Most divorce lawyers experience an upsurge in calls from clients after the holidays. Although the new year is just starting, it looks like 2009 will have the familiar uptick in client calls in January. For me, a number of people have called as early as November to make appointments to see me in January. It seems that many couples try to hold things together for their families for the holidays. Those who do well are able to give their family a nice holiday; others are less successful, with the knowledge that the great unknown of a divorce is looming.
What may make things more challenging this year is the economic turndown. It is not known whether the economic conditions will cause an overall increase or decrease in the divorce rate. Some couples teetering on divorce may want to "tough it out" because of their economic situation. Others may feel that the economic stress only exacerbates anxieties in their relationship. We can all hope that a silver lining of the economic downturn will be that more couples will seek out counseling before making a divorce decision, to be sure that they are truly making the best decision for themselves.
Rapidly changing asset values certainly add a wrinkle to divorce settlements. Last week, I mediated a young family's divorce settlement; the main question for them was how to best divide the debt and avoid bankruptcy. They did a good job in the mediation and made some very difficult decisions that required each to reflect on how they got to where they were. I believe we will be seeing more of those cases, especially since a large part of the economic conditions seem to have resulted from over-borrowing and an over-extension of easy credit.
In other cases, I have seen how carefully planned finances have needed to be redone based on changed conditions. For many who divorce, the most important thing is to be able to own a house or condominium. When both parties seek to own their own dwellings, all try to do more with the finite assets and income that exists. When the value of investments decrease, making an adequate down payment becomes more difficult. Tightened credit availability increases the necessity for an adequate down payment. The squeeze is easy to see. So far, there has been no bail-out on the Main Street of divorce. Yet, declining real estate values may well help these couples, although the decreases in the Seattle area have neither been as rapid nor with the dramatic swings as seen on Wall Street.
I believe that all this makes it even more important for lawyers, financial specialists, and other divorce professionals to do good work. With fewer assets with which to work, it becomes more important to try to help people efficiently and to identify the opportunities that exist. I have long believed that the role of the lawyer is to help clients by assisting with problem-solving, rather than problem-creating. To me, that includes providing information and engaging in inquiry with the client, to ensure that the client understands the impact and wisdom of his or her initial decision.
The value I try to bring top my clients is by helping and empowering them to arrive at the best solutions they can for their problems. To me, that does not mean seeking compromise from values. I view the compromise of values as an obstacle to conciliation, an enemy to resolution, and inherently disempowering. Instead, my goal is to help clients advance their highest interests by helping them truly identifying their values, needs and goals and reaching conciliation by honoring and working towards those values, needs, and goals.
On this New Year's Day, a day for new resolutions for many, it is good for me to re-commit to helping people problem-solve, make peace, and conciliate. Happy New Year.