Family Law is a very complicated and nuanced area of law.  In fact, Family Law is so difficult that many of us will not engage in any other practice areas. After 31 years as an attorney, here are what I feel are some common errors lawyers make in a Family Law case.

1.     Never having a complete grasp of the financials:  This is one of the most common errors family law attorney's make.  It all starts with intake. I have found the best way to ensure the complete and accurate collection and organization all financial data is with the Settlyd Financial Declaration. Settlyd engages the client's participation from the very beginning in getting organized and providing accurate and reliable data. Once the initial data is loaded into a client matter, the attorney can add to, edit, revise, and/or notate the entries, print a Financial Declaration and populate the Asset Division worksheet.

2.     Inability to precisely divide assets and debts:  Many lawyers use an Excel spreadsheet to organize this data.  Often times, however, formulas get messed up and/or line items are not properly apportioned between the parties.  Settlyd's AD worksheet solves these problems and permits precision in creating a customized division of assets and debts that meets the goals of both parties.

3.     Drafting parenting plans without sufficient detail:  This is one of my "pet peeves".  Many custody battles occur subsequent to the original divorce and are the result of poorly drafted parenting plans.  Regardless of how well the parties are getting along at the time of the initial agreement, a precise parenting plan will prevent a lot of problems in the future.  The best place for good parenting plan can be found on the SC Bar Bookstore in materials created by Jay Bultz.

4.     Failing to adequately understand support issues:  Many attorneys will run a child support calculation and then try to negotiate an alimony award in a vacuum.  In most cases, there is a set amount of income from which support will be awarded, and Settlyd's Net Income worksheet and Child Support/Net Income calculator allows for a reasoned analysis of support based solely upon available income and expenses.

5.     Not properly prepared for mediation:  It surprised me when I first started conducing mediations that many attorney's have to be prompted to provide documents and a position statement to the mediator prior to mediation.  In order to have the best chance of success in mediation, the mediator must be fully aware of the pleadings, any prior orders, and the positions of each party.

The moral of this blog is to proceed with care in family law cases, use good software like Settlyd to help you keep track of the financials, and draft agreements with a focus on avoiding pitfalls that commonly befall people years after a divorce.

Guy Vitetta

Charleston