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Who can you trust?

mycasewebsites2 • Feb 25, 2014

I sat across from a 16 year-old boy at the youth detention facility. The state charged him with armed robbery. He was in big trouble. I reviewed his file materials before I drove to see him. I held the police reports in my hands as he told me his story.

Don’t get me wrong. Police officers are imperfect humans, as we all are imperfect. They prepare imperfect reports. They view the facts through their imperfect lenses. However, this child’s story bore no resemblance to that of the police. He was lying to me. He did not trust me. However, at that moment in time, I was the only person he could trust. He didn’t know he had a reason to trust me.

I stopped him. I explained the attorney-client relationship as best I could.  I told him I knew he was lying. I begged him to be honest with me so I could help him. He wasn’t buying. He maintained several versions of his lie before he started to trust me to help him. Trusting me, for him, took a long time.

Once you’ve chosen your attorney, he/she can’t do their best for you if you are not completely open and honest with them. They just can’t. As attorneys, we are bound by rules of professional conduct that require us, within certain extreme limits, to keep your secrets. To perform at our highest level, we have to know those secrets.

If you can’t bring yourself to trust your attorney, you should part ways. Find one to whom you can tell those deepest darkest details. It’s the only path to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Love is a Battlefield-VA Disability Payments in Divorce

By mycasewebsites2 • 29 Aug, 2018
Mobile, Alabama has its fair share of military service members, veterans, and retirees. Sometimes, those folks get divorced. When they do, the military spouse’s military retirement is subject to equitable division by the Court. Either the parties agree on the division of military retirement or the Court divides it. In any event, the non-military spouse […] The post Love is a Battlefield-VA Disability Payments in Divorce appeared first on The Law Offices of Teague and McBay.

Making Up Is Hard to Do

By mycasewebsites2 • 24 Apr, 2018
Thankfully, I’ve recently had a spate of couples who have decided to try and make their marriages work after filing a divorce. In a couple of instances, even after a great deal of fighting and legal wrangling, I’ve had clients lay down their swords and engage in reconciliation. I love it when that happens. In […] The post Making Up Is Hard to Do appeared first on The Law Offices of Teague and McBay.

What’s Different about McBay Law?

By mycasewebsites2 • 05 Sep, 2017
I grew up watching Sesame Street. I loved Oscar and the Cookie Monster. One of my favorite regular skits was the “One of These Things is Not Like the Other.” I loved picking out the thing that was different. Of course, there were only ever four “things,” so choosing what was different was relatively easy. […] The post What’s Different about McBay Law? appeared first on The Law Offices of Teague and McBay.

Free Milk and a Cow: Common Law Marriage

By mycasewebsites2 • 06 Jul, 2017
More than 30 years ago, the Georgia Satellites released a song about a marriage ultimatum: “Keep Your Hands to Yourself.” The lyrics document the struggle between the singer and his lover over the terms of their relationship. We don’t know how that story ends; whether the couple married or split up. The song came to […] The post Free Milk and a Cow: Common Law Marriage appeared first on The Law Offices of Teague and McBay.

Step-Parents and Custody Fights

By mycasewebsites2 • 06 Jun, 2017
For those of you reading my blog for the first time, I am a divorce and family law attorney who is divorced, has children, has remarried, and has another child in my current, and final marriage. Confused? Don’t be. I often write from the perspective of a Dad who has children for whom I have […] The post Step-Parents and Custody Fights appeared first on The Law Offices of Teague and McBay.

Testimony in Divorce Cases: Don’t Monologue

By mycasewebsites2 • 30 Mar, 2017
If you have children, you’ve probably seen The Incredibles. I’ve seen it a MILLION times. One of my favorite scenes is the one in which Syndrome, who has Mr. Incredible in a seemingly inescapable situation, realizes that he is monologuing. Of course, monologuing is a common theme in all sorts of hero/villain movies. The hero is […] The post Testimony in Divorce Cases: Don’t Monologue appeared first on The Law Offices of Teague and McBay.

Common Law Marriage Requires Regular Divorce

By mycasewebsites2 • 22 Mar, 2017
Recent Events in Divorce and Family Law If you live in Alabama, you may know someone who has a common-law husband or wife. While only a few states recognize marriages with the absence of an official license, Alabama is no longer one of them. Before January 1, 2017, you could have avoided the ceremony, the […] The post Common Law Marriage Requires Regular Divorce appeared first on The Law Offices of Teague and McBay.

Waiting for the End of Time: Divorce in Mobile, Alabama

By mycasewebsites2 • 30 Dec, 2016
As a child of the seventies and eighties, I have vivid memories of hearing “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” as performed by Meatloaf on the radio. Of course, early on, I had no frame of reference for the story told in song about the heat of passion and the consequences. For those of you who’ve […] The post Waiting for the End of Time: Divorce in Mobile, Alabama appeared first on The Law Offices of Teague and McBay.

The Effects of Cohabitation on Alimony in Alabama

By mycasewebsites2 • 02 Nov, 2016
If you are paying or receiving alimony as part of a Divorce Order in Alabama, this one is for you. Under Alabama Law, the obligation to pay periodic alimony terminates upon the receiving party’s “cohabitation” with a member of the opposite sex. So, what does that mean? Under the case law, cohabitation is that thing […] The post The Effects of Cohabitation on Alimony in Alabama appeared first on The Law Offices of Teague and McBay.

If it can happen to Brad Pitt, it can happen to you.

By mycasewebsites2 • 29 Sep, 2016
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about what a mean son-of-a-bitch Brad Pitt is and that Angelina Jolie just can’t take it anymore. Multiple media outlets were eager to scoop Angelina’s side of the story about his anger management issues and how he’s a danger to the children. Lucky for Brad, […] The post If it can happen to Brad Pitt, it can happen to you. appeared first on The Law Offices of Teague and McBay.
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