RI Domestic Relations & Family Court

A Rhode Island divorce lawyer explores a very thorny issue concerning the legality of non lawyer mediation.

Are non lawyer mediator’s committing a crime in Rhode Island?

Are Rhode Island non-attorney mediators who conduct divorce, custody, child support or family law mediation committing the crime of unauthorized practice of law? This is a real grey area. It is virtually impossible to conduct a mediation in a Rhode Island Divorce without giving some level of legal advice to both parties.

Also, the RI Divorce mediator drafts a memorandum of understanding which is very similar to a property settlement agreement.

Divorce mediation

It is hard to believe that it is legal for a non-lawyer mediator to perform a divorce mediation. You should steer clear of mediators in Rhode Island who are not lawyers. Non-lawyer mediators have only read articles and don’t know different areas of RI law such as real estate law, estate planning, pensions, child support, employment law, bankruptcy, and child custody. Please contact Rhode Island Divorce Attorney and mediator David Slepkow 401-437-1100.

Rhode Island divorce lawyer

A lawyer knows how to properly draft a memorandum of understanding after a divorce mediation. A Rhode Island divorce lawyer knows what issues to address and give ideas on how to properly settle the matter. You would not let the doctor’s secretary perform a surgery so why let a layperson guide you through RI family Court? Rhode Island divorce Lawyers who act as mediators have been through the wars in Rhode Island Family court or Providence Family Court. They have experience and training in Rhode Island Divorce and Child Custody Law.

Rhode Island General Law 11-27-2 defines the practice of law as:

• 11-27-2 “Practice of law” defined. – “Practice law” as used in this chapter means the doing of any act for another person usually done by attorneys at law in the course of their profession, and, without limiting the generality of the definitions in this section, includes the following:

• (1) The appearance or acting as the attorney, solicitor, or representative of another person before any court, referee, master, auditor, division, department, commission, board, judicial person, or body authorized or constituted by law to determine any question of law or fact or to exercise any judicial power, or the preparation of pleadings or other legal papers incident to any action or other proceeding of any kind before or to be brought before the court or other body;
• (2) The giving or tendering to another person for a consideration, direct or indirect, of any advice or counsel pertaining to a law question or a court action or judicial proceeding brought or to be brought;
• (3) The undertaking or acting as a representative or on behalf of another person to commence, settle, compromise, adjust, or dispose of any civil or criminal case or cause of action;
• (4) The preparation or drafting for another person of a will, codicil, corporation organization, amendment, or qualification papers, or any instrument which requires legal knowledge and capacity and is usually prepared by attorneys at law.

Rhode Island General Law Section 15-5-16.2.2 makes it illegal for an employer to impede, evade or obstruct Family Court service of process on the employee concerning child support or alimony. The employer may designate a “specific” area where the RI Family Court Service of process can be effectuated.

Divorce service of Process

It is illegal for the employer to fire or dismiss the employee because he was served with child support or alimony process at work.

I wonder why this law does not include specifically service of process of  divorce, paternity and child custody cases?

Please contact Top Rhode Island child support Attorney David Slepkow.

Read the Rhode Island Law here:

§ 15-5-16.2.2 Service of court papers at work. – No employer in this state is permitted to refuse or obstruct the service of family court process relating to child or spousal support upon an employee at the place of employment and the service shall not be grounds for dismissal of the employee. The employer may designate an area where the service may be effected.

History of Section.
(P.L. 1984, ch. 406, § 1; P.L. 1985, ch. 407, § 1.)

Constable nightmare:

“PENN TWP., Pa. – A Perry County family and a state constable are both mourning the death of a 12-year-old girl who died in a shooting as the constable was enforcing an eviction notice.

Constable Clarke Steele, who has served in Perry and Dauphin counties for the past six years, was enforcing an eviction order at the home of 57-year-old Donald Meyer and his family.

Police say after a verbal dispute, Meyer pointed a loaded rifle at Steele.

“[Meyer] put the constable in a situation where he had to make a decision to use deadly force, and he did, and now we have this tragedy,” Trooper Rob Hicks of the Pennsylvania State Police said.

Steele shot Meyer in the arm, but the bullet went through and struck Meyer’s 12-year-old daughter, police said. She died from the gunshot.”  Fox

A Rhode Island Family Court attorney who regularly litigates divorce and custody cases in Providence Family Court, sets forth numerous divorce tips to help litigants in Domestic Court. Please read these tips very carefully!

1. Perception is reality in Domestic Relations Court 

Dress appropriately for your day in Providence Family Court. We have said this numerous times!! Kent County Family Court in Warwick is not a beach. Washington County Family Court  is not a nightclub.  Newport Family Court is not a day at local 1st beach.

Do not overdress as it makes you look like you are trying too hard TO IMPRESS. It makes it look like you have something to hide.  Cover your tattoos, if possible.  Dress as if you are going out to dinner at a moderately priced restaurant. This means business casual is appropriate.

I saw one guy with a white suit looking like a pimp. I saw another dude with his construction wear and muscle shirt. C’mon man you can go to the bathroom and get changed right after Court to get to work! Remember, WE cannot say this enough perception is reality!

Win Your RI Custody Battle by not acting as a moron!  25 stupid mistakes to avoid. “The stupid and boorish behavior set forth below may impede or ruin your chances of getting Child Custody in RI Family Court. All of the actions set forth below are actual behavior that I have seen in Providence Family Court”

2. Avoid Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Avoid posting about your Rhode Island divorce,  RI custody  feud or RI Family Court case. Judges are very concerned that your children will see your custodial posts during the course of your custody battle.

More importantly, do not post info that can be used against you indirectly or directly in your child custody, divorce or RI child support cause of action. For example, in a RI child custody case, do not allow any posts or pictures related to drinking or drug use. In a Rhode Island child support case, if you are claiming you cannot afford to pay support, it will really hurt your case if there are posts showing you dining at a fancy restaurant or getting bottle service at a local nightclub or going on fancy vacations with your girlfriend to Aruba.

3.  DO NOT be rude to or get into a scrap with Court staff.

Do not be rude to constables, sheriffs, clerks, Family Service investigators etc. Judges look to protect their staff and it will not help a litigant’s case if the Providence Family Court Magistrate or presiding justice is irate at a rude, intemperate or overly aggressive litigant.

4. Come to Court with Clean Hands

I will repeat it. Enter the courtroom with CLEAN Hands. You have been wronged. Your crazy ex-girlfriend wrongfully obtained a restraining order based on lies and false allegations. This prevents you from spending meaningful and important time with your child.

You want your day in Court. You want to expose her lies and reinstate your relationship with your child. However, before you can open your mouth, one of the following things occurs:

• you flunk a court ordered drug test for smoking marijuana the night before,
• The judge is informed that you failed and refused to pay child support for your children for the past three months or
• You send her numerous alcohol induced nasty text messages calling her all sorts of obscene names.

Before you can even open your mouth to get justice and tell your story, the judge already perceives you negatively. The judge is more focused on your wrongs than the story you are attempting to tell.

5. Do not take videos of your child related to the Family Court dispute!

Rhode Island Family court judges do not like parents interviewing a child about custody, visitation, child support or anything related to Family law. Also see: 7 RI Family Court TIPS for your Divorce, Custody or Visitation Case!

Bonus Family Court tip

Get a Divorce lawyer in RI to represent you. If it is a child custody case, get a RI child custody lawyer.

The American Psychological Association reports:

“Marriage and divorce are both common experiences. In Western cultures, more than 90 percent of people marry by age 50. Healthy marriages are good for couples’ mental and physical health. They are also good for children; growing up in a happy home protects children from mental, physical, educational and social problems. However, about 40 to 50 percent of married couples in the United States divorce. The divorce rate for subsequent marriages is even higher.” America Psychological

The United States Census reported that “About 1 in 6 custodial parents were fathers (17.8 percent). More than one-quarter (26.2 percent) of all children under 21 years of age in families lived with only one of their parents…” Census

Rhode Island divorce lawyer, David Slepkow, discusses the unfortunate pervasiveness of misrepresentation and outright lies by litigants in Providence Family Court.

Is anyone ever held accountable for lying in Rhode Island Family Court?

Litigants in the Rhode Island Family Court  are rarely held accountable for false statements made in Family Court.  There is rarely a punishment for lies in Family Court. The Rhode Island Family Court and divorce cases are often based on conferences or hearings without testimony.

The problem with coferences

These conferences are sometimes in a back room without the clients present. Some of these conferences are meetings at the bench between the attorneys and the judge.

In other words, in most instances the attorney is making representations to the Court on behalf of his or her client. The lawyer repeats assertions by the his or her client.  Therefore, the lawyer does not know that the information presented by his client is false.

Willful ignorance

In some cases the issue pertains to the concept of willful ignorance. Attorneys know who pays the bills. Divorce lawyers often do not want to directly confront their client with contradictory information. In some cases, the lawyer is completely hoodwinked by the client

RI lawyers do not lie but they sometimes unwittingly repeat misrepresentations

Rhode Island divorce lawyers do not lie. RI child custody attorneys do not intentionally make misrepresentations in front of the judge. The RI divorce Attorneys often unwittingly repeat lies or commit “willful ignorance” by not properly challenging their family law clients. The Rhode Island Divorce attorney does not want to lose his client. He or she may be hesitant to directly challenge their client’s recitation of facts. The only way to really attempt to get to some semblance of the truth is a hearing with testimony and cross examination. 

Cross examination- a way to get the truth

The only way to get to justice is to put people under oath and have them cross examined. It can be challenging to get a testimonial hearing in Rhode Island Family Court.  Sometimes it is difficult to get a trial or hearing.

However, in the last 5 years with an influx of modern, progressive judges and Magistrates testimonial hearings are increasingly commonplace in Providence Family Court.

A trial or testimonial hearing can be very costly

It is very expensive to get a testimonial hearing in Court. Sometimes, there is not enough in controversy, so to speak, to make it worthwhile for the parties to demand a hearing and expose exaggeration or lies. Divorce and Child Custody matters often have huge stakes and sometimes people are desperate to win. The word has gotten out to the public that many people get away with misrepresentations.

Desperate people who don’t want to lose custody and lack of accountability or penalty is a recipe for a mess.

Also, judges are looking for solutions. Something like ‘you say black -she says white and we will never figure this out so let’s find a solution.’ This mentality ignores the untruthfulness of at least one party and seeks to help the judge move the calendar and get rid of the litigants. Judges are overworked with calendars that are too busy. Judges often do not have the time to get to the bottom of every factual issue.

In some ways, resolving causes of action rather than getting to the truth is the reality in Rhode Island Family Court. Conferences are the main cause of why people get away with bloody murder in Domestic Court. There is no real accountability in a conference. The Attorneys are mouth pieces for their client and statements of lawyers are not testimony

Lying or exaggerating in Court is unethical and immoral. There are cases where someone is severely punished for misrepresentations in Court. However, this is the exception rather than the rule. Some judges are more willing to allow hearings with testimony. If you lie under oath you could be prosecuted for perjury. It is very rare for prosecutors to bring criminal charges for perjury in Family Court.

Rhode Island Family Court Lawyer David Slepkow concentrates in Divorce, Child Custody and Family Law.

You have a right to refuse a drug test in Rhode Island Family Court.  The Family Court has a drug testing facility on the 3rd floor of Providence Family Court. “The Family Service Unit is also charged with administering alcohol and drug screens for the various court calendars.” Website The Rhode Island Family Court is a civil court and a RI Family Court Judge cannot force you to take a drug test.

Drug Testing in RI Family Court

However, if you refuse the test, be prepared to suffer implications as a result of your refusal. A refused drug test or a no show to a proposed drug test is considered a positive drug test in RI Family Court.

The penalties for a refusal or a no show could include supervision of your visitation, loss of physical or legal custody of your child, suspension of visitation rights or other negative implications.

Drug testing in Providence Family Court

The Judge could order you to attend drug or alcohol counseling in order to reinstate your visitation rights. Remember that marijuana use is considered as bad as other drugs by some judges and could lead to an order of supervised visitation, loss of visitation rights or an order of supervised visits.  Some judges are not concerned with marijuana because it has been legalized in so many states.  The Rhode Island Family Court also offers five-day alcohol screens as well as random drug and alcohol testing.

Supervised Visitation in Providence Family Court

In RI Family Court, the Courts award “supervised” visits in certain unfortunate situations. Supervised visits are sometimes ordered by a Providence Family Court Judge when there is some concern over the non-custodial parents parenting abilities, domestic abuse, alcohol abuse, the parent has a drug problem or there is a lack of parent child bond or for other reasons. These supervised visits are either for one hour at the Providence Family Court or Supervised by a third party outside of Court or by DCYF.

“Although parental substance abuse is the single most common predictor of children’s out-of-home placement, children’s out-of-home placement is not simply a function of substance abuse alone but rather a function of complex interactions of risk factors at many levels . At the family/social level, for example, children’s out-of-home placement is more frequent among substance-abusing women with histories of childhood abuse and neglect, exposure to negative events, and experiences of domestic violence. Demographic factors such as poor education, teen pregnancy, single parenthood, and chronic unemployment also place substance-abusing women at greater risk for losing child custody. Maternal psychosocial risk, including substance abuse severity and comorbid psychopathology, also predicts higher rates of children’s out-of-home placement among substance-abusing women (DHHS, 1999; Nair et al., 1997).” Substance-abusing mothers and disruptions in child custody: An attachment perspective Nancy E. Suchman, Ph.D.,^a,* Thomas J. McMahon, Ph.D.,^a,c Heping Zhang, Ph.D.,^b Linda C. Mayes, M.D.,^c andSuniya Luthar, Ph.D.^d