by Ryan McKeen
Before leaving work on Friday, I read an article in the Law Tribune about the horrible Tyler divorce. The article asks the question what can be done to prevent this from happening again?
This question haunted me this weekend.
All divorce is stressful. The amount of loss one suffers in a divorce is significant. Lost are a spouse, a way of life, friends, time with children, possibly a home, money, and dreams. There’s no way around it.
Most divorces are civil. There’s always dispute and hurt feelings. But most cases resolve by agreement in fairly short order. Though, often not short enough for the parties.
But then there are cases like the Tyler divorce. Horrible in every way.
The problem is I’m not sure what can be done differently.
The easy answer is early intervention using a blend of counseling and mediation. Those are always good ideas.
The problem is that crazy doesn’t negotiate. Counseling and mediation in the hands of a disturbed person becomes another tool to harass and intimidate.
I’m at a troubling point in my thinking about this issue. Right now, I don’t think there is a solution. That troubles me greatly.
From where I sit, perhaps the best thing our courts can do is to expedite the process. I think the longer the proceeding the more stressful it becomes for a party to a divorce.
I think anything that policy makers can do to streamline the process of divorce is a step in the right direction in reducing the amount of conflict in any divorce. Of course, policy makers must balance speed with the rights of litigants and that’s hard to do.