STRATEGIC EMAILS

An Innovative & Valuable Approach to
Gathering Evidence in Disputed Divorce & Custody Cases

The Challenge of Coping with an Unreasonable, Angry & Vindictive Spouse

Disputed or contested divorce and custody cases present numerous challenge to clients and their attorneys. One important variable in all of these cases is an unreasonable, angry and often vindictive spouse whose idea of fairness generally means having everything done his or her way.

Divorcing an unreasonable spouse is no easy feat. When dealing with this type of an individual not only is a client faced with a contested divorce and/or custody case but more important he or she can expect that the proceedings will be stalled or frustrated using various legal mechanisms. Some of the tactics used in these cases include an onslaught of court motions accompanied by sworn affidavits providing false or misleading information. Remarkably, in spite of the litigious nature of the unreasonable, angry and vindictive spouse, he or she adamantly maintains efforst to be cooperative and be reasonable, yet at the same time it is he or she that is being victimized by the other spouse.

In these cases it is quite common for children to be a focal point of the dispute - often for the purpose of leveraging an inequitable settlement in favor of the unreasonable spouse. This type of tactic is used to trade assets and financial support for access to the children. Thus, twisting facts or making absurd false allegations are common occurrences when children are involve. In fact, this can almost always be counted on. In essence, these people are relentless in their efforts to meet their own needs without regard to others including their on chilren

The unreasonable spouse - be it a husband or wife - is very manipulative and quite adept at convincing the court about their genuine concerns for their children. Since courts tend to err on the side of caution when children are involved, allegations about any potential risk that the other spouse poses, are usually taken seriously. Often this translate into suspended or limited visitation for the "targeted" parent. Once allegations are made and the court responds by taking steps to "protect" the children by limiting a parent's access, it becomes an uphill battle to undo what has been set in motion. This scenario presents a huge problem to most divorce attorneys since the onus is on the attorney to prove that what is being alleged did not happen. This poses a much greater challenge than having to prove that something did happen. In these types of situations, divorce attorneys can use all the help they can get.

It is Not Enough To Know that Something is True
You MUST Be Able to PROVE It

Strategic Emails Offer Incredible Possibilities for Gathering Evidence

In order to make a case, divorce attorneys need "evidence" to support their legal position and arguments. Legal evidence comes in several forms including eye witness accounts, documentation and expert testimony. One common problem in challenging divorce and custody cases is knowing something without being able to prove it. In these situations, the "strategic" use of emails can be of great assistance in evidence gathering. Strategic emails have the potential of turning a weak case that lacks evidence into a strong case that has hard evidence.

The Benefits of Strategic Emails

The growth of the Internet as well as the widespread use of email make strategic email an excellent tool for gathering evidence, even when dealing with an unreasonable spouse. Its around the clock accessibility lends itself to prompt responses that are often made hastily and impulsively especially by an angry and vindictive spouse. Email also has the potential to create a stream of communication in a relatively short time that would otherwise take days or weeks to generate.

Why are Strategic Emails
an Ideal Medium for Gathering USEABLE Evidence?

Strategic emails are admissible as evidence in court because they are verifiable.
Strategic emails are specifically written to elicit a desired response and information from the other party.
Since an unreasonable spouse rarely misses any opportunity to attack the other spouse, they easily and predictably fall into traps set by strategic emails.
Strategic emails are also specifically worded to maintain the sender's integrity ensuring that their remarks are viewed in a most positive light.
Strategic emails are individually drafted and tailored to the specific needs of the client and the circumstances of their case.
Strategic emails are effective due to their immediate and ongoing accessibility as well as their ability to generate considerable documentation in a relatively short period of time.
Due to strategic emails' often provocative content, a prompt and impulsive response from the recipient can often be generated.
Strategic emails' ability to gather valuable evidence promptly and succinctly is both cost and time effective.

Using Strategic Emails

STEP #1

The first step in generating effective strategic emails is for your divorce consultant to gain a clear and complete understanding of your case. This generally involves one or two telephone consultations with the client and very often, one consultation will include the client's attorney as well. During these consultations relevant history and issues pertaining to the case are discussed. By the end of the consultations, clear goals for the use of strategic emails are established and a plan of action evolves. Additionally, if there has already been email correspondence between the spouses, it is important that the divorce consultant has an opportunity to review what is in existence. The purpose of doing so is to establish their tone and content and thus ensure that subsequent emails do not stray too much in style as to raise the suspicion from the other spouse.

STEP #2

Once the preliminary work is complete, then the divorce consultant begins the process of coaching the client about what to include in their strategic emails. The emails are then carefully edited to insure that both the content and tone are correct. Once responses from the other spouse are received, they are reviewed and further strategic emails are drafted based on the model just described.

The format of strategic emails are generally kept very brief - usually four to ten sentences. Keeping the strategic emails brief, also keeps them focused. It also ensures that the recipient does not misunderstand their intent or content. Longer emails tend to result in issues being selectively ignored. It is also worth noting that even if a spouse fails to respond to the email or does not address the issues being raised, this too consitutes "evidence" - for example, evidence of uncooperativeness. Finally, and most importantly, any email drafted by a divorce consultant always keeps one important thing in mind: Although directed toward the other spouse, the strategic emails' audience is the court or anyone associated with the divorce proceedings such as attorneys, GALs, mediators or custody evaluators.