If you have recently been in a divorce court, or perhaps are about to be involved in one, you will undoubtedly have to make an Offer in Compromise, which will be your statement to the judge, stating what you will do to save your marriage. But what if you are unable to offer in compromise?
Before you know it, you may even be offered a divorce by the other spouse. You may not have thought of how this will affect you and your family until you hear all the horror stories. And you may even feel that you have no choice but to accept their offer.
The good thing is that you have some options. Your first option is to ask for a change of venue. If the other spouse agrees, this may be the way to go. Even if you still have custody of the children, they can live with you. They would be able to see the children as often as you want them to.
Another option is to offer to pay for at least part of the child’s care. This means that you would have to take on the responsibilities that will come with raising the children. You may need to work two jobs and maybe even get a part-time job. This is another case where the judge may look at your Offer in Compromise worksheet and decide that it may not be worth your children’s well being.
It may also be a good idea to seek legal advice, especially if you are not sure what the judge will order you to do. The judge can rule that you have tried everything else and can now afford to pay some of the expenses that you will need to be responsible for, such as child support payments.
If you feel that you have exhausted all of your options, you can ask for a postponement of the date for the hearing. This can be an alternative to the court proceeding if you are feeling emotionally unstable, or if the other spouse is not willing to give up all of the power that they have over your life. The postponement can be requested for a few days or for a few weeks. So don’t wait too long, and see if you can convince the other spouse that it might be a better idea to delay the hearing for a while before resuming proceedings.
You may want to consider the courts to be a good place to get some counseling. If you have children, they will benefit from you getting professional help with your problems, and you may also find that the experience that you gain by speaking to a professional about the issues facing you will help you to see where your problem is.
Don’t give up. You can still get through this process and try again and be happy again.
Even if you do have a court order for support, the court may make it easier for you to pay your own expenses, instead of having to go to court and have the judge order you to come up with some money. If you are still working full-time at a job you are not happy with, it is possible to set up a monthly budget, so that you will know how much you can afford each month.
You need to keep in mind that there are no guarantees here. Your financial circumstances are different than the judge is.
No matter what, you should go to the court and see what you can do to provide your children with financial assistance. Even if you have to use the court process to obtain the money, it can sometimes work out for you.
