Maybe He Should Be in Jail/ The Forensics Strike Again

I am usually not a big fan of putting people in jail for contempt. It isn't that I feel sorry for the jailbird to be, it just usually causes problems for the client who thinks some jail time would benefit the lout. Last week my client was right. If someone is put in jail for contempt which rarely happens, but I must say has been on an increase lately, child support is usually stopped while he is incarcerated because he isn't working. Secondly, their is a risk that the job will fire him leaving the issue of support again in jeopardy. Last week we cut a deal prior to the contempt hearing involving the husband obtaining a loan through his pension to pay off his arrears and not only come current but to include 3 months of support. Well guess what? Something went wrong with the loan application and he has had to re-apply, that was a week ago. Repeated letters and calls to the attorney get no response. We do have a new court date in two weeks and could of course wait for that date to request a new hearing, but I am livid that this was done and will be requesting a new hearing next week. No more Mr. nice guy!
On another note I just got a new report back from a forensic psychologist who has informed both attorneys and the court that both clients are nuts, the children are a mess that she therefore recommends joint custody with both nutty parents becoming involved with a new expert called a parent coordinator. From what I understand a parent coordinator is another therapist who micro manages the lives of the parents as they attempt to raise their children! At this juncture I turned to co counsel and said if after 21 years of practice we cannot jointly come up with a parenting agreement better than what was presented here to us today by an expert who took $7000 from our clients to tell us how nuts they are then we have no business practicing matrimonial law. From here on out I will vigorously refuse the use of these "experts." These so called forensics and their testing would make Ozzie and Harriet Nelson look like Ozzie and Sharon Osbourne! Take heart all of you who get reports back that make you look bad, we in the business no longer take these seriously, now we just have to convince all the judges.....