Dealer Add-ons

     My wife and I recently bought a new SUV to help tote around the kids and their various accessories (i.e. my "in-laws"!).  Overall, we had an excellent experience at the dealership, but I remember one exchange with the finance manager that felt perfunctory and awkward.  Sitting there in his office after we established the particulars of our new loan, he launched into a bloodless yet clearly practiced speech about the various "add-on" products they offered.
     If you've ever bought a car, you know what I'm talking about - extended warranties, glass protection plans, paint protection (just a fancy wax job), GAP coverage (total crap if you put more than 5% down), etc.  The finance guy outright told us he didn't expect or recommend us to purchase any of these products, in fact he gave us several reasons not to purchase some of them.  Yet, he dutifully recited their entire list of offerings before we closed the deal.  Why?
    I thought over this for while after we left the dealership.  Ultimately, I decided he must have been required to at least mention each add-on during every transaction, either a matter of policy laid down by his employer or by contract with the various outside vendors who supply the add-on products/services.  All we wanted was to sign on the dotted line and drive off into the sunset with our shiny new toy, but first he had to check off all the boxes on his list.  Then I imagined the faces of hundreds of customers he must have given that spiel to over the years, and I realized I had a corollary experience in my family law practice.
    The end game of a family law case can be frustrating, even if all issues are resolved with a reasonable settlement.  I charge the same hourly rate to haggle over specific language in a separation agreement or to email the judge's clerk for the status of an order that I charge for appearing at trial.  Clients tend to see a successful mediation or trial as the "finale" to their case, like the big fight scene in a "Rocky" film.  But that finale merely produces a governing document that must be implemented in your life.  Otherwise, what's the point?  Thus, I morph from the cunning litigator who helped you survive your heinous soon-to-be ex and her bulldog attorney into the finance guy at the car lot who won't let you get down to enjoying your new ride.
    The most under-utilized post-settlement service we offer is estate planning.  Most of my clients who have pre-existing wills haven't stopped to think about the impact of divorce on the distribution of their estate.  When you get divorced, by operating of law your spouses name "drops out" of your existing will.  Anything you left to your former spouse will now be distributed according to the "residual clause" of your will.  That's a the little blurb at the end that says, "Anything I have not specifically devised herein goes to X."
     If your residual beneficiary is your spouse, then in practical effect all of your estate will be distributed according to statute as though you never had a will.  Even if your residual beneficiaries are your kids, you are foregoing your right to make a purposeful decision about who receives what when you die.
     Another added service I often recommend is filing a Memorandum of Agreement with the register of deeds.  This applies especially if you settle your case early in your separation period and you may consider purchasing a new home or any real property prior to getting your absolute divorce after a year of separation.  Separation Agreements are long, complicated documents that often detail private matters you don't want added to the public record.  A Memorandum of Agreement is a short, two-page summary with just enough content to help you transact in real property without the prospective seller or lender giving you a hard time about getting your spouse to sign off on everything.
     Moving forward, I'll continue to encourage clients to keep a little money (and patience) in reserve to handle these clean-up issues.  I want to make sure the resolutions of their cases are made the last.  Trust me, it's a lot more fun coming back to my office for a social event like Business After Hours or Blues & Burritos than it is because an unresolved issue from your divorce has arisen like a zombie from the dead!