Final Divorce Agreement 4 : Arrearage

Welcome back to the fourth installment of my Final Divorce Agreement Series! Woohoo!

Remember that I am not an attorney, these are based on my personal experiences.

My final divorce agreement has a little section in it called "Arrearage."

1.  According to Merriam Webster, Arrearage refers to "something that is in arrears; especially :  something unpaid and overdue"

All the agreement says essentially is that neither of us owe the other any money as of the date of the agreement. The reason for this is that neither of us wanted the other to come back and try to claim that there was past money owed.

Now, realistically, there was past money due on the part of my ex. So we put a clause in another part of the agreement where he agreed to pay that amount, we put what it was for and that kind of detail. Which I will talk about at a future point.

What to do with Evidence on a Computer

Have evidence on your computer? Stop doing anything on the computer and immediately call someone official who will know how to document it. You can start by talking to your lawyer about what the evidence is and if they have a suggestion of what to do with it. 

Or you could also call a computer investigator. Like a Forensic Computer Specialist. 

Your situation is entirely unique to you and I can not and would not give advice. This is just my personal experience.

I had evidence on my computer that was very important to my case. I called someone who investigates computers, they came and got the computer and then searched it. Afterwards they gave me a report of what they found and they sealed up my computer. 

Why would they seal it up? To show that no one had touched it since the investigator. 

This was super annoying. And I was not thrilled to suddenly have my computer non-usable. But, hey, that's evidence.

The specialist also said that he could make a copy of anything I needed on the computer. He had the ability to copy the whole hard drive if needed. 

But I was told that evidence is more usable if you can limit the number of people who's custody it has been in. If you can track and limit who had access to the evidence it will help. If you can prove that they evidence has not been accessed, all the better.

How to address the Judge or Commissioner from the table

Before you go to court, ask your attorney what to do if the Commissioner or Judge speaks to you directly. In the courthouse I go to for hearings there are little signs on the desks that ask you to stand when addressing the Commissioner.

There have been a couple of times when the Commissioner has addressed me directly and I am so nervous that I answer before I realize that I didn't stand up!

So, before you go in, talk to your attorney about what to do if you are called on.

Of course if you are representing yourself and going to stand at the podium, then that is an entirely different thing.

I am just talking about if you are sitting by your attorney and the Commissioner turns to you and asks you a question.

But, I have seen other people asked questions in the middle of a hearing and they are sitting back in their chair, lounging. Then they hmm and haw, not acting like they really care. Which does not seem very professional.

When I talk, I try to get straight to the point and speak clearly. But, that's just me.

Ask your attorney so that when the time comes you aren't blindsided and know how to calmly respond.

Prepare for the worst

It is a depressing subject, but an important one. If you were to die, what would still need to be done in your divorce case or for your kids, etc.

Are there important facts that someone else would need to argue? I'm not talking about deciding who gets the toaster oven, but arguing other volatile issues. If there is something important that wouldn't change once you died and would need to be argued.

Do you have a will or a life insurance policy that could protect your kids? Who would take care of them if you passed?

These are all things you need to think about and prepare for. What could you do now to prepare for the worst?

Final Divorce Agreement 3 : Transportation

One thing we covered in our final agreement was who was in charge of transportation. Who picks up the child, who drops off the child, etc.

What we agreed on, and what I believe is pretty standard, is that the receiving parent picks the child up.  So, at the beginning of my ex's parent time visit he is in charge of coming to get the child. At the end when the visit is over, I am in charge of coming to pick up the child.

And you'd better be on time! Don't be late, and don't even be too early. Be respectful of the other parent's time. If you realize that traffic was light and you are way too early, go on a drive or something. This is just my personal opinion, and not a legal opinion.

Then, we also included where we pick up the child. At the residence or mutually agreed upon location. Now, realistically, I am pretty accommodating on this part. My ex has asked me to come pick her up from other locations once in a while and so far those have worked out.

There are tons of different transportation arrangements out there. Some pick up from the curb or from a different location all together, if one party is supervised then the terms of the supervision will affect the pickup. Etc. Etc. Etc.