Lonely Hearts Meet
Viewing comments for Chapter 31 "Part one, Chapter 10"Anna and her son escape from a man-made Hell.
84 total reviews
Comment from NaughtieScribe
You are so making me miss Project Runway. I keep saying just one more chapter, which leads to one more chapter. I mean it this time, just one more chapter and I'm done for the nite. Seriously, just one more.
reply by the author on 04-Aug-2012
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You are so making me miss Project Runway. I keep saying just one more chapter, which leads to one more chapter. I mean it this time, just one more chapter and I'm done for the nite. Seriously, just one more.
Comment Written 02-Aug-2012
reply by the author on 04-Aug-2012
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Thank you.
Comment from Gungalo
I had missed this one so I came back to see. Lord she in for a long haul, eh? Divorce is never pleasant and has many ramifications.
reply by the author on 22-Oct-2011
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I had missed this one so I came back to see. Lord she in for a long haul, eh? Divorce is never pleasant and has many ramifications.
Comment Written 22-Oct-2011
reply by the author on 22-Oct-2011
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Anna's problems are just really geting started.
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Oh boy!!
Comment from Roberta Joan Jensen
"I did[,] and so did Judge Parker. Mrs. Rodgers yelling that you were lying didn't help him either. All it did was get her removed from the courtroom. --- A lawyer would never say just "room."
"We wait. The judge will make the decision." --- felonies are heard before a jury so they'd be waiting for the jury to come back with a verdict.
"Do you think Bobby will spend more time in jail?"
"I do. He violated the restraining order by threatening you. The judge won't ignore his arrest. He could spend up to six months in jail and two years on probation." He grinned. "I have a feeling some anger management classes and maybe alcohol rehab might be in the cards." --- Felonies always have a sentence of more than a year. Anything less than a year is a misdemeanor.
Since the abuse to Michael by his bruises, the medical neglect by refusing to get his medicine and then destroying it, the endangering of Michael's health by refusing to get the medicine and then destroying it, are all part of the same facts, they would all be heard in Anna's case. With her broken bones and all the blood, I doubt if he'd get anything less than four years, maybe more because they take child abuse very seriously. Because he violated the terms of his release while awaiting trial by getting drunk, wrecking the bar, and breaking another man's arm, this would all be used at his sentencing as aggravation. that means that he'd get no time off but have to serve his complete sentence, and there'd be no parole.
"Will this help me retain custody of Michael?" --- it isn't a question of "retaining" custody, it's a question fo getting custody during the divorce trial, and that is going to be over long before he gets out of prison.
"I know I keep harping on this[,] but make sure you don't give Mrs. Rodgers a reason to accuse you of adultery. She's hired a PI and is searching for all the dirt she can dig up on you." --- In Arizona, once the divorce is filed and the parties are living apart, the court does not care when she lives with another man or not. Arizona is a "no-dfault" divorce state, which means the only ground for divorce is that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Grounds such as adultery, abandonment, mental cruelty have been outlawed since 1973. You need to check on the grounds for divorce in Texas because it's probably the same. Goggle "grounds for divorce in Texas." Further, since they don't care about adultery in getting the divorce, they don't care about adultery in custody either. Courts just don't care about people living with someone other than the spouse any more because it's done all the time. The only time the cort cares about a parent's sexual habits is if it affects the children somehow--like making them watch.
"According to Mr. Young, today." --- It's odd that Mr. Young is tell Paul all these things. Normally, a lawyer won't disclose to the other side that he's hired a detective until after he gets the report back. If he plans to use it, he has to disclose it. If he's not going to use it, he never discloses it. Since Eric told Paul, it sounds like he has no intension of using it, and Mrs. Rodgers can't do anything with it on her own.
Before Paul returned[,] the bailiff opened the door and told everyone the judge had made his decision.
"Yes, but I wish Bobby had a longer jail sentence. Did I hear right? Does our divorce trial begin Monday?" --- this makes it sound like the criminal judge just set the divorce trial. It doesn't happen that way. The criminal bench and the family law bench are entriely separate, with completely different judges, unless they live in some small twon of maybe a thousand people, and then the courthouse would probably in a bigger town since it's in the county seat. After one of the attorneys files the motion to set and certificate of readiness, in a month, the court sends out a trial notice. this gives the parties at least 60 days notice of the trial date. About 20 days before trial, they have to file their pre-trial statements. Two weeks before trial, they have a settlement conference before a settlement conference judge who is usually another family law lawyer. There is no way they're going to find out at the last minute when the divorce trial is.
"That's correct. I had hoped for six months in jail, but three will give us time to make sure he understands he needs to stay away. The court-ordered anger management and alcohol classes should help. Remember he has two years of probation. If he messes up, he'll end up back in jail." --- This is totally unrealistic. any experienced lawyer knows that three months in jail is not going to do a thing for Bobby, except make him angrier, and the anger management and alcohol classes aren't going to do anything.
He glanced at Anna [and] then at Troy. "From now on, you need to do everything
"Young's on our side, I think. Mrs. Rodgers will be the problem, but I think we'll be all right. --- Young avoids Mrs. Rodgers from being a problem by simply not calling her to the stand to testify. Since she's going to lie on the stand about Bobby, it's unethical for Eric to have her testify. By having her listed on the Pre-Trial Statement as a potential witness, he can tell the judge at the beginning of the trial that she's going to be one of the witnesses. The courtroom clerk swears in everyone who's going to be a witness and the judge orders them out of the courtroom and that they are not allowed to talk to anyone about the case except the attorneys.
Further, the p.I. can't start today. The Trial Notice gives them a date by which all discovery must be in. It's usually about 30 days before trial. No more evidence can be produced after that, so it's too late.
Also, since Bobby is going to jail, even the way you now have it written, custody is no longer an issue. No judge is going to give him custody when he has to spend time in jail and won't be around to take care of Michael. With him having 2 years of probation with anger and alcohol classes afterward, the best he can get is supervised visitation when he comes out.
If Bobby won't let Eric agree that Anna will get custody and Bobby supervised visitation when he gets out, the judge will tell him at the trial that custody is not an issue.
So, the issues are child support, and property and debt division.
Support is based on income so it's pretty cut and dried.
Projperty is settled because Anna has everything she wants.
There's been no discussion of debts, but they're probably pretty easy to settle.
If they each agree to pay their own attorneys' fees, there's nothing left to fight about and the case is over.
At the beginning of the trial, the attorneys can tell the judge that they think they can settle. He'll let them have as much time as they need to go to a conference room in the courthouse to try to work out whatever they don't agree on. Once they agree to everything, they decide who will prepare the Decree and child support orders. usually Paul would prepare the Decree, but Eric might prepare the support order because he has all of Bobby's info that needs to go intot he order.
They then go back tot he courtroom, Paul would read their agreement intot he record. The judge would give them probably 30 days to prepare the paperwork to submit to him for signature.
If they review each other's orders and sign it, they then give it to the judge who will usually sign it within a day or so.
If the attorneys won't sign the orders, they each give their orders tot he judge. If they mail tot he other, they have two weeks to file any objections to the way it was prepared that they might have. If no objections, the judge will then sign it.
If objections, the judge can order corrections made, hold a hearing to decide on anything important, or rule by Minute Entry how it's going to be, and then sign it.
They are then divorced!
Well! I am finally caught up. I've been so busy trying to catch up that I haven't taken the time to read any replies you might have made to my reviews. So I hope all my information hasn't upset you too much. I knowthat if you use anything I've told you, it'll require a considerable rewrite. Most people today have been divorced and know hwo it works. Many, many people have been involve in similar domestic violence situations and know how they work. Most people have watched all those CSI shows and are pretty educated about forensics. So, if you want it to be realistic ...
Roberta
reply by the author on 17-Sep-2011
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"I did[,] and so did Judge Parker. Mrs. Rodgers yelling that you were lying didn't help him either. All it did was get her removed from the courtroom. --- A lawyer would never say just "room."
"We wait. The judge will make the decision." --- felonies are heard before a jury so they'd be waiting for the jury to come back with a verdict.
"Do you think Bobby will spend more time in jail?"
"I do. He violated the restraining order by threatening you. The judge won't ignore his arrest. He could spend up to six months in jail and two years on probation." He grinned. "I have a feeling some anger management classes and maybe alcohol rehab might be in the cards." --- Felonies always have a sentence of more than a year. Anything less than a year is a misdemeanor.
Since the abuse to Michael by his bruises, the medical neglect by refusing to get his medicine and then destroying it, the endangering of Michael's health by refusing to get the medicine and then destroying it, are all part of the same facts, they would all be heard in Anna's case. With her broken bones and all the blood, I doubt if he'd get anything less than four years, maybe more because they take child abuse very seriously. Because he violated the terms of his release while awaiting trial by getting drunk, wrecking the bar, and breaking another man's arm, this would all be used at his sentencing as aggravation. that means that he'd get no time off but have to serve his complete sentence, and there'd be no parole.
"Will this help me retain custody of Michael?" --- it isn't a question of "retaining" custody, it's a question fo getting custody during the divorce trial, and that is going to be over long before he gets out of prison.
"I know I keep harping on this[,] but make sure you don't give Mrs. Rodgers a reason to accuse you of adultery. She's hired a PI and is searching for all the dirt she can dig up on you." --- In Arizona, once the divorce is filed and the parties are living apart, the court does not care when she lives with another man or not. Arizona is a "no-dfault" divorce state, which means the only ground for divorce is that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Grounds such as adultery, abandonment, mental cruelty have been outlawed since 1973. You need to check on the grounds for divorce in Texas because it's probably the same. Goggle "grounds for divorce in Texas." Further, since they don't care about adultery in getting the divorce, they don't care about adultery in custody either. Courts just don't care about people living with someone other than the spouse any more because it's done all the time. The only time the cort cares about a parent's sexual habits is if it affects the children somehow--like making them watch.
"According to Mr. Young, today." --- It's odd that Mr. Young is tell Paul all these things. Normally, a lawyer won't disclose to the other side that he's hired a detective until after he gets the report back. If he plans to use it, he has to disclose it. If he's not going to use it, he never discloses it. Since Eric told Paul, it sounds like he has no intension of using it, and Mrs. Rodgers can't do anything with it on her own.
Before Paul returned[,] the bailiff opened the door and told everyone the judge had made his decision.
"Yes, but I wish Bobby had a longer jail sentence. Did I hear right? Does our divorce trial begin Monday?" --- this makes it sound like the criminal judge just set the divorce trial. It doesn't happen that way. The criminal bench and the family law bench are entriely separate, with completely different judges, unless they live in some small twon of maybe a thousand people, and then the courthouse would probably in a bigger town since it's in the county seat. After one of the attorneys files the motion to set and certificate of readiness, in a month, the court sends out a trial notice. this gives the parties at least 60 days notice of the trial date. About 20 days before trial, they have to file their pre-trial statements. Two weeks before trial, they have a settlement conference before a settlement conference judge who is usually another family law lawyer. There is no way they're going to find out at the last minute when the divorce trial is.
"That's correct. I had hoped for six months in jail, but three will give us time to make sure he understands he needs to stay away. The court-ordered anger management and alcohol classes should help. Remember he has two years of probation. If he messes up, he'll end up back in jail." --- This is totally unrealistic. any experienced lawyer knows that three months in jail is not going to do a thing for Bobby, except make him angrier, and the anger management and alcohol classes aren't going to do anything.
He glanced at Anna [and] then at Troy. "From now on, you need to do everything
"Young's on our side, I think. Mrs. Rodgers will be the problem, but I think we'll be all right. --- Young avoids Mrs. Rodgers from being a problem by simply not calling her to the stand to testify. Since she's going to lie on the stand about Bobby, it's unethical for Eric to have her testify. By having her listed on the Pre-Trial Statement as a potential witness, he can tell the judge at the beginning of the trial that she's going to be one of the witnesses. The courtroom clerk swears in everyone who's going to be a witness and the judge orders them out of the courtroom and that they are not allowed to talk to anyone about the case except the attorneys.
Further, the p.I. can't start today. The Trial Notice gives them a date by which all discovery must be in. It's usually about 30 days before trial. No more evidence can be produced after that, so it's too late.
Also, since Bobby is going to jail, even the way you now have it written, custody is no longer an issue. No judge is going to give him custody when he has to spend time in jail and won't be around to take care of Michael. With him having 2 years of probation with anger and alcohol classes afterward, the best he can get is supervised visitation when he comes out.
If Bobby won't let Eric agree that Anna will get custody and Bobby supervised visitation when he gets out, the judge will tell him at the trial that custody is not an issue.
So, the issues are child support, and property and debt division.
Support is based on income so it's pretty cut and dried.
Projperty is settled because Anna has everything she wants.
There's been no discussion of debts, but they're probably pretty easy to settle.
If they each agree to pay their own attorneys' fees, there's nothing left to fight about and the case is over.
At the beginning of the trial, the attorneys can tell the judge that they think they can settle. He'll let them have as much time as they need to go to a conference room in the courthouse to try to work out whatever they don't agree on. Once they agree to everything, they decide who will prepare the Decree and child support orders. usually Paul would prepare the Decree, but Eric might prepare the support order because he has all of Bobby's info that needs to go intot he order.
They then go back tot he courtroom, Paul would read their agreement intot he record. The judge would give them probably 30 days to prepare the paperwork to submit to him for signature.
If they review each other's orders and sign it, they then give it to the judge who will usually sign it within a day or so.
If the attorneys won't sign the orders, they each give their orders tot he judge. If they mail tot he other, they have two weeks to file any objections to the way it was prepared that they might have. If no objections, the judge will then sign it.
If objections, the judge can order corrections made, hold a hearing to decide on anything important, or rule by Minute Entry how it's going to be, and then sign it.
They are then divorced!
Well! I am finally caught up. I've been so busy trying to catch up that I haven't taken the time to read any replies you might have made to my reviews. So I hope all my information hasn't upset you too much. I knowthat if you use anything I've told you, it'll require a considerable rewrite. Most people today have been divorced and know hwo it works. Many, many people have been involve in similar domestic violence situations and know how they work. Most people have watched all those CSI shows and are pretty educated about forensics. So, if you want it to be realistic ...
Roberta
Comment Written 17-Sep-2011
reply by the author on 17-Sep-2011
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Thank you again.
Comment from Rafaqat Bano
Hi
good story ...about the problems who had to go to court to solve some serious matter and the tention they have to face .....subject is striong ....and ...it seams the real stroy of the characaters moving around ...it is connected with the other chapters .......it is good work....and it is interesting ...thanks for sharing your work with the readers....excellelnt
reply by the author on 15-Sep-2011
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Hi
good story ...about the problems who had to go to court to solve some serious matter and the tention they have to face .....subject is striong ....and ...it seams the real stroy of the characaters moving around ...it is connected with the other chapters .......it is good work....and it is interesting ...thanks for sharing your work with the readers....excellelnt
Comment Written 15-Sep-2011
reply by the author on 15-Sep-2011
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Thank youi for the kind review.
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Thank you for your kind review.
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Thank you for your kind review.
Comment from HPicasso
A very interesting subject and another great and excellent chapter.. I think you did a very powerful and strong written with such a force of passiłn.. Great work my friend.. thanks for sharing..
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2011
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A very interesting subject and another great and excellent chapter.. I think you did a very powerful and strong written with such a force of passiłn.. Great work my friend.. thanks for sharing..
Comment Written 14-Sep-2011
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2011
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Thank you for your kind review.
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Thank you for your kind review.
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Thank you for your kind review.
Comment from dejohnsrld (Debbie)
I agree with you that focusing on the divorce trial is more important, but would have liked just a bit more on this trial, not a lot, just a summary type paragraph such as
Anna reflected that night on the day's happenings, how...
Just my opinion!!! Debbie
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2011
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I agree with you that focusing on the divorce trial is more important, but would have liked just a bit more on this trial, not a lot, just a summary type paragraph such as
Anna reflected that night on the day's happenings, how...
Just my opinion!!! Debbie
Comment Written 14-Sep-2011
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2011
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I will consider it. Thank you for the kind review.
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Thank you for your kind reivew.
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Thank you for your kind reivew.
Comment from Rdfrdmom2
barbara:
I tend to agree with you about two trials, especially
when much of the testimony will be duplicated. I believe
you discussed the salient points of the issue to this
issue.
keep up the good work
thanks for sharing
love,
jan
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2011
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barbara:
I tend to agree with you about two trials, especially
when much of the testimony will be duplicated. I believe
you discussed the salient points of the issue to this
issue.
keep up the good work
thanks for sharing
love,
jan
Comment Written 14-Sep-2011
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2011
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Thank you for the kind review.
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Thank you for your kind review.
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Thank you for your kind review.
Comment from TammyGail
And yet another great chapter....
I'm always blown away with these written with such a force of passion ..... The imagery stays the same but always compelling .... Well done
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2011
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And yet another great chapter....
I'm always blown away with these written with such a force of passion ..... The imagery stays the same but always compelling .... Well done
Comment Written 14-Sep-2011
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2011
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Thank you for the kind review.
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Thank you for your kind review.
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Thank you for your kind review.
Comment from peggles
Another excellent chapter which is engrossing.
The story is moving forward
a page turner
You have selected a relevant
and thought provoking issue
well done
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2011
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Another excellent chapter which is engrossing.
The story is moving forward
a page turner
You have selected a relevant
and thought provoking issue
well done
Comment Written 14-Sep-2011
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2011
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Rhank you for the kind review.
Comment from Piggies Grandma
I enjoyed reading your story very much, Barbara. I hope everything goes well for Anna in the divorce. Her ex's mother sounds like a loud mouth.
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2011
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I enjoyed reading your story very much, Barbara. I hope everything goes well for Anna in the divorce. Her ex's mother sounds like a loud mouth.
Comment Written 14-Sep-2011
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2011
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Thank you for the kind review.