. What you may end up finding is that you were financially better off staying married. However, all of the other problems that went along with being married to this particular individual will continue to fester, leading to unhappiness or worse.
Getting a divorce should not be your first option. It’s best that if you made the commitment of marriage that you look for reasonable other solutions. A keyword being reasonable. Don’t be confused, verbal or physical abuse is never something anyone should have to face because of obligation to a spouse. If you feel that you were/are in an abusive relationship with a risk of harm to you or your children, it’s incredibly important you seek help to get yourself to a safe place away from potential danger.
The big question becomes, how can I monetarily get through this process? You need to find a way to be able to support yourself and your children. You need to find a fair solution that is both a way to provide the essentials in life like food and shelter and yet at the same time not be unreasonable to your spouse. The reality of it is that the solution is never easy. A divorce can sometimes be a longer process, you can’t wait to receive spousal support/alimony and child support. This is when the services of a qualified attorney can make all the difference. Most likely that attorney will file a motion for pendente lite relief.
What is pendente lite relief? Well to start with, it’s Latin. The term means “awaiting the litigation." Motion seeking this form of relief typically allows an individual with less income to be aided monetarily by the spouse with more income. This allows a nonworking parent to remain able to maintain some form of quality of life absent the income from the other spouse. In essence, this levels the playing field so that the working spouse does not take advantage of, or hurt the nonworking spouse and children.
Divorce is never an easy choice, nor is it an easy process. Both parties typically feel the other side is being unfair to them. This only fuels the desire in either side to fight harder. Sometimes, but hopefully rarely, this can manifest itself in malicious acts. Individuals involved in such stress-filled litigation should not allow it to control them. Taking advantage of another is morally wrong. At the same time, allowing someone that you claim to have once loved and your children to suffer is equally wrong, maybe more so. It’s important for people engaged in a divorce to remember to not act in a way that they will later be ashamed of. No action by one party justifies another party’s wrong doing. The Simon Law Group subscribes to this value. Our integrity and credibility with the courts is unparalleled and as such it pays off in the long run for our clients. Attorneys with sleazy or dishonest backgrounds very quickly become known to judges. It’s imperative to ask the court for what you need and not make false appearances about your situation that will later come back to haunt you. It’s also imperative that when asking for assistance from the courts in the form of a pendant lite motion, that your arguments come from a credible source.
There may be nothing worse than being represented by individuals who the courts do not trust. Ethics is of paramount importance, in all aspects but especially in a court of law. Once a bridge has been burned it’s no longer available to you.
When asking for pendente lite assistance you should carefully and accurately document your expenses and bills so that you can provide a real and legitimate figure to the court. Rarely do courts go back and allow for a second bite at the apple. A trustworthy attorney will be able to assist in preparing the documents for this.
Pendente lite support is a way to get the financial assistance you need while the divorce litigation plays out. If you need help with your expenses, you should ask your attorney to assist you with this motion. As always you can call the Simon Law Group to help you.
-Britt J. Simon Esq.
If you are seeking representation for a divorce related case call today for a free consultation 800-709-1131 or fill out a contact form on our website for a no-cost consultation.We hope to hear from you today!
