“I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”
– Mark Twain

There is nothing like a divorce to provoke anxiety in a person. Much of what I do as a divorce lawyer in Clearwater, Florida, is convincing individuals that they have nothing to worry about.

Here in Florida, we are beset by storms and, on occasion, hurricanes. If you ever watch a tree being twisted by gusting winds, you have the picture. Our emotions are like the leaves and the branches. If enough wind force is applied, this part of the tree will fly all over the place.

A problem occurs when we are under stress. At these times we can lose sight of the fact that we are more than our emotions. In fact, we are also the trunk and the roots. We are connected to this life by our communities, our families and our friends. The law provides a stable foundation we can trust.

There is a saying that lawyers repeat to each other: In criminal cases you see bad people on their best behavior; in divorce cases, you see good people on their worst behavior. Like many sayings, there is some truth in this. If your spouse has done something really bad, do not compound the problem by doing something equally bad. Rather, be comforted by the fact that once a divorce petition is filed, each party and each attorney is under the microscope. If your spouse has drained the accounts, ran up the credit cards, or refused you access to your children, these are not actions that will be rewarded when the judge hears about them. And remember this also: this too shall pass.

by Patrick Gaffney

by Patrick Gaffney