With Jussie Smollett and Robert Kraft all over the news, are you wondering if they got special treatment?  Today's video talks about celebrity justice, rich people's justice and just plain old diversionary programs available to anyone.  Click play and hear our take on things.

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So today's topic is drama-free divorce
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and the question marks and I've been
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thinking about this I'm planning to do
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this for weeks
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I had actually written down notes and I
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was all prepared and then I kept not
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videoing because I don't know my face
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wasn't right or my outfit wasn't right
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or who knows why and then I threw my
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notes into a bag and it's in one of my
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bags but let's talk a little bit about
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how to have a drama-free divorce and I
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think it's really important because
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people say they want a drama-free
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divorce people like I just want to be
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divorced and I'm done but most of them
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don't mean that they're not really ready
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to be done how do I know because they
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make all the wrong choices when it comes
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to how to have this divorce be finished
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I mean honestly the first way to have a
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divorce drama-free it's just did not
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care like I'm done I'll take nothing
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I'll leave now am I suggesting that
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absolutely not but if you come to me and
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you have so many minut points about what
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you deserve and what you want I know
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from the beginning that this is not
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ready to be drama-free so let's jump
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into how to have a drama-free divorce
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number one talk to your spouse yes talk
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to your spouse why do I say that because
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what many of you don't understand is
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that you don't even know if the person
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is ready for a divorce if they 1
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divorced they agreed to divorce or if
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they will give you what you want or if
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they have their own wants or needs so
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people will come to me they're prepared
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for divorce and I said well what does
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your spouse think about this is he or
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she going to sign off on it and they go
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I don't know you don't know how do you
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not know well they've never actually
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talked to the person they may have had
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arguments they may be living in a de
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tante sort of in the home where they
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barely talk to each other or sometimes
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they're not even living in the same
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house and have not four years but still
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none of them have filed for divorce and
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they're not sure if the other person is
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going to file for a divorce or not so
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the first thing you always want to do to
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have a drama-free divorce is talk to
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your spouse ok so now that you talk to
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the spouse and you let them know I'm
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thinking divorce are you thinking
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divorce because that's good to know
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I need to know if I'm going into an
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uncontested divorce situation or if
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there's going to be a fight
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you need to know that because unless you
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have oodles and oodles of money you want
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to understand how much I'll be paying
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your attorney and I want to give you a
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fair estimate on what it should cost the
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next thing for a jarama free divorce is
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deciding what you want now what I mean
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by that is what do you want as far as
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household do I want the house do I not
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do I want certain things I want certain
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belongings do I need to have the washing
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machine was that China give it to my
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great-grandmother and I need that is it
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about custody do I need to have a 50/50
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custody arrangement should I have
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primary should you have primary should
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who gets the vacation house what are the
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things that are most important to you
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and why you know what are the things you
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need so first you have this drama-free
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divorce you have to talk to your spouse
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and then you have to decide what you
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want people will come to me and they
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will have no idea and I say well are
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their retirement accounts well yes what
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do them do about that well sometimes one
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person has not worked for a number of
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years so the other person can build up
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their retirement so they need a share of
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it sometimes they go we both worked at
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home jobs and quite frankly I don't want
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his I'm sure he doesn't want mine or
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whatever the deal is so you want to make
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sure that you that you know kind of what
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you want so think about things like the
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house any other properties you have may
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have the pets the children the
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retirement accounts stuff decide those
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sort of things next if you really want
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to be without drama be prepared to give
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in and give up do I mean that you should
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lose no but sometimes your things that
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you are holding on most harshly - that
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are so important to you are not really
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all that important if you want a
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drama-free divorce and the issue becomes
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something minor you have to decide is
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that minor issue important so if we are
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basically having something close to a
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joint custody arrangement and you want
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Wednesday night and him to have Thursday
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night for instance but he wants
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Wednesday night and for you to have
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Thursday nights be prepared to give up
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if they're sharing the kids anyway does
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it matter which one is Wednesday and
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which one has Thursday will
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maybe not it may matter it may matter
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because Wednesday is ballet night and
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you've always been the ballet parent and
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you're on the ballet board
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okay then and maybe it matters but
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otherwise let's not sweat the small
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stuff let's let's think you know you've
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talked to this vows you decided what you
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wanted and now you're willing to give in
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and give up on things and I was
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important for be flexible with your
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means what does that mean by that it
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doesn't always have to be the way that
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you want so let's say for instance you
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don't want the house you don't liver the
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house but you do want your share you
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okay we're back I forgot to turn on my
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do not disturb my kid is gonna be like
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what's more important than me the light
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of your life sorry baby maybe we should
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call my job because she does that but
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what happens next is you may look at you
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know you're looking at things and you've
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you said okay I've talked to them I know
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what I want I know what things I'm
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willing to give up one now how do I get
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there so I have this house this house I
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want fifty thousand out of it I don't
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care whether he gets to keep the house
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or not just give him my fifty thousand
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dollars why does that matter so for
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instance I've had cases like that where
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let's say he's the one making the more
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money and he can afford the house you're
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like listen I don't want that big old
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house anyway I want a smaller house it's
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reasonable that I can pay for fine but
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he wants to move his new girlfriend in
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he wants to keep the house himself no we
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need to sell this house this house needs
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to be sold we could spend a year later
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gaining over whether or not the house
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should be sold when really you could
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have fifty thousand dollars in your hand
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in two months because he refinancing got
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you fifty thousand dollars you have to
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learn how to be flexible with the means
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it doesn't have to happen the way you
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wanted to happen for you to get the
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result that you want and you have to
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allow us to talk about how to get to the
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right result even if it doesn't happen
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the way you mean so if you want less
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drama in your divorce be flexible with
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how we get there
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okay so first talk to your spouse to
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decide what you want three decide what
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you're willing to give up on and four be
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flexible
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with the means of how to do it finally
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five you have to take the emotions out
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of it
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all the things I talked about really
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involve you taking the emotions out of
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it I've had so many people who were like
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I want my fair share I want this oh my
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bad I want the other and they were very
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adamant about all the things and I can
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tell you all the things you can do to
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really push this divorce and make it
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less as long as possible to fight for as
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many things as possible but what I found
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is that when the person who had the most
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emotional energy in this divorce where
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they just whether they wanted or didn't
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want it whether they're angry with the
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other person whether they were betrayed
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or hurt when they let go some that
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emotional energy we were able to come to
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agreement so much easier we could come
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to agreement so much easier because
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without the emotion you started to see
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things like that all the other things I
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said before they made sense like oh yes
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it doesn't matter who lives in the house
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or who got the house I just want my
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money or it doesn't matter whether it's
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Wednesday or Thursday that I get as long
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as I get my days with my kids when you
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let go of some of the emotions of it the
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divorce becomes drama-free in a way that
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it has never been before now I see a
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couple people watching I always love
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when you guys watch I really really wish
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there were some comments I think I'd see
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them but sometimes I'm not in the right
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thing but I love when your comments
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because comments are good so if there's
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anything else you want to know about
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drama three divorces or if you want to
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hear some really good stories about
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drama I've had in divorce now's the time
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to interact with me and put something in
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the comment section so you can hear one
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of my stories of crazy things that
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happen in divorces because I can tell
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you but I mean that is the basics you
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can have a divorce that is largely
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drama-free it can happen and you could
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have a divorce it takes years and years
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and years unnecessarily in fact it
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happens more often than not but your
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choice and your reactions and how you
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deal with it
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well that makes all the difference so I
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gave it some time I didn't see anyone
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typing that they want to hear a really
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bad story so I'm not going to give any
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stories unless you ask for wine if you
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ask for a story about something I will
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tell you going once going twice
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going three times sold so again thank
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you for joining me today and a reminder
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if you want a drama-free divorce begin
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while talking with your spouse step
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number one to decide decide to side to
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side what you want 3 be willing to give
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up and give in when necessary for be
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flexible with your means it doesn't have
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to happen the way you want be flexible
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while we get there and finally 5 if you
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let the emotions go sooner rather than
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later you can get through all this with
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less drama
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so from Jones & Associates Law PC I'm
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Jacquie Jones feel free to interact with
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us and if you want to hear about more
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topics just drop a comment in the
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comment section I will try to
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accommodate you and of course be on the
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lookout for our podcast jonesing for
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justice jonesing for justice is
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available on all major podcast outlets
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including Apple and Spotify and all the
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rest so you have a great day thanks
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[Music]
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you
English (auto-generated)

Divorce is a difficult process no matter the circumstances.  However, the more you know, the better the process.  Today's video discusses the difference between a fault and no-fault divorce.  We also discuss how much it costs and why.  If you need to understand what you are stepping into with a divorce, this is the video for you.

One of the hardest things to figure out as a client is how much contact you should expect from your lawyer.  While it is important for lawyers to take their clients' calls, there are things that you can do to get your call returned first.  Watch this short video as we tell you how we prioritize and what gets you called back faster.  Quick tip- give more information to the person who answers the phone and you may be helped faster.

Ever leave your favorite dinner spot after having a couple glasses of wine and wonder if you should really be driving? It is so easy to misinterpret whether or not you are over the legal limit. One moment you are at dinner and before you know it, you are in the back of a police car under arrest for driving under the influence. However, these tips will guide you to make smart and calculated choices before taking the wheel.







1. It takes your liver approximately one hour to process each drink

A  "drink" is the equivalent to:  a beer that is 12oz and is 4.5% alcohol by volume (abv), a glass of wine that is 5oz and is 4.5% abv and a shot of liquor that is 1.5oz and is 40% abv.

For each of these drinks, it takes the liver no less than one hour to process the alcohol that your body intakes. If you have more than one drink in an hour, you are playing with fire and it is probably not the best idea to get behind the wheel of a car.

2. Not consenting to a DUI test may resulted in a suspended license

When you are pulled over with the suspicion that you are driving under the influence, an officer will more than likely conduct a field sobriety test. If you fail the field sobriety test, an officer will ask you to consent to a urine or blood test which will determine your blood alcohol level. You have the choice to not consent to these tests, BUT if you refuse, your driver's license could be suspended for an extended period of time.

3. Driving with a suspended license, as a result of a DUI, may lead to jail time. 

If you are charged and convicted of driving under the influence, your license will most likely be suspended for an extended period of time. If this is the case, we would HIGHLY recommend not getting behind the wheel of a car until your license is reinstated. 

If your license is in fact suspended because of a DUI charge, and you are pulled over, jail time may be a very viable consequence. Please do not drive a car with a suspended license. The consequences are really just not worth it.

4. Uber or Lyft can be your best friends if you let them.

Yeah I know what you are thinking. The idea of having a stranger come and randomly pick you up and drop you off is a weird concept to many. However, taking an Uber or a Lyft is the much smarter choice if you think you might be slightly over the legal limit. The worst case scenario is that you leave your car parked overnight, and you spend an inconvenient thirty dollars back to your house and again the next morning to get your car. Isn't this the much better option though then getting pulled over, spending the night in jail, having to go to court, and having your license suspended? Jones & Associates certainly thinks so.

 We've all seen "Law and Order". We've all seen those corny cop television shows that try to make reality as dramatic as possible. However, there is one saying in all those shows that holds true throughout life. "You have the right to remain silent". We hear this saying often, but we all need to focus on taking this saying to heart.

For example, have you even been driving in a car, and were maybe going faster than you should have been? An officer pulls you over, and you start to tense up as we all do when we see those flashing blue and red lights. 

Then you remember: You have something on your person or in the glove compartment that you should not have with you. 

The officer comes walks up to your window, knocks on it, and motions for you to roll down your window. The officer sees that your nervous, then proceeds to ask you a few questions. Finally, the inevitable question appears : "Do you have anything else in your car??" Guess what? you do not have to answer that question. You have a right to remain silent. You DO NOT have to answer the officer's question. 

The officer then asks you that one scary question- "Do you mind if I search your vehicle?" Guess what? You can say no and be completely within your legal rights.  You might be nervous and think that saying "yes" to that question is the right thing to say. But at the end of the day, you have a constitutional right to protect yourself. Silence can really be golden in a situation like that.

Lets talk about a different situation. A situation where you have been arrested and you are now in the back of a police car. Lets say in this scenario, the police arrest you because they suspect that you are selling drugs. In the back of the police car, its an eerie atmosphere of silence between you and the police officer. That police officer however, may start to ask you questions. Those questions will probably relate to the arrest that just occurred.. Guess what? You do not have to answer those questions either even though you are arrested. More importantly, you especially don't want to say anything if he DOESN'T ask you questions.  You see your words may not be used against you if the officer didn't have the right to question you.  They will always be used against you if you volunteer information.

The 5th amendment of the Constitution, more specifically your Miranda rights, allow you to remain silent when questioned by police. You always have the right to have an attorney present if the police are going to question you. 

So what happens when a police officer asks you questions that make you uncomfortable after you are arrested.? You respectfully say "I am invoking my Miranda right to remain silent and request to have an attorney present."  Or you can just say, "I want a lawyer."  If all of that is too hard, keep it simple and just be quiet.  When it comes to interactions with the police.  Silence can really be golden.  Most importantly, always know you have a right to counsel and call your lawyer at Jones and Associates, P.C.

      A custody proceeding can be one of the most stressful topics in the courtroom arena. This kind of proceeding is not like a criminal proceeding where it affects your life, but rather your child’s life and the future role you will play in your child's life. However, this is not the kind of proceeding that you can procrastinate to prepare for till an alarm goes off in your head telling you that you should probably hire an attorney.

         When you first receive a custody hearing notice in your mail, many thoughts go off in your head: Will I lose my children? How do I not lose my children? Did I do anything wrong for this to happen? These are all natural reactions which can be extremely daunting. When you are in a state of panic, your first thought may not necessarily be to call a lawyer. However, if you take a deep breath and collect your thoughts, calling a lawyer after you receive  that notice will be the best decision you make that day. 

           The scheduled date for a custody hearing will be a least a few weeks from the date you received notice in the mail. If you call an attorney well in advanced, then this gives you time to meet with the attorney and discuss a strategy. Additionally, an attorney is able to provide services that you would not be able to provide for yourself. One of the services that the attorney can  provide is filing for a continuance which can be accomplished in a day. If a judge grants a continuance, the original date for your custody hearing will be pushed to a later date in the future which will give you more time to prepare.  Also, your attorney will be able to consult with the opposing attorney. When attorneys consult, they have the ability to negotiate terms and conditions. These negotiations may not even make a custody hearing necessary. 

               However, when you receive the custody hearing notice in the mail, and you do not take a deep breath and realize that the situation is still in your control, the situation will inevitably become more complicated. The longer you wait to hire an attorney, the more your retainer could  increase. And I am not talking about a couple of hundred dollars, I am talking about a couple of thousand dollars if you really wait till the last minute. Additionally, the longer you wait to hire an attorney, the less time counsel has to negotiate with the opposing attorney, file necessary court documents, and make this difficult time as least stressful for you as possible.

The moral of the story is that when you receive that notice in the mail from the courthouse, take a deep breath, realize the situation is still in your control,  and then pick up the phone and let the lawyer guide you.