Brexit and Other Matters!

One of the little pleasures of travelling is the opportunity to read the newspapers of a destination country over a coffee (or two)

Recent happenings in the UK have made for very interesting reading. Every day the papers have provided new angles and reactions to the Brexit crisis and the turmoil presently engulfing both major political parties. The only thing that is crystal clear is that the fallout will continue as the nation comes to grip with an outcome which it seems even the strongest advocates of the Leave campaign were not expecting.

Life outside politics goes on however and while perusing The Times this morning, I came across this little piece which may be of interest to family lawyers back home:

" Divorce lawyer warns of spouses on spending sprees

Older people going through divorce have been warned of a growing tendency of one spouse to go on a spending spree.

James Skinner, of Simpson Millar solicitors,said that several clients had complained  about the sudden reckless spending habits of their spouse.  People should guard joint bank accounts in the early stages of divorce in case one party squanders shared funds on " fast women, slow horses and expensive holidays".

Last year a judge told a wife divorcing after 40 years that she should have known her husband's flawed character and kept a closer eye on their finances, Mr Skinner said. " Once the money is gone, it's gone. That's the position of the family courts. Some might see that as a green light to squander shared fortunes. "

Sound advice indeed from Mr Skinner!

Expectations and Mediation

When you come to mediation, your chances of success are greater if you have realistic expectations about what you can achieve. 

Part of your lawyer’s responsibility is to prepare you by advising of any shortcomings in your case and any risks you face should you not reach agreement and end up in court. 

Part of this involves your lawyer being familiar with previous Court decisions in similar situations to yours and considering those decisions in the light of the facts of your case. 

As with life generally, your lawyer will serve you best if he or she under-promises and over-delivers rather than over-promising and under-delivering. 

Hopefully, when you get to mediation you will have a realistic idea of the range of offers that will be open to you to accept - providing of course that the other party is also properly prepared and puts forward realistic offers. 

 Your Mediator will help by emphasizing the uncertainty of court, the high costs that you will face if you pursue a court outcome and the delays you will face. The Mediator may also advise you of the possibility of an appeal by the other party if the court decision is considered unduly favourable to you. The Mediator is also likely to draw your attention to the stress of court, the damage to relationships and the lost opportunity associated with court proceedings.   After all, life is what happens while you are waiting for your trial. 

Why is all this stuff about reality and expectations so important? Quite simply, if your expectations are too high any lower offer of settlement is likely to be seen by you as a “loss” and you will be more likely to proceed to court.  Loss aversion is what I think the psychologists call it. 

 On the other hand, if you come to the mediation equipped with a good dose of reality, then providing the offers made are also realistic, you are more likely to see any proposed settlement as a “win” and take advantage of it. 

The bottom line is that there are few if any winners at court and if we can increase your chances of settling and you carry through, you will have done yourself a favour. 

Don’t risk court. It’s not worth it. Avoid the costs, stress, delays, wasted opportunities and damage to relationships that come with court proceedings.  

Contact us at Brisbane Mediations resolve@brisbanemedations.com.au or visit our website www.brisbanemediations.com.au for further details.