As I now enter my fifth year of attorney dealings and fourth to fix a botched settlement, I have several questions.
1) Why would your W give you primary custody when she would lose child support payments?
2) Why would she accept no alimony when she has no job?
3) Why would you get to keep the house and split everything else?
4) Why would she agree with any of this?
5) What arguments could W make that you have quit on the marriage and are trying to abandon her with nothing?
6) Has W been an attentive and caring mom to your boys or has she shirked her responsibilities to the kids?
7) Are you willing to engage in a custody fight where the court appoints someone to represent your kids and they are brought into the middle of a custody battle?
At the end of the day, if this goes to court, you end up in a he-says she-says situation that is no fun for any party--and extremely costly!!!!!
It's okay to present your thoughts to your L, but what I would ask your L is as follows: If L were representing W, what would L seek to get for W? If L were the judge, what would be a likely outcome? Be tough on your lawyer...ask the hard questions and be satisfied with the L's answers, even if L can't give a clear yes or no (the law is often never that simple). If there's anything you don't like about L's candor and demeanor and L makes you uncomfortable in any way, I'd consider another L.
I'm still an advocate of patience, but much of that is religious-based, so I recognize you are different.
