Article I wrote for GoodMenProject.com

Here’s an article I wrote : http://www.goodmenproject.com/featured-content/a-guys-divorce-survival-guide/

For more information and my books go to href=”http://www.mensfamilylaw.com”>MensFamilyLaw.com

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LEGALZOOM DIVORCE – MOSTLY CORRECT IS ALL WRONG.

The document company to the stars, well maybe not, but it bills itself as the service that puts the “law on your side.” Well, they don’t really do that. The law is the law, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s easy to make a mistake.

Just had a  client in my Santa Monica office, whose soon-to-be-ex wife filed papers on him. They were mostly filled out, which is a problem. Because “mostly” doesn’t cut it with a court. They want all the answers, in the correct places, in order for a case to move forward.

There are some things that LegalZoom is great at, basic things like a dba, or an incorporation, are really basic, name, address, filing fee. But for something that is so important and complex as a divorce, where the state has created many legal obligations and duties, you need to know what you are doing. Most people don’t know that once they file for a divorce there are Automatic Restraining Orders that are put in place, and that violating them can subject you penalties.

This is why an experienced family law attorney is important. They explain all the facts about going through a divorce. LEGALZOOM doesn’t do that. They don’t do the counselling of a scared client who doesn’t know the process. LEGALZOOM doesn’t help an angry client who’s being betrayed by a cheating spouse. LEGALZOOM doesn’t provide the type of legal knowledge and present alternatives, that an experienced lawyer does.

Getting married is easy, getting divorced is complicated. There are many hoops to jump through, and there is a lot of paperwork which needs to be completed correctly or the court will reject it. Knowing what a court needs, and being able to help a client through the maze of it all, this is why an experienced attorney is useful.

A MAN’S GUIDE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

OCTOBER IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

I come from a loud Italian-Irish-German family. My parents fought. A lot.

Sometimes it would be a “civilized” and mostly verbal, with the occasional tossing of a frying pan or breaking a glass. Other times it was really ugly with knives pulled and bones broken.

Usually there was alcohol involved in some way. But there didn’t have to be, my parents were experts at digging each other and finding that weak spot and drilling it.

So to say that I grew up in a home full of domestic violence is no lie. From the merely uncomfortable moments that always happen when two or more live in the same household, to the titanic battles that erupted – there was always lots of anxiety for me as a kid to breathe in and try to cope with.

This was 40 years ago, and the concept of domestic violence wasn’t fully formed. Women were still heavily prejudiced in the courts, society as a whole didn’t know how to handle it when spouses fought. The long term effects of domestic  violence on the children was not considered, because they weren’t hurt – or so it was thought.

Most of the time, unless actual physical harm was done it wasn’t considered a crime. An actual battery, a physical touching, had to occur in order for the police to take notice, and even then, it was mainly ignored.

Times change. Farrah Fawcett makes a movie, The Burning Bed, awareness grows, support networks develop, and shelters are built to protect the victims from their aggressors.

Domestic Violence has been expanded as a concept, which is why I’ve written a book, “A Man’s Guide To Domestic Violence.” Society and the courts have expanded what we consider violent, and abusive. It no longer requires physical hurts. Emotional abuse is not tolerated.

A MAN'S GUIDE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

We recognize that an environment that is psychologically tormenting is not healthy, and therefore not acceptable. With this new expanded definition, more people than ever fit the profile of an abuser.

The traditional view of a man in a tank top ( the shirt commonly called “a wife beater”) is no longer the standard. Anyone can be an abuser, and it doesn’t take much. A smart mouth, and some emotional hurts, and an abusive household is made.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. It’s a difficult topic to discuss because no one wants to believe they are a victim. Men in particular have a  hard time acknowledging when they are being abused.

Even men that can acknowledge that they are being abused, have a very difficult time taking action to stop it, which may be one reason why it escalates. If more men acknowledged sooner that they are in an abusive relationship, when it is at a verbal abuse stage, perhaps the situation wouldn’t escalate to physical abuse.

So how do you know if you’re in abusive situation? The following comes from the Domestic Awareness Hotline for Men and Women, (www.DVAHMW.org) which is run by my friend Jan Brown. She was the first woman to start a shelter that accepted both men and women.

“ARE YOU BEING ABUSED?

• Does she threaten that if you leave you will never see the children again? Destroy or threaten to destroy your property?
• Have you been shoved, slapped, punched, bitten or kicked? Even once?
• Does your partner block an exit to keep you from leaving during an argument? Keep you from seeing friends or family? Use name-calling?
• Does your partner denigrate you in the presence of others? Say no one else would want you? Threaten suicide if you were to leave?
• Do you feel like you’re “walking on eggshells” around your partner? Does she act like two different people? (e.g. Dr. Jeckyl/Mr. Hyde)
• Does your partner anger easily, especially when drinking or on drugs?

If any number of these factors are true in your relationship, there is a problem. Victims of intimate partner violence come from all walks of life, all cultures, incomes, professions, ages and religions. Intimate partner abuse is not always defined by who is the stronger and/or bigger person in the relationship.  It is about one person having and maintaining power and control over another person through physical, psychological, and/or verbally abusive means.”

In my book, “A Man’s Guide To Domestic Violence” I address the issue from a man’s perspective of what is abuse today, how to peacefully combat it, and how to handle false allegations of domestic abuse. The book is available by emailing me at dpisarra@pisarra.com or through the website, www.amansguidetodomesticviolence.com.