Massachusetts High Conflict Divorce Lawyers

A divorce is often an emotionally taxing process for the whole family, even when both spouses amicably agree to the dissolution of the marriage. However, when you are at odds with your spouse, a divorce can quickly turn into a nightmare. It is crucial that you retain our skilled Massachusetts high-conflict divorce lawyers at O’Connor Family Law to protect your rights if you are facing a contentious end to your marriage.

Because we have over 35 combined years of exclusive family law experience, we know how to handle difficult situations such as these. Our dedicated divorce attorneys can zealously advocate on your behalf at each stage of your case and help you manage all aspects of your marriage dissolution when you are going through a high conflict divorce.

What Are The Characteristics Of A High Conflict Divorce?

There are a variety of characteristics that may indicate a contentious divorce is on the horizon. For instance, a history of financial, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse typically results in a high conflict divorce. Threats, attempts to mortify the other spouse, or one parent trying to turn their children against the other are all common characteristics of a highly disputed divorce as well. High conflict divorces also may arise in circumstances where one or both of the divorcing parties have substantial assets that they do not want to share.

These types of cases often have each party seeking very different outcomes, which can be hard to find middle ground to allow the case to settle. When it comes to children, one parent may believe that they should have sole legal and sole physical custody while the other parent wants joint legal and physical custody. This type of situation is not uncommon, yet it usually leads with both parties being able to talk through their issues and concerns and come up with a way that both parties’ needs and concerns are being addressed. With a high conflict situation, that type of negotiation is not often possible. Perhaps one person is willing to lie about the other, or one person is lying about his or her situation, or neither party can talk to one another without the conversation ending in a blow-out argument. Complexity and the inability to work together leads to high conflict cases.

Additionally, the claimed basis of why a couple is getting a divorce also may result in higher conflict during the divorce proceedings. For instance, if a couple filed for a fault-based divorce, this may lead to more contention as there may be allegations of substance abuse or inappropriate conduct. If a divorce is taking place because one of the spouse’s cheated on the other, that usually leads to higher conflict, as it can be difficult for the spouse who was cheated on to move forward with the divorce emotionally.

If you are preparing to file for divorce in a high conflict situation, you should contact our Massachusetts high-conflict divorce lawyers immediately, as we mainly focus our practice on these types of cases.

Why Should You Hire an Attorney to Handle Your High Conflict Divorce?

If you are facing a high conflict divorce or custody dispute, you need an attorney who not only is skilled in negotiations that do not simply allow you to bend over and have to agree to all of the other side’s demands, but is also willing and extremely capable to walk into court and argue your case before the judge if your issues remain in contention. You need both a great negotiator and a great litigator. That’s what the attorneys at O’Connor Family Law pride ourselves on.

If there is an unequal balance of power between you and your ex, you need someone who can stand up for you, who can be your voice, and who can advise you when it is smart to continue fighting against or agree to what the other side is seeking. Because of the emotional-side of going through a divorce, it can be very difficult to negotiate and litigate on your own. If someone is the partner who always has given in in the past, it’s important to have someone who will break this trend for you. If you’ve been accused of being aggressive, it’s important to have someone else who can fight for you rather than you doing it yourself and coming across wrong.

Most people also do not have the time to spend learning the ins and outs of the divorce process. What may seem straightforward at this time could have potential negative long-term effects. For example, we’ve seen people agree to asset divisions that they later regret and want to change, but because an asset division is almost always final and cannot be modified, there’s nothing that can be done. The person leaves our office deeply regretting that they gave up as much as they did because they did not understand the long-term consequence of what they entered. We’ve seen very similar things with agreements surrounding the parenting plans they enter in relation to their children.

Our experienced divorce lawyers in Massachusetts can provide dedicated legal representation and support throughout high conflict proceedings. Our attorneys can utilize effective strategies tailored to your case that helps resolve each point of contention. Our extraordinary team also can alleviate some of the stress imposed by a high conflict divorce and help protect you from an aggressive or threatening spouse.