Anyone wishing to file for divorce in the State of Rhode Island must fill out a financial form known as the "Statements of Assets and Liabilities" otherwise known as the DR-6 Form.
Quite some time ago I wrote about this form to assist people in understanding it, because it was less than clear what the form was intended for, what it was actually used for, and to try to eliminate to at least a small degree some of the mystery surrounding the confusing Rhode Island DR-6 form.
In October of 2011, Rhode Island's DR-6 Statement of Assets and Liabilities form was completely overhauled and a new DR-6 form is now required. The previous DR-6 form consisted of the front and back side of a single page.
The new and improved DR-6 form is now nine (9) pages long and has been created in the form of an Excel spreadsheet which is available for download from the Rhode Island Family Court's website.
The new DR-6 is substantially more extensive and requests more specific information about virtually every form of asset, debt, income, expense and investment.
Whether Rhode Island's new Statement of Assets and Liabilities is actually an improvement is an issue that remains up for debate. However, in the very least the form requires a substantial amount of disclosure from all plaintiffs and to the extent the DR-6 filing is enforced by the court, a subsequent disclosure to the same extent by a defendant.
As with its predecessor form, there are no specific instructions for the completion of the Rhode Island Family Court's new DR-6 form. Though the detailed nature of the form might suggest that it is no longer confusing. You might change your mind though once you try to fill one out on your own.
The confusion lies in the fact that it is entirely possible for an item of income to also just as easily fit into a subcategory of asset. The same concept applies to a debt item which might also fit into a category or subcategory of liabilities. Common sense would seem to indicate that inclusion of the same item in both the debt section and the liability section would create a double entry and that the form's creators would have no reason to create a form which duplicates information.
The conclusion that can be drawn from this is that the form's creators only intended you to include any item which might fall under both areas into one of the areas.
So what is the confusion, right? Which area should it be included in? Should you include the item in the first section that seems appropriate and leave it out from the second section that applies? Or should you do it in the reverse order and wait until you come to see if you come to a second section that might apply and place it there?
One would think that there would be appropriate direction for this question. I tried to use common sense and my analytical mind to determine the best category and/or section that should be selected when working with various debt items. I found that even if I wanted to discern the best category and/or section to put an item in, I found that numerous items applied equally well to two categories and/or sections on the DR-6 form. I found, in the course of analyzing the form with actual information that there were even three semi-common items in many divorce financial structures that might fit equally well into three (3) sections of the DR-6 form.
So I made inquiry to one member of the committee that created the form about this problem. I was told to just put it in one of the spots. So I inquired further as to whether instructions were going to be created for Rhode Island's new DR-6 Statement of Assets and Liabilities Form. Unfortunately, no instructions are anticipated for the form to assist either attorneys or the general public.
Regrettably, this article may raise more questions than it actually answers. Yet, if anything, it will confirm for you that you are not the only one with concerns about this form and the confusion it creates for attorneys and the general public as well.
If you look closely at the form, there is one thing I am thankful I can clear up for you. If the intention of the form is to provide calculations for the parties and the Rhode Island Family Court that are reliable, then you cannot merely put an item in one category or section of the form and leave it at that. The fact is that the form makes numerous calculations when used in its original Excel format.
If an item is not included in the category or section that the form creators "intended" on this new DR-6 form, then the resulting calculations performed by the DR-6 spreadsheet will be incorrect. One number might be overly inflated while another might be understated.
It would only take two or three items placed in an "unintended" category or section to substantially throw off the resulting calculations in the spreadsheet. Depending upon how the parties and/or the family court judge relies upon or interprets the DR-6 calculations, this confusion created by the new DR-6 form could prevent settlement between the parties or mislead the court unintentionally into believing the finances of one party are different than they actually are.
Rhode Island's new and improved DR-6 Statement of Assets and Liabilities is more detailed and extensive than ever and has positive possibilities toward resolving family law cases, yet without instructions for this new form, the confusion nevertheless remains.









One Reason Rhode Island Divorce Lawyers Bill Against Retainers Provided by Divorce Clients?
Rhode Island Divorce lawyers have strayed away from being good-hearted and accepting payment arrangements and smaller retainers from divorce clients.
Why?
Well, one reason is far from greed. This story explains one major reason why most Rhode Island divorce lawyers bill against retainers and more and more are asking for larger retainers.
* * Attorney Goodheart's Story * *
Attorney Natalie Goodheart was an experienced Rhode Island divorce lawyer. When Clementine D. Vorce called Attorney Goodheart and explained her story, Attorney Goodheart was appaulled and entered into an agreement to represent Clementine for roughly a 40% reduced hourly rate.
Attorney Natalie Goodheart was true to her name and didn't hold Clementine strictly to their written fee arrangement. Instead, Attorney Goodheart focused on Clementine's needs rather than her own pocket and wasn't sending her a bill every other week despite the mounting hours because Clementine's needs were more important.
It was not your typical case. Sydney had filed suit claiming that he and Clementine were married. Clementine's position was that she wasn't married to Sydney. Yet Attorney Goodheart believed that Clementine was correct when it clearly appeared that Sydney simply was angry the relationship was over and wanted part of Clementine's assets despite his failure to contribute substantially to those assets during their relationship.
Unfortunately this particular Rhode Island divorce case became more difficult as it continued. This was not due to Clementine but due to Sydney wanting more and more from Clementine's assets.
Attorney Goodheart's work hours started mounting up on the case so from time to time she was forced to ask Clementine for a payment against all the hours that hours she was working.
Still, the Rhode Island Divorce attorney kept working for Clementine sometimes without asking for a payment for months despite the increasing hours.
Finally, Sydney forced the Rhode Island divorce to a trial. Attorney Goodheart warned Clementine that a Rhode Island divorce trial would be costly to prepare for and undergo and could cost between $10,000 and $20,000.
Attorney Goodheart and Clementine had already made several offers to resolve the issues present in the case but they were rejected. Clementine was understandably fed up. Clementine informed Attorney Goodheart that she would rather pay her to fight through the Rhode Island divorce trial than to make even one more offer to resolve the case.
Attorney Goodheart prepared extensively for the trial and unlike many cases this was a common law marriage allegation so in the end there would be a winner.
When the dust cleared Attorney Goodheart had won for Clementine. The Rhode Island Judge found there was no marriage and denied and dismissed Sydney's claims.
Attorney Goodheart's prepared the final bill for her representation at the reduced amount of 60% of her normal fee. In addition, she decided to offer to write off another $4,000 if Clementine paid the bill in full in 30 days.
Clementine's response was not the positive one Attorney Goodheart expected, especially in light of their "win" at trial.
Clementine offered to pay Attorney Goodheart 40% of the entire bill as payment in full. Attorney Goodheart was upset by her client's inability to realize what she was already offering yet she agreed to meet Clementine halfway by writing off approximately 50% of her bill.
Attorney Goodheart was astounded by the response. Clementine once again offered Attorney Goodheart the same offer after picking apart the Rhode Island Divorce attorney's performance during the case and the trial and clearly indicating that Attorney Goodhearts services were only worth 40% of the entire bill.
In the end, Attorney Goodheart decided that she wasn't about to let that much work go unpaid. A Notice of Appeal to the Rhode Island Supreme Court was filed and Attorney Goodheart terminated the attorney/client relationship and gave notice that she intended to collect on the entire debt.
This is on reason why Rhode Island Divorce lawyers bill against retainers and are more and more being less "Good-hearted" and requiring higher retainers.
There are many people who don't pay their divorce lawyers for the good work they do, even when their fees are reduced and the divorce lawyers agree to take a big hit on their fees.
Several Rhode Island attorneys who had the tendency to be "good-hearted" have shared with me that being "good-hearted" just landed them 3 times more clients that don't pay them than the ones that do and their receivables were huge. These attorneys lost several times more money than they make without the ability at tax time to reclaim any of their unpaid hours which may be lost forever.
Many RI divorce lawyers have learned that being good-hearted often leads to bankruptcy because the lawyer needs to be paid and good intentions of clients don't pay very many bills.
The fact is, many lawyers are not fat cats with condos, summer homes, boats, planes, large bank accounts, etc..... Some attorneys make much less than clients simply because clients won't pay a good-hearted attorney's bill.
Clients who don't pay their divorce attorneys cause a circular pattern which increases fees and causes rates and retainers to rise.
Perhaps derrogatory jokes about lawyers should end and jokes are more appropriate for the deadbeat clients who cause the polycentric problem of higher retainers and rates that attorneys need to charge to survive.
Yet for those of us who retain an optimistic hope, we are willing to work for a reasonable legal fee for clients who will actually pay our bills.
Authored By:
Christopher A. Pearsall, Attorney-at-Law
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Note: If this article contains a case scenario with names, dates or amounts, any resemblance any connection to any person or situation now or previously existing is purely accidental, unintentional, and is merely a mistaken creation in the mind of the reader.
* The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all attorneys in the general practice of law. The court does not license or certify any lawyer as an expert or specialist in any particular field of practice.
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Posted by Attorney Christopher A. Pearsall on May 06, 2011 at 07:18 AM in Affordable Legal Advice, Attorney Morality & Integrity, Billing Issues, Client Complaints, Commentaries, Common Law Marriage, Divorce & Affordable Help, Divorce & Assets, Divorce & Attorneys Fees, Divorce & Marriage, Divorce & Questions, Divorce & Trials, Divorce Attorney Fees & Costs, Divorce Costs & Expenses, Divorce Court, Divorce Hearings and Trials, Divorce Lawyers, Divorce Lawyers & Practice Philosophies, Divorce Settlements, Hourly Rates, Retainers, RI Common Law Divorces, RI Common Law Marriage | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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