Public Service Announcement: Naming a Cockroach After Your Ex-Spouse Is Tacky

Spring takes on a whole new dimension when you are recently divorced or separated from your spouse.  You might want to shower your family and friends with love and appreciation, ask your crush out on a date now that you are single, or just stay home and eat candy that has not tasted this good since you were a teenager.  It is also possible that you simply want to let season go by without a single acknowledgement of its cultural association with love and romance.  Whatever you do, however, do not make a public spectacle of your enmity toward your ex-spouse.  That means no passive aggressive posts on social media about your ex’s new main squeeze, and if you opt for a backyard bonfire where you burn all the pictures of you and your ex together and the outfit you wore on your first date, at least do it when your children are not present to witness it.  And don’t even think about participating in the Chicago Brookfield Zoo’s promotions where you name a hissing cockroach after your ex.  A Birmingham divorce lawyer can help you get through your divorce, but it is up to you to behave like an adult, even when your ex-spouse is not behaving like one.

Over-the-Top Expressions of Enmity Toward Your Ex Will Not Endear You to the Divorce Court

The law does not require couples to have an amicable divorce.  Most couples are able to agree on property division and parenting time during mediation, but if you cannot, then a judge will decide at trial.  From a legal perspective, divorce is no one’s fault; it is simply the legal dissolution of a partnership.  Only if one spouse engages in egregious misbehavior does the court punish him or her by denying his or her requests with regard to property division or parenting schedules.

In the former case, Alabama law considers it marital misconduct if you intentionally conceal or alienate assets so that they will not count as marital property, of which the court can award a share to your spouse.  As for co-parenting, the court will reward you for encouraging your children to have a harmonious and stable relationship with your ex-spouse.  By contrast, the court will hold it against you if you say negative things about your ex to your children or post hostile, threatening, or defamatory content about your ex-spouse online.  Trying not to show your children your anger about your anger about your divorce is one of the hardest parts of getting divorced, but it means that you will have to hiss about your ex privately to your friends, at least until your children are grown up.

Contact Peeples Law About Keeping a Stiff Upper Lip About Your Creepy Ex

A Birmingham family law attorney can listen as you tell her your true feelings about your divorce, and then focus on practical solutions for rebuilding your life with your children.  Contact Peeples Law today to schedule a consultation.

Source:

npr.org/2023/02/04/1154434132/opinion-no-a-cockroach-does-not-deserve-to-be-named-after-your-ex