While power plays are good things in hockey, you should avoid them in your divorce case. All too often, people going through a divorce argue about anything and everything. Both want to feel like they are in control and they have all the power. This attitude can trickle down to very meaningless and petty issues. In the process, they can end up looking foolish and unreasonable.
An example of this is the scheduling of court hearings. When a court date gets set, sometimes conflicts arise that create the need to reschedule the hearing. It’s just a fact of life. As lawyers, we are constantly on both sides of this issue. Sometimes we have the conflict, and we need to have the hearing rescheduled. Other times it is the opposing attorney who has a conflict and asks to reschedule the hearing. Sometimes one of the parties might suddenly have to travel for work. It happens. As a professional courtesy, if everyone is acting reasonable and in good faith, we work with the Court staff to select a new hearing date.
It is not uncommon for parties in this scenario to be opposed to a request for a new court date. More often than not, that person doesn’t have a good reason for being opposed to the request. They just want to make life difficult for their spouse (or their spouse’s attorney). They don’t want to give their spouse the satisfaction of “getting their way.” They want to have all the power. They view it as a sign of weakness, or a concession, if they agree to change the Court date.
You must resist behaving this way. You will lose credibility with the Court if you are not willing to cooperate. Especially if it is a simple scheduling issue, and the hearing can be rescheduled to a new date/time that is close to the original date. And don’t expect any courtesies in return when you are the one who needs a favor.
Meet Marc Beyer
Marc Beyer practices in all areas of family law, including divorce, child custody, parenting time, child support, spousal maintenance, and property division. Marc’s philosophy is to negotiate the best settlement possible, but he is prepared to go to trial when necessary. Recognizing that every situation is unique, Marc takes pride in listening to his client’s concerns, and creates goals, expectations, and case strategy for the client accordingly.
Contact Beyer & Simonson
If you are facing divorce and any of the divorce-related issues such as spousal maintenance, child support, child custody, property division, or domestic abuse matters, you need our experienced Minneapolis divorce attorneys to help you. Contact Beyer & Simonson in Edina, Minnesota today at (952) 303-6007.
