Negotiation in divorce cases. Alimony Versus child support. 

Matrimonial disputes can get very ugly for a husband. 

However, they are far worse for a husband who is also a father. 

Let's say that your matrimonial disputes are coming to an end. 
You had a long and uphill battle of defending yourself in false cases. 
You also mounted your own offensive, filing civil and criminal cases against your wife and her family.
You have finally compelled your wife to come to the negotiation table. 

Even in these final stages, if you are not careful, you will become a victim of manipulations of your wife, her lawyer, and the legal system. 

Mr. A, who is a husband and a father, followed our strategies and after 1 year of court disputes was finally able to get his abusive wife to the negotiation table. 

When the terms and conditions were finalised in mediation, Mr. A called and informed us that he was happy with the outcome. 

Rs. 12 lakhs fixed, to be paid for wife and child, and written assurance that no future claims will be made against Mr. A. 
All was well. Except one issue. 

The amount of Rs. 12 lakhs was divided into two components. 
Rs. 4 lakhs towards child support. 
Rs. 8 towards alimony. 

When we heard this, we immediately informed Mr. A that he is being manipulated. 
We explained that in India, even if the parties sign contracts, or agreements, courts of law are happy to bypass them on a lot of occasions. 

In this particular case, the wife intended to convince Mr. A to take back the civil and criminal cases he had filed against her and her family, by signing on this compromise. 

She also wanted a quick divorce so that she could marry her boyfriend. 

After 6 to 18 months of divorce, the mother could easily again approach the courts and say that an amount of Rs. 4 lakhs is a very small sum of money to sustain the daughter. 

Since the rest of the money was attributed towards alimony, Mr. A would not be able to say that this amount could go towards the child's welfare. 

By this point, Mr. A had fought enough. He just wanted to take the good offer of having to pay only Rs. 12 lakhs, and he wanted to go back home. 

He kept arguing with us. 

"The mediator is also saying wife cannot make future claims". 
We showed Mr. A judgments where this exact situation happened. We also cautioned him not to fall prey to the manipulations of the mediator. 

"The wife is saying she wants a total of Rs. 20 lakhs if we want Rs. 12 lakhs to go towards only child support."
We told Mr. A to say that the wife does not deserve a single rupee as alimony since she earns a good salary already, and if she does not agree, we can all go back to fighting in court. 

Ultimately, Mr. A relented, and proceeded to re-negotiate. 

The mediation almost failed. 
The wife kept threatening. 
The session was then adjourned. 
In the next session, finally, now the wife relented, and agreed. 

Rs. 2 lakhs towards alimony. 
Rs. 10 lakhs towards child support. 

With this arrangement, Mr. A could rest assured, that at least for 5 to 7 years, he will not face child support proceedings. 

This is just one example of how husbands are easily manipulated in negotiation proceedings. 

And that is why you must never let your guard down, even if things are almost about to wrap up.