My brother in Texas is going thru divorce, he had a work related accident which nearly made him a quadriplegic..(his error) his wife left him soon after since he could not support her so grandly anymore and she has alienated their 5 year year old terriby against him I mean it’s totally heartbreaking. heartbreaking..but anyway..he cannot even afford a lawyer , he has asked for and been granted a mediation. My brother keeps talking to his wife’s lawyer, going to tell the lawyer what he’s going to present at mediation and all that , he wants to show that the wife has totally brainwashed and alienated the child,. I told him stop talking to the wife’s lawyer she is not their to help you , prepare your statement for mediation and tell them. What should he do how should he handle the mediation? The wife also has a slightly mentally challenged 50 year old brother living with her that sits in his room all the time he’s home and watches hard core porn
also allowing him to watch the little boy when she is at work. My brother cries after trying to call his son and the by saying I don’t wnt to see ou anymore Daddy I don’t love you.. it’s possibe that the wife is telling the little boy that Daddy doesn’t love him ( the boy) thats why they are not living together the wife is very angry and I think has real emotional problems herself. Sorry to be so long but what can my brother do oe say at the mediation and should he keep talking to the wife’s lawyer?
my brother was an OTR trucker and was not home a whole lot, I guess life was pretty bad when he was home the wife would not let him play the kind of music he likes and my son was down there and said she even criticized the way my brother walks.. the woman really has a lot of problems she is somewhat OCD is what I think and she refuses to believe there is any way to anything but her way..anytime my brother was home and tried to do anything or say anything she was critical he enjoyed being on the road because home obviously was hell, he bought the wife 2 houses and cars tried to be affectionate with her but she said he "sexually harrassed her" if he would make little passes and try to caress her.
he’s not paralyzed he came close he’s recuperating and may need more leg surgeries, his back has healed.. he takes physcal therapy but is mobile he walks.. drives… but just cannot go back to work because the truck will bump him around and that can cause nerve damage. he only lives on 2thousand dollars a month a far cry from the 5 digits monthly wage he used to earn drivng and delivering trucks, and tho he could no longer pay the morgage on the house that was in his name..(the other one was in hers), but has rented a real nice 2 bedroom apt for himself and for his son hopefully for when the little boy is there on visits
Your brother sounds like he is in a tough and complicated situation, and there is no easy answer. He definitely should not be sharing his strategy with an opposing counsel, who does not represent his interest. However, I am very familiar with the mediation process. Mediation is a non-binding process where the parties will attempt to work a resolution to the dispute. In other words, the mediator cannot force a solution onto the parties, and only the parties themselves can reach an agreement on mediation. In essence, your brother should attend the mediation and present his side of the story to the mediator. The mediator, as a neutral party, will attempt to help the parties reach a common gound on the issues. Therefore, by attending mediation, maybe some of the issues can be resolved, or at least closer to being resolved. Since the mediator has no pwoer to force his will on the parties, attending mediation is essentially a "free spin" to try to resolve the issues.
If your brother truly cannot afford a lawyer, I would encourage him to check out a pro bono clinic in your area, and a lawyer may be willing to take his case for free. Unfortunately, this sounds like a complex situation that may not be resolved outside of the court system, and if your brother doesn’t have a lawyer, he may end up on the short side of the stick on this one. If you want to read more about the mediation process, I have posted a source article.