The case Rosa VS Rosa

You are retired military yet honorably discharged. Right after you completed your term in the military you met Katie at a local bar, she was a bartender who was also in school. You were in the process of setding hack into the area and found Katie to he a breath of fresh air after deployment. You began starting your business to plant some roots. During this time, you and Katie became serious, extremely fast! You soon proposed to Katie and tied the knot. Which triggered Katie to quit nursing school right before clinicals started so she could stay home with your daughter full time, Gabrielle. Looking back now you think she used Gabriella as an excuse to stay home, her work ethic never was that great, and she enjoyed being catered to and taken care of. Fast forward a few years and your second child {DI} was born, which Katie made the decision to stay home with him as well. . .even though you could anrd childcare. This time she decided it would be permanent and not just the toddler years. During these years your plumbing business grew, you couldn't be happier with it. Ahd even though the family seemed happy and doing well you felt used and extremely unappreciated. Despite those feelings coming and going you put it aside and pushed forward with work and family. You purchased a 2500' sq ft home with the help of the military loans that were available to you due to your status. And you ended up building your company shop on the backside of the property while employee 3 people! Years went on and those feelings that kept coming and going were getting stronger. Katie only ever complained about how she needed money to go for spa days and shopping while the kids were in school. Her spending habits were becoming unattainable. While you brought this up multiple times and tried putting a realistic amount for those things, she just became angy with you if you didn't do it saying she stayed at home with the kids for those years and she was owed it. You two hadn't been intimate in almost a year at this point when it was fourth of July weekend. There was a big family barbeque party, and you drank a little too much and confided in Maggie, Katie's cousin. You two went o' to talk more privately as the discussion was getting serious with details about your thoughts and how you started to resent Katie. One thing led to another, and you and Katie started having intercourse and were caught in the act. You felt awrl= you knew drinking wasn't an excuse and that you really had messed up even though you knew the marriage wasn=t stable. This pushed a divorce. You since have started dating a younger woman names Kayla. She works as a paralegal part time. She has assisted in giving you advise on the state laws to help your case. You know there is no saving your marriage and inevitably even without you being unfaithful it would have ended eventually, you two hadn't been a team or couple for years. That said you are adamant about moving on and letting the past he the past. You and Katie have a mediator appointment before court, and you know what you want. I You do not want to pay alimony Katie willingly stopped working and decided to stay home. This was not a need, and you shouldn't have to support her lifestyle of bad spending habits. That said you know MA law will make you pay it to some extent. Push for 2 years at 30%, even the max 35% if needed, but if put the full time stand your ground at 313%. The company is yours, Katie never contributed, and you started it before you were married. It should not fall under marital property. The house - you want to keep the house since your company shop is in the back of it. It would be simpler to pay Katie out than relocate your home and business, and honestly Katie couldn't afford it on her own even with your alimony. BUT you know Katie is vindictive and petty and you've heard she is trying to move away. IF that is true and comes up you are willing to have Katie buy you out of it; you need to make it seem as though you hate the idea, that it is really going to hurt you financially with the business and housing, that way she will push more for it. This way she won't move, and your kids will remain close and can stay in their school - that's the real GOAL. Hank, the dog. Hank rides with you every day. You want to keep Hank and you have evidence he is always with you and never with Katie. Hank is basically the mascot for the company. Custody - you want 50% custody. There is no reason you shouldn't be granted it. You have a stable job (something Katie can't offer), are able to provide for your children, and a place for them to reside. You want half physical and legal custody. Your kids you don't want to budge on - but you are terrified the rumor of Katie moving is true. You are willing to go 60-40 with the agreement they must stay in their current school district unless both you and Katie agree on It. If the topic of you not being home during the week as you sometimes work late hours comes up, then you can reveal you plan on having your new girlfriend move in. She has flexible work hours and will always be able to be home for childcare if you get an emergency call or work late some days. What you can't let Katie find out is that your girlfriend, Kayla, has run into some law trouble in the past. Due to a domestic case with her and her child's father a few years back when she was under the influence the state sought her as not fit and she doesn't have custody of her daughter. You know Katie will RIDE on this information if she finds out. Kayla has since been sober and has provided for herself well. She recently filed to reopen her case to get shared custody back - no date has been scheduled yet. Katie already hates Kayla just because you are dating her. This information will fuel the fire. To assist you in this situation, you may want to use the following arguments to explain your position to the other. This is just to get you thinking, feel free to add your own ideas. 1. Working dads are just as capable as working moms. You are nowhere near to be deemed unfit, so you have the right by state law to have shared custody. 2. By MA Law your business is not marital property as it was established prior to the marriage and no contributions financially or otherwise were made to it by Katie 3. You bought your house with the military assistance, not Katie's. So, she should not be granted to keep it. 4. The children are of school age, they should not be torn from their school district and friends and family. It takes a village raising kids and this is where your village has made roots. 5. Katie was not asked or forced not to work, she did it on her own accord and stayed not working after the kids were school age. She is more than capable of gaining a job or finishing her nursing degree. Why should you pay alimony for her bad work ethic? Please take 15-60 minutes to negotiate. Please follow the story - do not come up with solutions that violate the information in this role. Please check your agreement to make certain that you have not done that.MY ROLEPLAY Mary, the Mediator: Mary is new to mediating. She had spent 20 years as a paralegal in a divorce law firm and felt that she was ready for a change after her own divorce. Her three daughters, we're grown and have their own lives. So, she went back to school and got the necessary certifications. The Rosas are her first case