At one end of the divorce spectrum are couples who can agree their marriage is over, file for divorce, and quickly agree on all the details without a single hearing in court, while at the other are those couples who are at each other’s throats and cannot even agree that the marriage is over, much less on any other details. The average couple is in the middle, with their divorce taking a little time and perhaps a few hearings. However, the ones at each other’s throats may find themselves in multiple heated courtroom battles and arguing over the details for months or even years. Expert witnesses may reduce the number of arguments and clarify the facts in a high-conflict divorce, allowing these couples to keep their divorce proceedings moving along. At King Law Offices, our experienced North Carolina and South Carolina divorce attorneys may be able to assist you with determining whether you need an expert witness, which one you may need, and locating such witnesses. Call (888) 748-KING to schedule a consultation and learn more about the potential benefits of working with an expert witness during a contentious divorce.
What Is an Expert Witness?
When people typically think of witnesses in court, they think of someone who has seen or heard something relevant to the case. When they think of expert witnesses, the mind often immediately conjures images and thoughts of a criminal trial. However, an expert witness can be critical in a high-conflict divorce.
An expert witness is someone who has specialized education, knowledge, training, and experience in a particular subject beyond that of an average person. They can explain information about this topic with more depth and understanding than others, providing insights and context that can assist in making decisions. Expert witnesses can also go beyond giving factual information and provide their opinion on the topic.
Why Would You Use Expert Witnesses in High-Conflict Divorce?
Many divorces do not require an expert witness. However, in divorces with significant wealth or conflict, expert witnesses can smooth out the divorce process and provide information that assists both the divorcing parties and the court in making decisions regarding matters such as property division, child custody, or child or spousal support.
Takes Emotion Out of the Conflict
In a high-conflict divorce, conflict is frequently not just a disagreement about the facts. These conflicts are frequently highly emotional, with each person feeling strongly that they are right or the outcome they want is what is best. However, despite how right someone may feel emotionally, feelings cannot be used to make the legal decisions required in a divorce.
An expert witness removes the emotion from the conflict. They have no stake in the outcome, so they can offer facts and an impartial opinion. This can be particularly helpful in matters such as child custody, where emotion can cause parents to forget facts and focus purely on emotion. An expert witness, such as a child custody evaluator or child psychologist, can interview both parents and the children and offer a professional, educated opinion that they can back up with facts.
Provides Knowledge the Spouses May Not Have
Expert witnesses have extensive knowledge of the topics they study. While individuals may also have substantial knowledge of a topic, their knowledge is often still limited. Additionally, if they are involved in a high-conflict divorce, they may keep some of that knowledge from their spouse, particularly when the knowledge is regarding an asset they hope to keep. An expert witness can be used to help a less-knowledgeable spouse better understand the topic, inform the court about the topic, and in some cases, prove that the more-knowledgeable spouse was withholding relevant information.
Unbiased Facts and Opinions Reduce Arguments and Speed Decision-Making
When divorcing couples are emotionally invested and have significant conflict, they may begin to blend emotion, fact, and opinion into one. This can raise the conflict level and make it more difficult for the couple to agree, which can lead to more hearings and longer divorce proceedings.
The unbiased facts and opinions of an expert witness can reduce these arguments and speed decision-making. The information provided by expert witnesses can provide common ground, or a starting point, for the divorcing couple to begin fresh negotiations, without the emotionally-colored opinions and facts they were using before. The expert witness’s information can also provide the court with clear and concise information that allows a judge to make an informed decision when the couple cannot.
Common Expert Witnesses in High-Conflict Divorces
There are many expert witnesses that could be beneficial in high-conflict divorces, but there are a few that are more common than others. These experts are called in frequently to assist with matters such as property division, child custody, or child or spousal support. If you believe your divorce could benefit from calling one or more expert witnesses, you may want to speak with a North Carolina divorce attorney at King Law Offices to learn more about finding the witnesses you need and how they may help your case.
Forensic Accoutants
Forensic accountants are often brought into high-net-worth divorces, and often, those are also high-conflict divorces. Forensic accountants can address matters such as business valuation or complicated stock portfolios that need to be valued to determine how to split them between the spouses or what other assets may have a similar value. Forensic accounts also uncover financial information that affects property division, such as hidden assets or unusual financial transactions that may indicate misuse or wasting or marital assets, such as gambling, substance abuse, or selling property below market value.
Custody Evaluators
When couples who share children divorce, they must determine custody of the children. Parents love their children and want what is best for them, but when they are splitting up, they often do not agree on what is best. In some cases, one parent may have a valid argument that the other parent is not fit to have custody, such as when there is a substance abuse issue or domestic violence toward the children. In others, both parents simply believe they are the better parent and more suited to have custody.
Custody evaluators are a neutral third party who can evaluate both households and offer the court an opinion on which home may be better for the children. This can be particularly beneficial in cases where both parents are determined to have custody but neither parent is unfit. Custody evaluators will consider how each parent speaks to and of the other parent, the children’s developmental stages, how well each parent can provide for the children’s needs, parenting skills, ability to co-parent, and overall home environment. They will also consider the children’s wishes and observe how the child interacts with each parent.
Real Estate Appraisors
Real estate appraisers look at any properties the divorcing couple owns and values them to determine a fair sale amount. This is beneficial for ensuring that the couple does not settle for less than a property is worth in favor of a quick sale, as well as ensuring that neither spouse can mislead or manipulate the other into believing the property is worth less. Real estate appraisals are also useful if one spouse will be buying out the other spouse’s ownership.
Other Appraisors
Many couples own jewelry, motor vehicles, boats, artwork, and other assets that are high value. Upon deciding to divorce, these assets must be equitably distributed between the spouses. Whether the spouses sort this out between them, use mediation, or rely on the court to divide their assets, appraisals that make clear the value of those assets are critical. In particular, assets that often appreciate over time such as artwork, jewelry, wine, or collectibles may need to be appraised to ensure that they are valued at their current value and not the price that the couple paid when the asset was purchased.
Vocation Evaluator
Vocation evaluators are not incredibly common, but depending on the sources of the conflict, they can be necessary. Vocation evaluators gather information about a spouse’s education, training, income, and other career details to determine how much earning potential they have. These expert witnesses can be vital in cases where the party who will be paying child or spousal support is unemployed or underemployed to ensure that the amount of support ordered is neither too little nor too much.
Tax Professionals
Divorce has a lot of tax implications for both parties. Tax professionals can assist by ensuring that both parties understand the tax consequences of asset transfers before and after the finalization of the divorce settlement. This can be crucial because many individuals are focused on getting valuable assets (often with specific plans in regard to keeping, using, or selling them), but they do not necessarily realize the way some assets may affect their taxes. Tax professionals can also offer guidance regarding tax filing decisions in the post-divorce years.
Child Psychologists
Child psychologists are not necessary in every divorce, or even every high-conflict divorce. However, in cases where there may be abuse or neglect, or when the parents are determined that each of them is the only fit parent, a child psychologist can be useful. They can interview the parents and the child, observe interactions between them, and meet with others in their lives, such as neighbors, teachers, and relatives to learn more about the family. The child psychologist can then use this information to offer an assessment regarding custody or whether the child has been abused or neglected.
Clinical Psychologists
Clinical psychologists may be helpful if one spouse may have mental health concerns, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or if there are concerns regarding domestic abuse or violence. Clinical psychologists can offer observations and assessments regarding whether one parent is more fit for custody than the other and evaluating family dynamics and communication patterns to identify potential areas of conflict in the future. In high-conflict divorces, these identifications of potential future conflict can be very useful to assist the court in creating custody or other orders that may reduce this potential conflict before it begins.
Medical Doctors
Medical doctors may be called as expert witnesses in high-conflict divorces involving allegations of domestic abuse or when one party has disabilities or health issues that impact their ability to work and provide financial support. Doctors can establish that injuries are relevant to the case, explain how those injuries occurred, and testify regarding the degree of cruelty a spouse suffered at the hands of their spouse in cases with domestic violence allegations. They can establish that one party has an ongoing disability or health condition that interferes with working and explain how it interferes. They may also provide testimony regarding how one spouse’s conduct impacted the other spouse’s physical or psychological health and offer an opinion about whether a child may be better off with one parent instead of the other. In many cases, these expert witnesses are doctors who have personally treated one or more members of the family, rather than hired experts. However, in some instances, they may be a hired expert offering their advice and opinion based on the facts presented to them.
Do You Need an Expert Witness for Your Divorce?
Even in a high-conflict divorce, it is not legally required to hire an expert witness. However, NCGS 8C-1, Rule 706 allows the North Carolina court to appoint expert witnesses both on its own and as requested by the parties. South Carolina Court Rule 702 provides that if an expert witness can help a trier of fact understand the evidence or determine a fact in issue, they may testify. Beyond whether they are legally allowed or required, there are instances where individuals may want to speak with their attorney about whether an expert witness could benefit their case.
An expert witness can give an individual’s argument validity. With the expansive knowledge and information an expert witness has, they can provide additional facts and explain how those facts back the individual’s argument. Additionally, an expert witness may be able to assist the individual in getting the settlement, custody arrangement, or other aspect of the divorce they are seeking. By backing up the validity of their argument, establishing facts and details, and explaining why the settlement or custody arrangement is the right choice in this particular case, they may persuade the court to agree with the individual.
Other Strategies to Manage a High-Conflict Divorce
While expert witnesses can assist with managing a high-conflict divorce by reducing conflict with facts and information, there are other ways that individuals can manage a stressful divorce with significant conflict. While individuals may not opt to implement all of these strategies, they should consider each one carefully and choose the ones they feel will be most beneficial.
Ask for Temporary Orders
During a divorce, one or both spouses can request temporary court orders that create strict boundaries and apply specific actions until the divorce is final. Requesting such orders can result in temporary child support, child custody, or spousal support orders. These orders can also place limits on the use of marital property or designate who can live in the marital home. Temporary orders may also address other issues, but individuals may wish to consult with an attorney to learn more about what they can legally request.
Seek Legal Representation
Neither North Carolina nor South Carolina requires individuals to hire an attorney when they are getting divorced. Appearing pro se, or representing one’s own self, is legal, but not necessarily recommended. An attorney may be able to assist in interpreting and understanding state divorce laws, negotiating property division or child custody, gathering evidence to prove domestic abuse or child neglect, or other matters that may arise during a divorce.
Establish Boundaries
Temporary court orders can establish some boundaries, but individuals also may need to establish some boundaries on their own. Individuals may need to establish boundaries such as refusing to acknowledge texts from their spouse after a certain time of day, not discussing high-conflict issues (such as dating or child custody), or disengaging from interactions that become too emotional and heated. An attorney or a counselor may be able to assist individuals with determining what kind of boundaries to set and how to enforce them.
Cooperate in Problem-Solving
One of the key identifiers of high-conflict divorces is the conflict, of course. However, even when there is significant conflict and a couple struggles to find common ground to agree on, it is crucial to participate in problem-solving as much as possible. Cooperating in problem-solving does not mean giving in and allowing the other spouse to have what they want, nor does it mean finding solutions to every problem. Cooperation in problem-solving simply means not deliberately taking a stance that is opposite the other person’s and not taking other actions that intentionally cause disagreement. Individuals should be willing to hear and open to consider suggestions from the other party, even if they ultimately decide they disagree.
Do Not Broadcast Your Divorce
Divorce is stressful, and high-conflict divorces can be even more stressful. Many people believe that venting this stress to others helps relieve it. While this may be temporarily true, it can create more stress. When people vent, they may exaggerate the other person’s actions or words, or they may acknowledge actions or words of their own that do not paint them in the best light. The friends, neighbors, co-workers, or others that they vent to can be called to testify about what was said, however. If an individual needs to vent, they may want to consider venting to their attorney or a therapist who has a confidential relationship with them and cannot be compelled to testify about what they have said.
Consider Mediation
In high-conflict divorces, both spouses can become so entrenched in their position that they cannot hear what the other is saying. They may have common ground, but are unable to realize it because they are both so determined to have their own way. Mediation can be a valuable strategy for finding agreements. The mediator, a neutral third party, can listen to both sides and find the common ground that both parties are missing. This can give them a starting point to settle their emotions and begin reaching agreements.
Maintain Open Communication
While it may be necessary to set boundaries around communication, such as not responding to communication from the spouse after a certain time of day, it is also necessary to maintain open communication with the spouse and their attorney. Completely ignoring the spouse or their attorney can create bigger problems, including possibly being held in contempt of court or having a default judgment issued. A default judgment would mean that whatever the spouse requested is granted.
Individuals may even want to consider communicating by email or text so there is a written record of these communications. This not only helps show that the individual is keeping the lines of communication open, but also proves what is or is not said so there cannot be any confusion or doubt.
Follow All Court Orders
Strict adherence to court orders is critical. Even if the individual does not agree with the order, violating it can lead to being held in contempt of court or new orders that go against what the individual wants. Individuals should keep records of compliance with these orders to show a willingness to cooperate. If they disagree with an order, they should discuss their options with their attorney while continuing to comply with the order.
Keep Your Expectations in Check
After filing for divorce, many individuals might like to imagine that their spouse will suddenly change for the better. They may fantasize that their spouse will instantly become reasonable, with new insights into how badly they have behaved in the past, and try to make amends by being more agreeable going forward. Unfortunately, this rarely happens, and it is better that individuals be more realistic in their expectations.
Take Care of Yourself and Your Needs
Self-care can be difficult during such a stressful time. However, if individuals do not take care of themselves properly, they could find that they do not get the outcomes they want in the divorce. Individuals should ensure they maintain a healthy diet and exercise, get plenty of sleep, prioritize physical and mental health, and lean on friends and family for emotional support.
How an Experienced Divorce Attorney May Benefit You
Divorces often have conflict, but high-conflict divorces have much more conflict than the average divorce. Expert witnesses may reduce the amount of conflict by taking emotion out of the conflict, presenting facts and unbiased opinions, and offering assessments based on those facts and opinions. This may allow the couple to find common ground and make agreements, and if they cannot, may provide the court with clarity and insight that allows the court to make decisions for the couple. An experienced North Carolina or South Carolina divorce attorney with King Law Offices may be able to assist you with finding an expert witness, negotiating with your spouse, understanding the legal implications of different decisions, and understanding how state divorce laws apply to your case. Call (888) 748-KING to schedule a consultation and review your case for more personalized information and guidance.