10 Things Divorce Attorneys Won’t Say: “Go Cry Somewhere Else”

Smart Money magazine recently ran an article entitled “10 Things Divorce Attorneys Won’t Say.”  So far, I’ve covered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in previous posts. Here’s #7:
“Go cry somewhere else.”
Again, the article is wrong!  I do say this – all the time!  Well, I don’t use those words, but certainly, the meaning.

The article is correct, however, that the emotional toll of a divorce is worse than the financial.  It is also correct that “a lawyer’s isn’t the ideal shoulder to cry on.”

As a result, we usually recommend that our clients be in counseling during a divorce.  Some are reluctant, seeming to think that seeing a mental health professional might be a sign of mental illness and harm their rights to custody or placement.  This is, quite simply, not true.  Not being in counseling might hurt their chances as they don’t have an appropriate outlet for their emotional outlet and therefore might take it out on the other spouse – or worse, on the children.  Not having a counselor in divorce, if for no reason than for a reality check, is no wiser than not seeing a medical doctor for a severe illness.