Page 38 of Never the Bride
“Ms. Jiménez,” Judge Perry says, staring at me over the rim of his thick glasses, “I know you by reputation. You’re very good at what you do, so I want to remind you to tread lightly. If it’s proven that you willingly entered into a marriage for the inheritance and thenlieabout it today you can be disbarred.”
My throat thickens. I know I’m walking a fine line here and it’s killing me. The last thing I want is to be disbarred.
“Your Honor,” I say in a softer tone, “I’m not lying about how the marriage came to be. I’d never do that. I’m merely suggesting that Mr. Taylor and I met the conditions set forth in the trustas it was written. As a divorce attorney, I’ve seen every type of marriage come across my desk, and if we examine the inner workings of those marriages, I believe that we’d find most of those marriages not to be in good-faith from toxic relationships, miscommunication, years of separation, etc. What I’m arguing is that our marriage, though not traditional, meets the subjective ‘good-faith’ requirement as much as any marriage out there does.”
There’s a sniff from Max Hawthorne. “Ms. Jiménez can refute the language of the trust and argue that ‘good-faith’ is subjective, but the fact remains: Mr. Taylor and Ms. Jiménez entered into a fraudulent marriage to receive the estate money from my client, Mr. Lucas and then never spoke again. Now, Mr. Lucas is asking Your Honor to make a judicial declaration that the marriage isn’t valid and that the money needs to be repaid in full.”
Judge Perry removes his glasses, tilting his head as he stares back at us. I feel Hess squirm beside me, prompting me to square my shoulders as a show of confidence from at least one of us.
“You say this is a real marriage?” he asks.
My chin lifts. “Real in the sense that it was legally and lawfully done per the terms of the trust.”
“I don’t like that, Ms. Jiménez.” He shifts his weight. “I view marriage more than a legal contract. My wife and I have been happily married for thirty-nine years, so my views of good-faith are coming from a different place.”
My stomach knots. This is exactly what I was afraid of.
“Yes, but can the court really say that Mr. Taylor and I aren’t happily married within the arrangement ofourmarriage?”
Judge Perry’s eyes narrow. “While I agree I’m not here to police romance or living situations, I am here to ensure the estate is administered as intended and I believe the grantorintended for this to be more than a legal arrangement between the two of you. So here’s what I’m going to do.” He sits up taller. “Based on your impeccable reputation in the courts thus far, I’m going to give you a second chance, Ms. Jiménez. I’m going stay the calendar on this case for about six months and during that time, I would expect you both to try and make this a legitimate marriage where there’s no ambiguity on whether or not it’s considered in good faith. I would expect that you and Mr. Taylor live together like most married couples do. I would also expect that you attend monthly marriage counseling to learn how to communicate. My wife and I have greatly benefited from that ourselves.”
“Your Honor,” I desperately defend, “the courts don’t have authority to force people to live together or attend counseling. The court’s role is to decide if the condition was met at the time, and it was. Mr. Taylor and I have been legally married for the last five and a half years per the trust’s terms.”
The judge pins me with his dark eyes. “I’m aware that I can’torderyou to do any of those things, but I like your chances in this court a lot more if you spend six months living together and attend monthly counseling. Now, if you refuse to do those things, I can make a ruling right now about the validity of your marriage. It’s your choice, Ms. Jiménez.”
And this is why Judge Perry is considered whacko and unorthodox. If he rules now, he’ll say the marriage isn’t valid and I’ll be on the hook to pay everything back. If we wait six months and comply with his wishes, he’ll probably declare the marriage valid.
I force a smile. “No, Your Honor, that’s not necessary. Mr. Taylor and I are happy to push back the hearing six months and spend that time working on our marriage.”
He glances at Mr. Hawthorne. “Does that satisfy the demands of your client?”
“It does, Your Honor.”
“Excellent we’ll set a new hearing on the calendar at which time I’ll make a declaration about the validity of the marriage and the trust money.” He bangs his gavel, shaking my stunned body. “Court is adjourned.”
I fall into my chair, resting my head in my hands.
Hess leans over to me. “Wait. What just happened?"
“We lost.” We didn’t really lose. Judge Perry is handing us a lifeline that may just save us in the end. But right now, it feels like we lost.
“You meanyoulost?” Hess says.
I turn to him with a glare. “Welost.”
“It sounded like the judge said we had to live together for six months and also go to counseling."
“Yeah, because that’s what he said.”
Hess shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I'm still trying to play catch-up here. Why did he say that?”
I stand and begin gathering papers, shoving them aggressively into my bag. “Basically, he paused this case for the next six months and suggested that we do those things before we see him again.”
“But why?”
“Because that’s what he needs to see from us in order to make a ruling on the marriage.”
“Can he do that?”
