Manchester's Union Leader Runs Article About Marital Master David Forrest - Supreme Court Decision An Example Of His Bias Against Men

E-mails fall short for fault-based divorce
By NANCY WEST
New Hampshire Sunday News (Union Leader) Sunday, Mar. 22, 2009

If you're seeking a fault-based divorce in New Hampshire, you'd better have more than sexually suggestive e-mails and hurt feelings on which to base your case.

That's the message the state Supreme Court sent in a March 5 ruling that set a standard for finding one spouse at fault. The ruling may affect future divorces involving a claim that one spouse caused what state law describes as "serious injury to health or endangered reason" to the other, one of nine grounds for fault-based divorce in New Hampshire.

"The decision raised the bar. It's got to be serious injury, not just hurt feelings," said Nashua attorney William Aivalikles, who represented Daniel R. Guy's appeal of the divorce filed by his wife, Joni Guy.

Joni Guy claimed sexually suggestive e-mails Mr. Guy exchanged with a former girlfriend caused Mrs. Guy to be "angry, upset and distraught," according to court documents.

Senior Associate Justice Linda S. Dalianis, citing previous cases, said Mrs. Guy's claim was based on an 1840 law that allowed divorce when the claim didn't meet the standard for legal cruelty but the conduct "might make life intolerable and death welcome."

Being "angry, upset and distraught" isn't enough to meet that standard, Dalianis wrote, citing similar past cases that involved constant drunken abuse by domineering husbands, including a threat of murder. In each of those cases, the behavior caused some effect to the "innocent" party, such as becoming highly nervous, losing weight or undergoing counseling, Dalianis wrote.

"This kind of effect upon (Mrs. Guy's) physical and mental health is insufficient, as a matter of law, to sustain a divorce. ... In cases involving a divorce upon these grounds, the effect upon the 'innocent' spouse has been much more severe than mere anger and upset and the conduct in which the 'guilty' spouse engaged was more brutal than merely e-mailing his former girlfriend," Dalianis wrote in the unanimous decision.

Few fault-based divorces
Only about 1.3 percent of all New Hampshire divorces last year were completed as fault-based, according to the state Division of Vital Records. There were 4,913 divorces last year, and 4,847 of them were no-fault divorces based on irreconcilable differences.

In 2007, the most recent year for which the National Center for Health Statistics has divorce figures, New Hampshire's divorce rate was 3.8 per 1,000 of the state's total population. That's about the same as the national average, 3.6 per 1,000, although not all states report, according to the NCHS.

Experts estimate between 5 and 10 percent of divorces are filed as fault-based, but fewer than 2 percent are granted, according to the state Division of Vital Records.

Before no-fault divorce became part of New Hampshire law in 1971, a finding of fault was required to dissolve a marriage here, Aivalikles said.

Property settlement
In fault-based divorces, marital assets can be divided to favor the "innocent" party, Aivalikles said.

In the Guy divorce, the original property settlement, which was partially based on Mr. Guy's fault, was vacated in the Supreme Court's ruling.

Mr. Guy is expected to get an additional $56,000 as a result, Aivalikles said.

David Forrest, the marital master who heard the divorce, had recommended the fault-based grounds and the recommendation was approved by Judge William Groff.

The trial court dismissed Mrs. Guy's 2007 fault claims of habitual drunkenness and adultery against her husband of 18 years.

"It's safe to say my wife believed a lot of things that turned out to be untrue," said Mr. Guy, who added that he neither has a drinking problem nor committed adultery.

The ruling will likely mean Daniel Guy, a disc jockey and broadcast engineer, gets to keep at least half of his $112,000 inheritance, which was an issue in the settlement, he said.

"(Justice Dalianis) took more of a common-sense approach to my case. Finding fault was just a stretch," Mr. Guy said.

Joni Guy couldn't be reached for comment, and her attorney, Francis Holland of Nashua, didn't return phone calls to the New Hampshire Sunday News.

Alternatives to litigation
Wilton lawyer Honey Hastings said she changed her practice four years ago after a troubling case involving sexually graphic testimony.

Hastings, who wrote "The New Hampshire Divorce Handbook," said, "I don't litigate anymore. I felt it was enabling people to treat each other badly and hurt children."

She offers services to families, including mediation and collaborative practice, also called "no-court divorce."

Attorney Amy Wolfson of Nashua said fault-based divorces might lead to unequal division of assets, alimony and increased alimony, and may affect parenting rights and responsibilities.

Depending on how outrageous the fault, Wolfson said, the asset split could be 55-45, 60-40 or whatever the judge decides. In one of her cases, she said, her client walked away with 90 percent of the marital assets, though she said such cases are "extraordinary."

Mediation isn't always the best option in divorce cases, Wolfson said.

"Mediation works well when both parties are of equal bargaining power," she said. "When you have power disparity in the marriage, it doesn't work well."

Randy Kessler, secretary of the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association, said New Hampshire is in the mainstream, as about 25 states have both fault and no-fault divorces. Seventeen states have no-fault only, and eight states have fault-based divorces only, he said.

Even if fault isn't alleged in a divorce suit, Kessler said, fault may be found and used as leverage in reaching a favorable settlement for the injured party. Fault also can be relevant in deciding settlements and child-custody arrangements, he said.

End of Article

Let’s not forget that Marital Master David S. Forrest can’t sign off on divorce decisions without a Judge reviewing his decisions and also signing off on them.  Judge John P. Arnold and Judge Brian Tucker signed off on Forrest’s decisions in my divorce case.  These Judges in my opinion are just as guilty for the bad rulings that Forrest continually makes since it is their job to supervise Forrest. 

My ex-wife brought three different fault grounds against me in my divorce.  I brought forth one petition on irreconcilable differences.  Her three charges against me in her cross petition:

1.      Adultery

2.      When either party has so treated the other as seriously to injure health or endanger reason.

3.      Irreconcilable differences

Forest being the bigot he is used emails against me too but here is the real killer.  The adultery I was being accused of was after the fact.  A few weeks after being thrown out of my house, I moved into a four bedroom house with someone of the opposite sex so that I could share expenses and because plainly speaking, I was tired of sleeping in my vehicle and on peoples couches.   Forrest used this against me to support my ex’s theory that I committed adultery (after the fact) and therefore she had no way to reconcile her marriage.  Funny, I thought the marriage was over several months earlier when my ex told me to choose between my job and my family and shortly after I filed for divorce. 

Originally I was supposed to be moving in with two female roommates.  We would each have a bedroom and my kids would have their own bedroom.  It’s a good thing the third woman backed out at the last minute due to her not being able to get out of her existing lease.  God only know what Forrest would have given my ex if I was living with two women at the time of my divorce and sharing a house and expenses.  Forrest incidentally decided that there was no proof of me damaging my ex’s health and reason (I’m sure that anyone could see that her health and reason had been damaged a long time before I knew her).  

Here is how getting thrown out of my house by Forrest transpired.  I got a temporary order of protection against my ex-wife for her assaulting me one night.  My ex mind you was just as big as me and her job was very physical so lets just she was no petite flower.  This was one of the many times that my ex became physical to me.  At the hearing, Forrest dismissed my petition.  A few days later, he threw me out of my house which was the day before Thanksgiving.  I was notified by my attorney that I had to vacate the house immediately.  My ex had friends and family in the area that she could stay with.  I was an outsider.  I had no friends able to take me in and all of my family was two hours away.  I also have a very serious food allergy that I have to contend with which makes it difficult to stay at other peoples houses.  If you ask me, this prejudiced Marital Master that hates men had to find that I did something wrong so that he could justify throwing me out of the house and giving my ex an unequal distribution which included 98% of my childhood possessions, a lot of my clothes, some tools that belonged to my deceased father and a couple pieces of furniture that belonged to my soon to be deceased mother.  One piece of furniture in particular was an antique knick knack shelf that was given to my parents as a wedding gift.  My ex told Forrest that my mother purchased it for her at a yard sale for $20.    

I would love to see people in that State of NH that have so much power like Marital Masters and Judges have to go through counseling as a prerequisite to being appointed and to have a stipulation that the public gets to look at the findings.  Forrest would probably be diagnosed with multiple personality disorders himself.  People like Forrest can not handle power nor should they ever be allowed to be in a position of power. 

Here is an example of the types of frivolous Emails that were used.  Attorney Jaye Rancourt brings up to David Forrest that she found some emails where I stress desire to spend the night with another female.  Rancourt provided the email to Forrest.  I point out to Forrest that the email stated that I was looking forward to spending an evening with this female, watching a “Redsox and Yankee Baseball Game” the following year as this email conversation happened at the very end of baseball season.  This also happened after I signed divorce paperwork and was separated from my ex.  It’s so pathetic that Forrest cites this email in his written decision of fault in my divorce. 

The real sad thing about this email evidence is that I should have appealed this decision.  I didn’t because I was just glad to be away from my sick and deranged ex-wife’s abuse.  I was glad it was over.  I had no money (My divorce broke me at over $50k), no attorney and was just emotionally beat up.  About a month after my divorce, the above article came out.  Had this decision happened a few months earlier, the outcome of my divorce I am sure would have been different and if not, I would have personally gone to the Supreme Court and fought this bigot’s decision on my own.

The State of NH is so pathetic.  Several months after my divorce, I involuntarily became unemployed.  I had no money.  As the saying goes, I didn’t have a pot to piss in.  However because I had the window to throw it out of (I was living with someone who was paying the rent), the State of NH told me that I didn’t qualify for legal assistance to help me with my continuing post divorce frivolous nonsense that Attorney Jaye Rancourt and my ex kept on throwing at me.  I didn’t have any money because I spent it all on my divorce, my credit was tapped out, I sold off what little bit of personal property that I had just so I could pay my child support. My newest vehicle is a 1995 which every time I drive down the road with it and hit a pothole, rust falls off. You get the picture.  I’m not living an elaborate life. 

If you go through a divorce in NH plan for the worst, especially when you are a man and the noncustodial parent.  The State of NH is biased against men to start with.  I believe that men and women should have equal rights but why is it that when there is a divorce with children involved, you quite often see the woman fighting for full custody of the children and trying to deny the man access to his children?  Where is the equality here?  I can’t speak for everyone but in my case it was all about money.  My ex told me and numerous people that she was going to ruin me and take all of money and property.  However, it didn’t ruin me.  It made me a stronger person. 

Marital Masters and Judges will continue to be biased against men as long as the system remains old and archaic.  If you are a man in a contested divorce, expect to lose custody of your kids to a sick spouse, expect to have all of your values as a man deflated, expect to not be listened to when you tell the truth, and expect that in the end you will be bankrupt.  I’m telling you this so that you can plan ahead.  I wish knew what I know now and that I had time to plan ahead so I could stash money away.  That wasn’t my case.  My ex stopped contributing to the household a few months before I was thrown out of the house so I had to cover all expenses on my own.   Then when I got thrown out of the house, Forrest orders me to pay the mortgage in lieu of child support which was more then $400 a month above the NH child support guidelines and then holds it against me when I can’t afford to keep up with payments after many months of this nonsense.      

Recently, someone pointed out to me that there is a reason that NH Judges and Marital Masters order child support to be paid through the Department of Health and Human Services.  When the State acts like a collection agency for child support, the Federal Government pays the State money to do this.  The State of NH likes to have an income at the expense of the Federal Government and it is a major source of how the State of NH is funded.   What Forrest, Tucker, and Arnold as well as all the other Marital Masters and Judges are doing is just like in the old days when police departments wrote tickets to fund themselves.  A cop would write a ticket.  The money would go to the cop’s agency thus giving a great incentive for cops to write lots of tickets.  Even when people didn’t do anything wrong cops would write tickets just for the money.  It’s called corruption and in NH we have a lot of Marital Masters like Forrest and Judges like Tucker and Arnold that foster corruption.  Let’s work together to get these people removed and lets get the laws changed. 

I have been made aware of some house bills that are going to be proposed to the NH House this coming year that will help deal with some of these issues of bias.  I will try to post them once I get more information.