Rhode Island Divorce Tips

Do You Need Divorce Coaching or Legal Representation?  Consider this Example.

On a whimsical impulse Carrie and Jack got married in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1992 while on vacation with friends.  They remained married and living together for seven months in Rhode Island where Carried had her job and family and Jack was stationed in Newport with the military at NUSC.  

The marriage quickly deteriorated after Jack discovered that Carrie was a verbally abusive and sometimes violent alcoholic.  When Jack refused to buy Carrie alcoholic beverages of any kind, Carrie moved out.  Even though all the furnishings and other assets belonged to Jack before the two got married, Jack agreed to give Carrie everything.  Jack felt bad for Carrie and he went so far as to engage professional movers to pack up and move all the furnishings in their apartment to wherever Carried wanted them moved.  The only things Jack did not give to Carrie were the things that were provided to them by the US Military because he had no right to give them away.

Carrie left with 95% of everything and Jack kept only a few minor things that were needed for his survival in the apartment.  Jack went so far as to set up a military allotment to be deposited in an account of Carrie's choosing for half of the military pay he received each pay period.  Carrie's allotment was set up to last for an indefinite period of time.

Both Carrie and Jack were aware that as long as they remained married the military would provide Jack with an additional amount of money each pay period as long as he was classified as "married."  

Carrie and Jack each went their separate ways and verbally agreed to live their own lives under these circumstances.  Jack didn't want to hurt Carrie and realized she had a problem so he did not file for divorce.  Carrie did not seek any form of rehabilitation but she knew that if she filed for divorce she would get less money from Jack, so she never filed either.

Finally, Jack retired from the military in 2000 and the allotment to Carrie ceased pursuant to the military's own administrative guidelines.  Jack then began receiving a military pension for his 20 years of military service.

When the military allotment ceased, Carrie sought legal advice in Rhode Island where she had been living for the past 12 years and made a substantial claim for Jack's pension and other assets he had accumulated while they had been living separately.

Jack was surprised to learn that although the Rhode Island judge could certainly consider the totality of the circumstances surrounding the divorce, Rhode Island law did allow Carrie to claim that at least a portion of Jack's military pension was "marital" because it accrued while the parties were legally married and absent a Rhode Island or Federal Law which instructed the Rhode Island Family Court otherwise, the pension could be considered marital if the court made a finding that all or a portion of the pension was marital and should be equitably split between the parties as the court saw fit after trial.

Jack was not happy about the divorce proceedings.  All this time he thought he had "done the right thing" for Carrie and now she wanted even more and Jack didn't want to give more.  Jack felt he had given enough and he was willing to fight for his military pension as a non-marital asset because he had already given Carrie what amounted to more than her share.  In Jack's eyes he had already given more than he would have been ordered to give by any divorce court.

Perhaps the greatest thing to keep in mind regarding a scenario where you and your spouse separate all your assets and debts and live completely separate but you do not terminate your marriage legally is this. . . YOU ARE STILL MARRIED!

Can you answer these questions?

1.  Can Jack argue that since he and Carrie separated everything at the time they personally terminated their own marital relationship with each other that any asset accumulated after that time is non-marital?

2.  If Carrie runs up credit card debt in order to support herself during the time that she is separated from Jack, could a Rhode Island Family Court Judge find the credit card debt to be marital debt?

3.  If Carrie builds up an IRA plan during the time she is separated from but still married to Jack, does Jack have a reasonable claim to a part of that IRA plan if he didn't contribute to it?

4.  If Carrie has a child during the time she is separated from Jack and there is no name specified as the father of the child on the birth certificate, is it possible that Jack might have to pay child support for that child?

5.  Are there any federal laws which trump state law regarding any of these issues and decide the question for us so that the question(s) become a non-issue?

6.  Do you see the other eight (8) important legal questions/issues that a skilled divorce lawyer might address with you if you were either Jack or Carrie?  

If you do not see the other important legal questions/issues in this scenario, then you either need some professional RI Divorce Coaching or representation by a good Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer.

The following excerpt is a brief question and answer provided on the Rhode Island Bar Association website and previously noted at RhodeIslandDivorceTips.com as part of my expansion article series to give people a more detailed answer to the questions posed on the Rhode Island Bar Association's website regarding divorce:
 

WHAT KIND OF ISSUES WILL I DISCUSS WITH MY ATTORNEY DURING THE FIRST VISIT?

The separation of a married couple is one of the most traumatic occurrences in one's life. An attorney will address both family and emotional issues, including consideration of marriage counseling or other steps to help save the marriage; assisting you as a parent in meeting the needs of your children; and handling financial matters such as real estate and personal property. You should also be sure to discuss, and fully understand, the attorney's fee arrangement at the first meeting.

via www.rhodeislanddivorcetips.com  from  www.ribar.com

Your first meeting with your Rhode Island Divorce attorney will vary from divorce lawyer to divorce lawyer.  However, it could consist of any number of subjects relating to your divorce.  

If you haven't formally retained the divorce attorney then you should reasonably expect that your meeting will consist of discussing the following subjects:

1.  Formalizing and executing the written engagement agreement between you and your divorce attorney;

2.  Discussing the scope of the attorney/client relationship and each party's rights in that relationship;

3.  Identifying the documents you will need to provide to your attorney either a)  to file for divorce, or b) the documents needed to respond to the divorce documents that have been served upon you;

If you have already retained you divorce attorney, signed the formal agreement, and discussed the scope of the attorney/client relationship, then you should reasonably expect that your meeting with your divorce lawyer may include:

1. Providing your divorce attorney with the documents he or she has requested for your case;

2.  Discussion of the conduct of each of the parties during the course of the marriage both as to financial expenditures and contributions within the marriage and infidelities;

3.  Discussion of your assets, debts and minor children, if appropriate, and what you might be willing to settle for, assuming you are aware of all the facts;

4.  The manner in which you and your attorney choose to move forward in your divorce proceeding.
 

The following excerpt is a brief question and answer provided on the Rhode Island Bar Association website and previously noted at RhodeIslandDivorceTips.com as part of my expansion article series to give people a more detailed answer to the questions posed on the Rhode Island Bar Association's website regarding divorce:

WHAT DO I NEED FOR THE FIRST VISIT TO MY LAWYER'S OFFICE?

To expedite your case, you should take your marriage certificate, copies of your most recent tax return, a picture of your spouse, a list of your family obligations and a list of questions you have for your lawyer. In addition, you should know the address, both residence and work of your spouse, together with all family members' place and date of birth.

via www.rhodeislanddivorcetips.com quoting ribar.org

    Expanding upon the response provided by the Rhode Island Bar Association's Divorce Question, I prefer not make any assumptions.

    A prospective Rhode Island family court litigant needs to be aware that there is a difference between your first visit to a lawyer's office (meaning you have not engaged the divorce lawyer's services yet) and your first visit to your lawyer's office (meaning a lawyer who you have already engaged to represent you.)

    As a Rhode Island Divorce and Family law practitioner, I believe the answers to these questions are completely different.  

    For our purposes, the question on the Rhode Island Bar Association's website says "my lawyer" so let's address the first visit to a divorce attorney that you have already engaged to represent you in court in a divorce case in the Rhode Island Family Court system.

    What you need for your first visit to your lawyer's office will differ depending upon your lawyer's philosophy, work practice, and how he or she organizes his or her law practice.  Since divorce lawyers differ as much as one house does from the next, your first priority should be to ask your lawyer what you should bring to your first meeting.  

    If your lawyer has a secretary or paralegal that he or she works closely with, it is a good idea to find out the person's name, gender and title.  This contact is likely to be very valuable to you in the future.  In fact, even if your attorney has told you what to bring to your first meeting, it is a good idea to make a brief call to this contact person and has him or her what should be brought to the meeting to speed things up.  

    Many busy attorneys tend to focus on legal issues and may forget a document or two, in many instances a secretary or paralegal working with your divorce attorney will have more of a focus on the documents and may remember one or two that the attorney didn't mention.  This quick call to your divorce attorney's support staff could save you considerable time and money simply by having a second person tell you what documents you should bring.  Always bring what your attorney requests.  Also bring with you the documents the secretary or paralegal recommends as well.

    Personally, I have never requested the picture of the spouse and have never had need for it, even when service of process upon the spouse has been a bit more difficult.

    A certified copy of your Marriage Certificate is needed to file for divorce and you must have a DR-6 Statement of Financial Assets and Liabilities completed and signed under oath as well as a check for $100 made payable to the Rhode Island Family Court if you have not arranged for the payment of the State of Rhode Island's $100 divorce filing fee with your attorney in advance.

    A list of questions for your attorney is always advisable.  I recommend providing your Rhode Island Divorce attorney with a summary of all the assets and debts you and your wife have accumulated over the years.  

    It will help any divorce attorney immensely and save you money if you make an itemized list of each asset you and your spouse have, identify how was obtained, list who obtained it, give its approximate value and how you arrived at that value and lastly, if there are any names associated with the ownership of the item (i.e. such as names on a house deed, or names on stock certificates or a retirement plan).   

    It will also be a tremendous help to your divorce lawyer if you prepare a similar outline for each debt that has accumulated during your marriage.  For each debt it is helpful to any divorce attorney if you identify what the debt is (i.e. house mortgages, personal loans, credit cards, student loans, etc. . ) the amount of the debt, what the monies or charges were used for, when they were used and whose name is on the debt as an obligor.

    Aside from the foregoing, it is best to take direction from and follow the requests of your Rhode Island Divorce Attorney and his or her staff and always be prepared to openly express your concerns to your divorce attorney.

If I've learned anything as a lawyer after practicing Rhode Divorce daily for all these years it is this:

Do these things mean anything to you?

Option #1: You have control over settling your case.

Option #2:  You do not have control over your life to the men and women in black.

Which option sounds better to you for your Rhode Island Divorce?  Would you rather have a choice about your family and your belongings or would you rather put it in the hands of a judge who impartially considers the evidence and renders a decision?

In Rhode Island divorces, lawyers are finding that much of what they may be looking for regarding marital infidelities, finances, investments, and other crucial information is often found on the family computer.

Yet technology isn't the easiest thing to understand.  If you were to look at a computer motherboard with all its wires, diodes, slots and soldered circuits, you'd probably wonder how it does what it does.  In many respects it is like creating an engineered human brain that is designed to perform certain functions.

All in all, computers do amazing things.  Emails are sliced up into manageable units called "packets" and sent around the globe in different directions only to be reassembled at their intended destination where for the user to read.  Photos are transferred from one computer to another via peer to peer networks.  Computer programs are downloaded from internet servers where we type in words or a numeric address and within seconds we are transported to a personal or company profile or website half way around the world.  Computer programs such as Excel, Peachtree or Quicken are installed on our computer to help us maintain our finances, investments and even work with our banks to complete transactions between bank accounts.

Much of what I have described in the prior paragraph occurs through computer hard drives that contain discs spinning inside our computers in small metallic boxes at high speeds.  Based upon your computer keyboard commands and the program(s) you may be running, these drives record, save, delete, move, compress, and duplicate information.  Hard drives operate programs and store vast amounts of data of all kinds for all kinds of purposes.  These "hard drives" are currently the epicenter for all long-term data storage on your computer by virtue of magnetic impressions placed on the hard drive/disc.

These magnetic impressions may be located in a single location of the hard drive or scattered over several sectors of a hard drive disc.  The magnetic impressions are, in essence "memorized" or "tracked" by the computer to form a cohesive impression of any one piece of information.

You may have heard this before but it is worth saying again.  Nothing is ever truly deleted from a  hard drive.  Why is this and why is it important?

First, nothing is every truly deleted from a hard drive because the impression created by any given piece of data is magnetic.  Though the computer can "overwrite" a file (a peice of data) with another peice of data, it does so by creating a counter-magnetic field or a stronger magnetic field that is "more readable" by the computer in the same location as the first file's (i.e. data's) location.  The computer, in turn, essentially says. . . . hey . . . don't recognize the old magnetic impression, the user has told me (the computer) that the old information is not important anymore (i.e. the user of the computer has deleted it) thus I (the computer) can use this space for something new.

Many Rhode Island divorce lawyers will not find this fascinating or even interesting.  Yet even as boring as it may sound, it is crucial for today's divorce practitioner.  Why?  Because crucial data that could be used by or needed by your divorce lawyer may be right on that family computer's hard drive.

You see, even though you may have told your computer to delete a file, it's not really deleted.  It is actually marked as . . . hey, this area can be used for something else when it's needed.  So, the computer just doesn't recognize that the old file is there anymore.  At least it doesn't recognize it on the screen of your computer.  Yet I can assure you that it's still there and it can be recovered.

Even if your divorce lawyer needs information that you know was on the computer and the computer has said  . . . hey . . . here comes a new file . . . the user/operator of this computer told us we can use the space where finances.xls used to be.  Although the computer then writes a new file or part of a file to that same space, a magnetic impression still remains there.  Yes, it may be a little fainter but it's still there.

So what do you do about it.  Well, there are multiple levels of computer experience right now and multiple levels of technology that can help you.  This is where knowledgeable computer professionals like myself come in.  There's no real name to each level of technology professional but for the sake of this article I'll define them in levels.

First, you have your Level 1 Forensic Computer Analyst.  These guys are the real pros of the computer technology world.  They know all the technical terminology behind each and every aspect of hard drive creation, how it works, how things are saved, how things can be recovered and so on.

A Level 1 Forensic Computer Data Recovery Specialist can pull just about anything that ever existed off a hard drive if there was ever a chance of doing so and they can testify in court with a level of expertise that you would find so mind-boggling that your brain cells might actually overload from the technical information they know.  Typically they prefer to work with the original hard drive, they track each step with precision so that there is no question that the data retrieved was from the exact hard drive that has been examined and that there is no doubt that the information you have been, or will be shown is from the hard drive at issue in the court case.  Everything is meticulous and usually involves the actual technical dis-assembly of the hard drive itself to place the hard drive discs (often called "plates") in special machines in order to read the magnetic impressions with high-end technology that costs more than most people make in a lifetime.  The hard drive is examined, verified, data is retrieved and the hard drive discs are preserved for the hearing or trial.  The hard drive itself is not susceptible of being put back together again but rather remains in a disassembled state, therefore all information is backed up before the process begins so that the data the user doesn't mind you seeing is still preserved.

A Level 1 Forensic Computer Data Recovery Specialist must spend considerable time and resources to get the information you may need.   It may cost as little as $20,000 or in excess of $100,000 to get the job done without question and with qualifications that place the information without question before the divorce court as authentic.

A Level 2 Forensic Computer Data Recovery Specialist has a differing level of expertise.  This individual has the background to know the ins and outs of hard drives, computer storage, erasure, recovery and the various levels or retrieval achievable.  Usually, he or she has the knowledge and expertise to testify as an expert at trial and is capable and confident that he or she can verify the data retrieved from the computer hard drive and testify as to its reliability on the witness stand to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty such that the information is usable in a courtroom.

The Level 2 Forensic Computer Data Recovery Specialist differs in that he or she does not disassemble the hard drive itself but uses one or more methods of obtaining information from the drive without damaging the original data or disassembling the hard drive for examination by complex magnetic examination retrieval tools.  This may (or may not) involve a retrieval of the information directly from the drive by means of a recovery of only of those files containing specific information sought using direct criteria provided by the party employing the specialist to recover the data.  Usually, the Level 2 Forensic Computer Data Recovery Specialist will hook up a separate computer with advanced software and/or hard drive analysis programs or complex algorythms designed to identify magnetic impressions on the drive and restore them to their original coherent form on a brand new and never used drive containing no data whatsoever so as to prevent any confusion or issues with magnetic impressions from a prior user.

As with a Level 1 Forensic Computer Data Recovery Specialist, the Level 2 Forensic Computer Data Recovery Specialist possesses the level of knowledge, education experience and ability necessary to testify in a Rhode Island divorce matter regarding the recovered information.  A Level 2 Forensic Computer Data Recovery Specialist may prove costly and may reasonably range from $10,000 to as much as $40,000 due to his or her level of experience, the time-consuming nature of the work that needs to be performed, and the specialist's ability to testify in a professional capacity as a qualified expert before the Rhode Island family court.

A Level 3 Forensic Computer Data Recovery Specialist fills a very important gap that the other two specialists do not adequately address.  The process used by the Level 3 Forensic Computer Data Recovery Specialist provides substantial value to the client while still addressing two important factors that are important to many clients regarding more recent computer usage and/or deletions that may have taken place on the computer, these factors are . . . price and knowledge.

The Level 3 Specialist has enough knowledge and information through education and/or experience to properly create a forensic duplicate of the hard drive to be examined for the Rhode Island lawyer who has engaged him or her. 

The Level 3 Specialist has enough knowledge to allow the lawyer seeking to compel the computer to make representations to the court that nothing will be added to, removed from or otherwise modified on the original hard drive and that upon completion of the forensic copying process the hard drive will be returned to the computer owner completely intact.

This unique process for the Level 3 Specialist enables the Rhode Island lawyer to make a stronger argument for the production of the computer or simply the hard drive from the computer because the computer user suffers no prejudice except for a nominal loss of time while a forensic copy of the hard drive is being made. 

The Level 3 Specialist then has a forensic copy of the original computer hard drive, complete with all magnetic impressions literally in layers throughout the hard drive.  Using the forensic copy of the hard drive the Level 3 Specialist is able to use modern day advanced recovery programs to examine as many layers of the forensic drive capable by each software program based upon the format of the forensic drive. 

The Level 3 Specialist can then perform a complete recovery of all data files whose magnetic impressions are sufficiently intact for the data in the magnetic impression to be retrieved.  This will always be done to a new drive that is at least one and one-half to two times the size of the original forensic hard drive being examined in order to account for the recovery of countless files on varying magnetic layers of the forensic drive.  Many times the software may endeavor to identify the particular layer the magnetic impression exists on and help the forensic specialist determine by the recovery program's standards whether the file was a recent deletion or an original file from the first installation of the operating system or perhaps an upgrade overwrite of a system file.

The Level 3 Specialist's job is often times very time consuming since the creation of a forensic copy is a tedious process and the specialist may want to identify areas of damage on the drive during the copying process.  Additionally, the recovery process is extensive and requires a sector by sector analysis of the forensic copy.  The amount of time that may be expended by the specialist in the forensic copying process as well as the recovery process depends upon several variables including but not limited to, the size of the hard drive to be duplicated, the power of the computer performing the duplication process, the speed of the new hard drive accepting the forensic information, and the type of connection it has to the processing computer.

Likewise, the amount of time necessarily expended by the Level 3 Specialist in the forensic recovery process depends upon the the size of the forensic hard drive being recovered from, the processor power and memory of the computer allocated to performing the recovery process on the forensic hard drive, the acquisition speed of the new hard drive for accepting the forensic data being recovered, and the type of connection both between the forensic hard drive and the processing computer, and also the connection between the processing computer and the target recovery drive, the sophistication and number of recovery programs the Level 3 Specialist uses to recover the data, and lastly the number of layers that are recoverable from the forensic hard drive.

The drawback of a Level 3 Specialist is that he or she has the knowledge to perform the work necessary to determine whether information is readily available and to recover that readily available information, but he or she is not likely to have the knowledge or experience the court requires to testify as to the information recovered.  Thus the Level 3 Specialist is primarily for a cost effective benefit for the client perhaps as to a settlement posture or to determine whether further action should be taken but not as an expert to testify at court.

As I mentioned previously, the two beneficial needs filled by the Level 3 Computer Data Recovery Specialist are price and knowledge.  A Level 3 Specialist will cost between $2,000 and $6,000 depending upon the size of the hard drive.  The price is considerably less than either the Level 1 or Level 2 Computer Data Recovery Specialists and thus this price difference may make a Level 3 Specialist the right choice for a client who believes that information about the marriage and/or finances (or whatever you may be looking for) was on the hard drive within the last six (6) to eight (8) months.

Generally speaking, the more recently the data existed on the hard drive, the more likely it is to be recovered.

The second benefit filled by the Level 3 Computer Data Recovery Specialist is knowledge.  Sometimes a party may not know if there is anything on the computer that will be helpful to him or her, or the difficulty of recovery of information known to exist at one time on the computer. 

Ultimately, a Rhode Island divorce client may want to spend less money to have a software recovery performed to give him or her more knowledge about whether helpful information is readily retrievable before deciding to hire a higher level specialist.  It makes sense.  Why pay more for a retrieval specialist simply because he or she can testify about the findings by virtue of his or her credentials?   You may be paying only for credentials because the process is helpful to you, if and only if, information helpful to your case is actually discovered on the computer hard drive.

The Level 3 Computer Data Recovery Specialist is able to give you the knowledge as to whether there is readily obtainable information that will help your case on the computer hard drive.  While this is certainly no guarantee that the Level 3 Specialist has found all data that is possibly retrievable on the hard drive, you are able to do a cost/benefit analysis as to whether it is beneficial to you to engage a more costly specialist who will retrieve even more information and also have the ability to testify at the time of trial.

Recently a divorce colleague in Rhode Island used a forensic computer data recovery specialist who retrieved information showing that one spouse had concealed millions of dollars in marital assets from the other spouse.  A substantial portion of the information leading to the discovery was contained on the spouse's computer.  Without using a computer data recovery specialist, one spouse would have been cheated out of millions of dollars.

What is the true value of a Forensic Computer Data Recovery Specialist at any level?

Priceless ! ! !