One of the most common misconceptions in Orange County divorce cases is that fathers don’t have the same rights as the mothers in family law or divorce cases. This misconception often leads to the fathers shying away from their rights and ending up conceding more than they should.
Out-Spending The Mother Trying To Gain An Advantage
If you have come under the guidance of an aggressive divorce lawyer, some can encourage men to try and outspend their partner in litigation to try and break the other financially. Overzealous spending though can cause a variety of problems for the spending part such as:
- Exposing yourself to monetary sanctions for being unable to act within the standards of reasonableness. Driving up the cost of the litigation without merit can be sanctionable by the court.
- The husband may also have to face a motion for attorney’s fees and costs related to the other spouse’s inability to pay their own legal fees.
Surrendering Your Rights as a Father on Issues of Child Custody
This is one of the most unfortunate mistakes that fathers tend to do in their Orange County divorce case. It should be noted that the only thing that the courts take into account in deciding child custody cases is the child’s best interest. The best interest of the child needs to be proven to the court by both parents. Fathers have the same custody rights as the other parent to start, subject to the court looking at the big picture involving the child and determining what custodial arrangement is in the best interests of the child under the circumstances of each case.
Not Asking for Modifications when Needed
In a wide variety of cases, most fathers stop paying spousal and child support payments when they are unable to instead of going to court to ask for modifications. This is a mistake that is likely to have legal repercussions to the male spouse. The failure to abide by a court’s order which spousal and child support payments is likely to result in contempt of court proceedings against the non-paying spouse. Modifications can be sought in the Orange County family law court. Courts are unlikely to burden anyone with more than they can bear and are often understanding of the situations, and in a wide variety of cases will order modifications in the support payments, depending on the circumstances of the case.
Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.
