Journaling through Divorce
Jeff J. Horn – Divorce Lawyer
Journaling through divorce can be beneficial for high–achieving individuals, but there are pitfalls and it may be discoverable. Here are your top tips and benefits for journaling through divorce. Assume your journal will be read by others and use some restraint. Make sure it is directed by your divorce lawyer and is protected by attorney–client privilege. Consider using electronic or handwritten journaling and log expenses with receipts. Additionally, gather lawyer information in one spot during your lawyer search.
Is it a good idea?
Journaling is popular among high-achieving individuals. Translation – journaling through divorce may have many benefits. However, journaling and litigation has pitfalls. Journal through your divorce – yes. But, be careful. Here are your top tips.
Journaling through Divorce – Discovery
Of course, Discovery is the nasty process of gathering every document under the sun. Oftentimes, litigants simply exchanged the same documents. Discovery can be quite silly. However, your Journal may be discoverable. To the contrary, protections exist.
Political junkies will remember Joshua Steiner they young Clinton administration aide who kept a diary.
“Steiner came into national news as a result of the Whitewater investigations where he testified before Congress on the contacts between the Treasury and the Clinton White House. He testified before the Senate Banking Committee on August 2, 1994.” Fortunately, none of my divorce clients have been compelled to testify before the United States Senate.
Journal through your divorce as directed by your lawyer.
If directed by your divorce lawyer, the Journal may be protected by attorney-client privilege.
Tip: Assume your Journal will be read by others. accordingly, use some restraint. The unrestrained expressions of anger including bordering on violence should be omitted. If absolutely essential for your sanity, write them down on a scrap of paper and then shred that piece of paper.
Tip: Journaling through divorce can be handwritten or electronic. For example you can speak your journal to a recording device. Or, you may hand write it on a traditional old-fashioned Journal.
Benefits of journaling through divorce
- 1. Organizing your feelings helps you make less emotional decisions. The written form is ideal for such an exercise.
- 2. tend to be completed when they are written down. Journal your actions and celebrate when a task is completed.
- 3. journaling through divorce may include tracking parenting activities. Frequently, litigants fight for more parenting time. once obtained, the fighter never shows up 4 parenting time. Logging bees failures in the journal can be quite useful in a custody in parenting time case.
- 4. Help your family law attorney. Obviously your family law attorney has many cases. Fortunately, you have only one at a time. Journaling will help you help your divorce lawyer.
- 5. Looking Back – Usually, getting divorced is worse than being divorced. You have a big future ahead. Oddly, looking back on the hard times in your divorce will remind you of how far you have come.
- 6. Logging expenses – Unfortunately, you may have to chase your ex-spouse for money. Expenses for uncovered medical bills, childcare and extracurricular activities. Some ex-spouse’s are great at paying. Puzzlingly, bitter ex spouses use these expenses as leverage to exercise their continuing anger. Log these expenses with the receipts. fortunately, Family Court judges know how to deal with these matters. the organized litigant gets an order for expense reimbursement. your log may be a key here.
You may want to begin the process of journaling through divorce during your lawyer search. Commonly, clients will reach out to multiple lawyers. Best practices dictates collecting the name, telephone number and electronic communication means with your potential divorce lawyer. Wisely, gather that information in one spot.
Shock Proof Divorce by Jeff J. Horn
Photo by Mathilde Langevin on Unsplash