Divorce Saloon offers an interesting top 10 of how a gentleman should act during divorce:
1. Don’t call your soon to be ex-wife and her (female) lawyer by choice names.
2. If you are a public figure, refuse to air dirty laundry and speak about your wife’s private parts (Roseann Barr’s ex Tom Arnold, for example, made some references to her privates that very much were ungentlemanly, to say the least).
3. Don’t respond to violence from your spouse or with violence to your spouse.
4. Gentlemen can curse, but don’t go Mel Gibson.
5. About the money…..I mean, even if you were the one to physically earn it, when you got married it stopped being “yours” and became a joint asset. So stop name-calling and marginalizing the contributions your wife made to the marriage partnership. That is not to say she should take you to the cleaners (that’s not very ladylike) but you can’t just do a Monty Python. That’s uncouth.
6. If there is a prenup, and it was a fairly executed agreement, it’s okay to hold your own and insist that the agreement is enforced. But if you know it was unfair on its face, you should negotiate in good faith with your wife to settle the matter.
7. Provide for your children post-divorce. You shouldn’t have to get sued for child support. It should be your honor as a man to provide for your own children.
8. Don’t hide assets. Everybody knows your money-head is bigger than your wife’s and that you can run circles around her where money is concerned. But taking advantage of your “superior understanding” of money makes you a miscreant. Be honest and above-board.
9. Refrain from sleeping with your wife’s BFF just to spite her.
10. It’s perfectly acceptable to get yourself a “classy” bachelor pad after the whole thing is done, and to entertain new “chicks” there; just don’t expose the kids to your “bimbos” just to drive the ex wife crazy. Exercise discretion. Don’t be Charlie Sheen.
If you have questions regarding divorce and wish to set a consultation with a divorce lawyer in Tampa Bay, contact The Law Firm of Adam B. Cordover, P.A., at (813) 443-0615 or by filling out our contact form.
About Adam B. Cordover, Attorney-at-Law
Family Diplomacy is dedicated to helping clients restructure their families privately and respectfully. We practice exclusively in out-of-court dispute resolution, with a focus on collaborative divorce and family law, mediation, direct negotiations, and unbundled legal services.
We maintain this out-of-court practice because we strongly believe that family disputes should be resolved in a private conference room, not in a hostile and public courtroom environment. This unique perspective on family law stems back to Adam B. Cordover’s experience studying International Affairs in Washington, D.C., and abroad. Adam had the rare opportunity to work closely with ambassadors and diplomats from war-torn regions around the world. He traveled around the globe, learning from diplomatic leaders as they applied dispute resolution techniques to tackle seemingly impossible conflicts. It dawned on him: If these techniques can work in the complex world of International Relations, why not Domestic Relations and Family Law?
This realization lead Adam to create an exclusively out-of-court practice and to bring a more peacemaking approach to family law. In his previous role as a litigation attorney, Adam witnessed parties experience the negative emotional and financial effects that long, drawn out divorce battles can have on families. As a result, Adam has become a strong proponent of the Collaborative Process, where a structure is put in place so that life’s hardest moments do not have to be any more difficult than necessary.
A thought leader in the international collaborative law community, Adam successfully spearheaded an effort of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit to draft an administrative order safeguarding the principles of collaborative family law (just the fourth such administrative order in Florida). Adam has been featured in or interviewed about collaborative practice by the Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Business Journal, Florida Bar News, NBC, Fox 13, Bay News 9, ABC Action News, The World of Collaborative Practice Magazine, and Spirit FM 90.5. Adam regularly speaks at professional and civic organizations locally and internationally regarding the collaborative process.
Adam B. Cordover is president of Next Generation Divorce, a 501(c)(3) and Florida’s largest interdisciplinary collaborative practice group with member attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial professionals throughout Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Sarasota, and Manatee Counties. Adam is also on the Executive Board and co-chair of the Research Committee of the Collaborative Family Law Council of Florida. Further, Adam is a graduate of the inaugural class of the Leadership Academy of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.
You can learn more about us and our services at www.FamilyDiplomacy.com.
Attorney Adam B. Cordover is admitted to the Florida Bar and the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida. His office is located at 412 East Madison Street, Suite 824, Tampa, Florida 33602.
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