It is almost uncanny that incredulous situations continue to unravel for our clients going through divorce.
Recently, we represented a woman who was divorcing her husband who had made, over a year after the fact, false domestic violence claims against her in Family Court. This was done to attempt to coerce her into foregoing her claims to spousal support and her share of community property. The husband also attempted to drag the matter out and financially exhaust the wife so that she could not afford her own defense.
This was not the first time we experienced a spouse trying to turn the tables in this manner. The husband was particularly emboldened because he had called the police when the incident occurred. He prepared his alibi and was successful in convincing the police to arrest his wife even though he broke her wrist using martial arts.
Many don’t realize the trauma and stress divorce can cause. But in a situation riddled with lies like this one, the tension and frustration can be almost unbearable to family members. The Domestic Violence Proceedings took over a year to complete due to delays caused by the COVID epidemic, numerous unfilled vacancies for family law judges, and the opposition’s tactics.
Restraining order a fictitious tale
This situation was simply untenable, and the wife needed our support. While this case went on, I spent many hours counseling and supporting her with numerous non-billed phone calls as I drove home from the office after work. Thanks to both our client’s commendable patience and her faith in us to see the matter through, justice was ultimately served.
It turned out that the husband had his lawyer file the bogus restraining order against his wife to hold an issue over her head. His lawyer approached us on numerous occasions stating that the husband would drop the domestic violence claim if our client would agree to forgo her rights to spousal support and her share of community property.
It took several remote hearings (i.e. hearings via Zoom due to COVID) to complete the Domestic Violence Proceedings. During one of them, I literally jumped up on my desk. This was to re-enact the scenario proving the husband’s tale was just that – a fictitious tale.
With this demonstration and other impeachable evidence, I established the clear facts that her husband was not credible. We defeated his claim for domestic violence restraining orders, which if granted, could have caused my client to lose the professional license she needed to continue to earn a living.
Our success ultimately resulted in a settlement of the matter. The wife received spousal support, community property, and attorney’s fees – the very things that her husband brought his bogus domestic violence claims to avoid paying.
Investing in our clients
These types of “shakedown” tactics and caustic claims riddled with untruths are unfortunately all too common in family law. It is our job at Buncher Family Law to not only protect and fight for our clients but to emotionally support them with strategies to mentally endure what can be a trying process to ultimately attain justice.