File for Divorce: One Parent's Perspective for Winning Over the Courts in Custody Cases

By Michael Mason

All divorces, civilian or military, are equally painful. Author Michael Mason, a veteran of the United States Army, went through a divorce and custody dispute for his young child. His painful experience thoroughly covers various issues and provides insightful answers based on his personal experience. This book provides an alternative, unique, aggressive and detailed approach to today’s many uncertainties surrounding divorces in order to help readers navigate a divorce case and maintaining custody of your child(ren).

The book emphasizes the importance of documenting every aspect of your deteriorating relationship from the beginning to the end. From choosing a divorce lawyer to to utilizing a private investigator, Mr. Mason’s battle tested advice in dealing with a divorce is refreshing.

Almost 30,000 military marriages resulted in divorces in 2011 according to a USA Today report quoting Pentagon data. Military couples face a variety of challenges stemming from constant deployments. Despite various work-shops and marriage counseling to improve marriages, the divorce rate in the military has steadily increased over the last ten years.

This book is not intended to encourage divorce but to help win a divorce once you are inevitably in it. Just like war, divorce must be avoided at all cost. But, when it happens, one must win. If you are dealing with the stress of a deteriorating relationship, child’s welfare, unknown legal procedures, you might want to take a look at Mr. Mason’s advice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Mason
• Release date: May 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781480095502

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

I hope that you will find this book helpful in dealing with your divorce. While the methods outlined here worked for me and achieved my objectives, including winning custody of my son, I hope you can take the information contained in pertinent sections and apply them to your individual situation. I know that this is a difficult time for everyone in your family, but you must always remember to do what is best for everyone. I understand you may have an undying love for your children, but in all honesty, you should ask yourself the question, Whom would they be better off with? Another question to ask yourself is do you really want to take on the burden of being a single parent and alienating your soon-to-be former spouse? These are all issues that you need to consider before taking that first step in finding the appropriate custodian for your children.

The number one thing you need to do if you are serious about getting a divorce is to begin the process as soon as possible and file the necessary paperwork. Filing divorce paperwork does not by itself mean you will get divorced, but it is a good insurance policy just in case. Also, if you file first, then you have the first say in court, which carries a lot of weight. It is always best for your situation if you take the initiative.

What if this is just your standard fell out of love divorce? This book will still help you. While my own divorce stemmed from infidelity, this book will still help you no matter what your reason for divorcing, and though some sections may not apply to your situation, many will. Focus on the important things, such as adequate preparation and searching for the right attorney. Use this information to your advantage.

Again, I wish you the best of luck and I hope you will find useful information throughout this book to help you in your divorce process. I believe that if you are adequately prepared, you should have a reasonable chance of succeeding. Please have not only an open mind, but an open checkbook as well. Can you really put a price on the future of your children’s happiness?

MY BACKGROUND

Before I begin my instruction on the processes of divorce and custody, I’d like to share my background and story with you. The names of the people and dates in this book have been changed to protect their privacy.

My overall view of divorce is that I’m on the fence. My parents have been married for more than thirty years and I was the first person in my immediate family to be divorced, so it was not an easy road. Unfortunately, hard work didn’t help me in avoiding a divorce. No matter how much I wished for it to work out in the best interest of my son, it simply did not.

I grew up and spent most of my life in the southwestern United States. I came from a blue-collar family, with my father and my mother both working to support our family. Since high school, I have excelled both in and out of the classroom. Many leadership opportunities came to me from a young age, and my high academic standards granted me numerous opportunities beyond high school. I was very active during my high school years playing varsity sports year-round and participating in an array of other activities. These successes were a cornerstone of my life. High school was an essential time for living and learning. These life lessons pushed me forward and resurfaced during the toughest parts of my life, including my divorce. During the divorce process, I reached out to old friends and teachers for advice and guidance and leaned on them in the most difficult times.

I had numerous opportunities to attend various colleges and universities. I believe in a strong family life, which I have always had. So I wanted to attend a college that was close enough to my home so I could maintain that closeness. I decided to major in engineering. I also thought that this degree would help me in my military career as well as once I left the service. As an undergraduate, I was involved in numerous extracurricular activities and held part-time jobs while maintaining a respectable GPA. All of this laid the groundwork for the future and helped to ensure my success in my divorce process. How? you may ask. I believe that being able to balance life’s activities at a fast pace while still achieving the desired results helped me get through the divorce, which was one of the toughest points of my life. I knew certain things to look out for and ways to keep myself out of the spotlight. These lessons, although small at the time, surely paid their dividends in the end.

Once I finished college I was commissioned an officer into the US Army. I first went through an