Wave Listens Live Family Law Fridays July 15 2022

JOHN RAMSEY: So we all remember the day you’re standing in front of your pastor, and you say your “I dos,” and there’s nothing but romance and love in the air. But sometimes things don’t work out as you had hoped. With that being said, we’re going to talk about divorce a little bit with John Schmidt, who is a family attorney. John is also a friend of mine. And John, divorce — you know, yeah, sometimes things just don’t work out. And sometimes

JOHN SCHMIDT: Sure.

JOHN RAMSEY: — that parting of ways can be uncontested, or it can be contested, right?

JOHN SCHMIDT: That’s right. That’s right, 100 percent.

JOHN RAMSEY: Welcome back, man.

JOHN SCHMIDT: Thanks. Yeah.

JOHN RAMSEY: I always love having you on.

JOHN SCHMIDT: Well, I love being with you.

JOHN RAMSEY: So give me the difference.Contested and uncontested, what — what’s the difference in the two?

JOHN SCHMIDT: So uncontested is where both spouses agree on everything. They’ve talked about everything — and we’ll get to that in a second – and – and they want to use one lawyer to minimize the cost because, at the end of the day, you know,the legal fees are an expense to — to both spouses,right? So it comes out of the marital estate. You only have so much money. So that’s — that’s uncontested. Now, some people have called and said, “Hey, I know what I want.”

JOHN RAMSEY: I know what I want.

JOHN SCHMIDT: I know what — I know what I want.

JOHN RAMSEY: I’m — I’m not going to contest it.

JOHN SCHMIDT: Yeah, yeah. So it’s uncontested. And — and — and you know, I – that’s — that’s why it’s important to talk, and – and ask questions and — and understand what the person’s going through because — because it’s not uncontested.· It — it — it — it might end up being what happens, right? I mean, if you both agree, great. But often, the other person has something to say about it, and so — so anything other than two parties agree on everything, they’ve talked about everything, they’re in complete agreement on everything, and they want to use one lawyer — anything other than that is contested. So you can agree on everything, but you want to have another lawyer involved, that’s contested.

JOHN RAMSEY: Okay.

JOHN SCHMIDT: And the reason is, I know how much time I have to spend on an uncontested. I know how much time it takes.· But when you get another lawyer involved, understandably, they want to add value, protect their client, represent their client as best they can, and so that takes more time.· And, you know, lawyers have busy schedules, so getting in touch with them may take a little more time. And – and so it’s contested because I can’t know how much time I’m going to spend on it. So it’s contested.

JOHN RAMSEY: So the two variables that you’ve mentioned here — okay. One of them would be cost is going to be different between a contested and uncontested.

JOHN SCHMIDT: It is.

JOHN RAMSEY: But secondly is the time frame in which you can get it done, correct?

JOHN SCHMIDT: 100 percent.

JOHN RAMSEY: And that — they’re — they’re intertwined. So — so if it —

JOHN SCHMIDT: They are.

JOHN RAMSEY: — is uncontested and, for the most part, you know, 99 percent of things are taken care of, this can go pretty quickly, right?

JOHN SCHMIDT: It can. So if it’s two adults,no kids, uncontested, I — I met with somebody last week, got everything filed, taken care of, and,literally, it’s on the judge’s desk for signature because they had been separated for the required amount of time already. And separated doesn’t mean living in separate houses. It just means very quickly. I – – I’ve done it where I’ve filed it on a Monday, and they’ve been divorced on Friday. I can’t guarantee that’s the case because it’s up to the judge when they have time to see the cases, and review it, and —

JOHN RAMSEY: Right.

JOHN SCHMIDT: — sign all the paperwork, but it — it can happen really quickly in uncontested with no children. When there’s children involved,the clock doesn’t start until we file all the paperwork, including the entry of appearance for the other spouse in an uncontested. And — and then a — you got a 60-day waiting period because kids are involved. And then you come in and do the second part of the paperwork, and then it — it’s up to the judge.

JOHN RAMSEY: I see.

JOHN SCHMIDT: So, yes —

JOHN RAMSEY: I see.

JOHN SCHMIDT: — it’s a little longer, but when it’s contested, I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but I can tell you I’m solution- oriented and I’m – – I’m all about trying to find solutions for my clients and get things resolved as quickly and effectively as possible because the longer it takes, the more money it typically costs.

JOHN RAMSEY: Yeah. I — I shouldn’t laugh at someone’s misery, but you were telling me a story about someone who came in with the intention of, “I’m going to spend some money here.” So you – sometimes it gets —

JOHN SCHMIDT: Yeah.

JOHN RAMSEY: — very vindictive.· Talk — talk a little bit about that. I know — it —

JOHN SCHMIDT: It does.

JOHN RAMSEY: It’s funny, but it happens.

JOHN SCHMIDT: It does — it does — it does – it does — it does. So this wasn’t a legal client of mine, but my family owns Barber Cabinet Company out of Springfield, and my dad used to own Cox Cabinet Company out of Campbellsville. So I grew up installing cabinets, and packing that stuff in, and everything else. He’d kick the bed, say, “Get out of bed. Billy Bob didn’t show up this morning, we need you to do some work.”

JOHN RAMSEY: That’s where you get your work ethic, John.

JOHN SCHMIDT: That —

JOHN RAMSEY: There you go.

JOHN SCHMIDT: — that’s where you get, from Mom and Dad.

JOHN RAMSEY: Yeah.

JOHN SCHMIDT: Good — good examples. But I had a client and — and she walked in. I said, “What do you want?” She said, “I want the most expensive stuff you’ve got.” And I said, “Well, do you — do you care if it — the color or anything?” She goes, “No, I just want most expense — I want to spend all my husband’s money.” So I mean, it – you’re right, we shouldn’t laugh. It’s serious, but

JOHN RAMSEY: But what you would say —

JOHN SCHMIDT: — at the time, I was a salesman, so –

JOHN RAMSEY: — yeah. If —

JOHN SCHMIDT: — I — I was happy to take that order.

JOHN RAMSEY: — yeah.

JOHN SCHMIDT: Yeah.

JOHN RAMSEY: If you — whether it be the husband or the wife, regardless, if you have one of them who has an ax to grind, it’s going to — it could get pretty nasty. You’ve probably seen that in — what do you —

JOHN SCHMIDT: It can.

JOHN RAMSEY: — recommend in those situations when it gets a little bit ridiculous?· Do you get with the other attorney and say, “Hey, can we have some middle ground here or – “I guess they can spend as much as they want. I know you’d prefer to save them the money.

JOHN SCHMIDT: Yeah. Well, the courts — you know, we can seek to get orders in place that prevent that stuff from happening. We can also take some steps to file some paperwork that locks up certain assets, and we can protect our clients that way. And we’re typically pretty aggressive about how we do that to make sure that assets don’t get dissipated. And courts are very good about protecting that and making sure it doesn’t happen, and judges will — if it does happen, Judge will remind Counsel that “This isn’t going to go well for your client if they — if they’re dissipating assets, so you may want to talk to your client and make sure that they understand that they shouldn’t be dissipating it.” Hiding assets is another problem, but we’re pretty good at finding those, too, so…

JOHN RAMSEY:· All right. If you — if you – unfortunately, if you may be in the process of or thinking about a divorce, the — the Law Offices of John Schmidt — I’m telling you, they’ll take care of it. I’ve had a number of his clients on. They’re all happy with the way he handled things, very aggressive, and looking out for your best interests.· So let’s — let’s lighten it up a little bit.

JOHN SCHMID: Sure.

JOHN RAMSEY: We were — we were talking about visitation rights for kids and everything. Sometimes visitation gets a little ridiculous, doesn’t it? Tell me.

JOHN SCHMIDT: Yeah.

JOHN RAMSEY: Woo.

JOHN SCHMIDT: It really can. So I — I think what you’re — are you referring to the pets?

JOHN RAMSEY: Yes.

JOHN SCHMIDT: All right.· All right. So yeah, we were talking earlier and — and — about some – – some things and — and things that hold up the case, right? Or things that are passionate — people feel passion about. And — and so, yeah, I’ve actually done visitation agreements for pets, for dogs, cats, where, you know, if a pet gets sick, there are provisions, if the pet dies, there are provisions, provisions for spending time with the pet and exchange of the pet. So, you know, kids are understandably a passionate thing. Pets are a passionate thing. Antiques, family heirlooms

JOHN RAMSEY: Family heirlooms, yes.

JOHN SCHMIDT: — yeah, they’re passionate. And most people can deal with the other stuff fairly objectively. But when you start messing with someone’s children, pets, or family heirlooms, it – it —

JOHN RAMSEY: Yeah.

JOHN SCHMIDT: — the — those — those are the passionate items, right?

JOHN RAMSEY: I — I — I — I’m just picturing this cat at a mediation table and — and — and an attorney saying, “Okay, who do you want to spend time with, who do you” — and the cat, like —

JOHN SCHMIDT: Yeah.

JOHN RAMSEY: — thinking about it, you know, people slipping him little cat treats underneath the table there. It’s — okay.

JOHN SCHMIDT: “Here, choose me.”

JOHN RAMSEY: Yeah. There you go.

JOHN SCHMIDT: Yeah.

JOHN RAMSEY: Again, Family Law Friday, and this is my guy here — right here, John Schmidt – attorney John Schmidt. We — we’re able to spend some social time together, and you’re very serious about what you do —

JOHN SCHMIDT: I am.

JOHN RAMSEY: — very dedicated to your clients, and it — and it was — it’s very obvious because your passion shows. So, again, John, how do they get ahold of you? Here’s the process. And also, tell them what other things you handle.

JOHN SCHMIDT: Yeah, sure. So they call the office or e-mail. You can go to my website, johnschmidtlaw.com, and schedule an appointment. And we handle criminal, we handle adoptions, custody, child support issues —

JOHN RAMSEY: All right.

JOHN SCHMIDT: — personal injury.

JOHN RAMSEY: They’re telling me I’ve got to run. But yes, John Schmidt, Attorney at Law. We’ll be right back on Wave Listens.