Runaway Friends
Fair-weather friends will discard you during your break-up. If your friendship is based upon status and position and your break-up deprive you of a part of that status and position, when you are discarded by such a friend, be assured that they were never your friend to begin with. As a Family Law Lawyer in Tom’s River, I’ve seen and dealt with it all in these kinds of situations.
Some friends will abandon you during a break-up because of their own fears and unwillingness to suffer along with you. Some will suffer through their own mourning process. Those friends will have to mourn the loss of your relationship in their own way and will come back to you when you least expect it.
Court Friends
Many exes bring friends and family to the courthouse. If the friend is a new romantic interest, do not do it. In addition to inflaming an already emotional situation, new boyfriends and girlfriends can serve no other purpose than to start a fight with your ex, your ex’s family, irritate your lawyer, motivate your ex’s lawyer, and have an adverse impact upon the judge’s view of you, your credibility, and, ultimately, the judge’s decision-making.
If mutual friends go to court for moral support, that should be made clear to the other person. It is not so hard for a mutual friend or family member who has had a relationship with the couple to go to court with one, say hello to the other, and state, “I am only here to help.” Otherwise, the ex that does not have moral supporters will assume that he/she is being subject to a gang-up, will become more defensive, and assume that a conspiracy is afoot.
The less emotions, the better.