Let me start by stating the obvious: Aside from a few, super-aggressive, spotlight-loving, confrontation-seeking family-law attorneys (and you know who you are), nobody wants a divorce case to go to trial. As you’ll tell your clients, it’s the court, literally, of last resort.

With mediation or negotiation, you get to send over spreadsheets. You—and the opposing party—have the luxury of time. To read. To review. To digest. To respond. To counter.

And you’re all on the same terms.

That gets flipped on its head in a trial. You and the opposing attorney are on the same terms, but there’s a new power dynamic, in the form of the judge, who sits above you both. There’s the pre-trial memorandum which you must submit (on time!). And after the huge delay of waiting for a court date, then you’re under an incredible time crunch—typically 1.5 or maybe three hours—for the entire trial. You’ve got to be on your A-Game continually… only to have the judge decree what he or she thinks is best.

You have so much less control over the outcome. It costs everyone more. Your client is far less likely to be happy. Little wonder, then, that only about three percent of divorce cases go to trial.

That said, you still need to make a solid financial case for your client, whether you’re going to trial or not.

Taking your best shot

As a CPA, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® professional, and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst^® professional who helps women with the financial side of divorce, I’ve been through my share of negotiations, mediations, and even court cases. And whereas, in, say, a mediation, you can present a lot of detail to the other side, in court, the party who states their case more clearly and succinctly, will likely prevail with the judge. (As you well know, if the judge doesn’t see a compelling difference, they’re apt to simply “cut the baby in half.”)

So, to prove “What we’re trying to show” or “How we got to these numbers,” there’s nothing like good charts and graphs. I—pardon the pun—excel at these. Imagine some of these on your side:

A net worth chart. Picture something you could show, which effectively says, “With the level of spousal maintenance and child support the other side is proposing, my client will run out of money in five years.”

An average percentages chart. I can help you present basic averages on what people spend on housing, transportation, food, and so on. If the woman is in the normal range for those, it becomes much harder for the husband to say “She doesn’t need that much.”

Things like these work great in mediation. They’re even more powerful before a judge. And remember: In a trial, you can be guaranteed that the opposing party will bring in their own financial pro, and will do their best to try and undermine my education, methodology, and numbers. To which I say, “Bring ‘em!” Let me hold my own against any of these numbers nerds.

You don’t always have control over whether that next case goes to trial. But regardless, you can gain control over the financial side of your case, starting with the all-important AFI.

Bring me in. Early. Contact me and let’s chat.

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