My Day In Court

Josh was settled back at school and Marni was already caught up in her new routine as a high school sophomore. Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer was right around the corner. As I was rushing out the door with Marni one evening about a week before the holiday, Dick casually announced to me that he was going out to the west coast the following week on business and if his friend was going to be in town, he would stay at his house for the extended holiday. He sure had a knack for timing ... telling me this as I rapidly passed him by. I asked him when he would know how long he would be gone. As usual, he refused to give me a direct answer.

This whole situation made me very nervous. I knew he was up to something. I wasn't comfortable with his travel arrangements and secrecy surrounding his plans. Even two days before his trip, he still wouldn't tell me when he was coming home.

Around this time, I places several calls to my attorney, expressing my concern over the situation as well as the lack of funds Dick was planning on leaving me with while he was gone. With no access to the money market fund and having been taken off the credit card, I had to rely on the money in the checkbook. There was not enough in there to hold Marni and me over until he returned from his trip. My attorney notified me that we had a court date about a week after Dick returned. I told him that was too late. We needed to see the judge before Dick left. Fortunately, my attorney was able to get us in as an emergency.

We were back in court on Wednesday, September 2, 2009, the day before Dick left on his trip. After I entered the building, made my way through security and found the courtroom, I was amazed at how familiar this place and all the personnel, lawyers and other clients were becoming to me. What shocked me most was how much my perception of the whole experience changed in such a short period of time. It wasn't that long ago that I trembled at the thought of being a part of this process. Now, this was just a normal part of my new reality. I guess you really do get used to everything over time.

Because we were put on the schedule at the last minute, my regular judge wasn't available and we were seeing a new judge in a different courtroom. My lawyer told me he didn't know how things would turn out since this wasn't our regular judge and this one might not consider my situation an emergency. Dick wasn't there. His attorney wasn't either and sent a young, female associate in his place. As I sat waiting for my name to be called, I listened to the others ahead of me state their issues. Based on what I heard, I decided I liked this judge. When our case was called, the three of us approached the bench. My lawyer shared some background information with the court and asked for temporary funds for me. Dick's attorney said that the money situation was like this for several years, her client paid all the household expenses, it worked out well and there was no need to change anything. The judge asked me how much spending money Dick gives me per week. I answered him. He asked how much money was in the checkbook. I told him the amount. He then asked how long that money was supposed to last for. I told him for the next 10 days. At that point, he turned to Dick's attorney and said, "She can't live on that amount of money. Tell your client that he has to give her this much cash today." He then turned to my attorney and asked if we had another court date set up for temporary financial support. My attorney told him we did and they verified the date. We thanked the judge and left the courtroom. For the first time in a long time, my spirits were lifted and I felt good.