I’m in Rhode Island Family Court regularly. And every so often, I’m sitting at counsel table waiting for my case to be called, and I watch someone step up to the other table alone.
No attorney. Just them, and a stack of papers they’re holding a little too tightly.
The other side has a lawyer. That lawyer drafted the agreement. And as the judge starts reading through the terms out loud, I can see the moment — and it happens more often than it should — when the person without representation starts to realize that what’s in the document isn’t quite what they expected.
By then, it’s very late in the process to do anything about it.
Here’s what I see in the paperwork:
Parenting plans that use phrases like “liberal visitation” or “reasonable access” without defining what that actually means — no schedule, no holidays spelled out, no framework for disputes. Language like that sounds agreeable. In practice, it hands control to whoever is more aggressive about interpreting it. And it almost always leads back to court.
Vague language in a parenting plan doesn’t split the difference — it creates a fight. Usually sooner than anyone expects.
On property: I’ve reviewed agreements where a marital home gets “divided” in ways that look fair on the surface but include undefined deductions — carrying costs, repair credits, reimbursements — that can quietly consume one spouse’s share of the equity over time. A family law attorney reads those clauses and asks: defined how? Calculated by whom? What’s the cap? Without those answers in the order, you don’t have a real agreement. You have a future dispute.
Rhode Island law does allow parenting plans to be modified when circumstances change substantially — but that’s a process, and it takes time and money. Property divisions, once entered by the court, are extremely difficult to reopen. What gets signed at that table is generally what you’re living with.
I’m not writing this to be dramatic. I’m writing it because the people I watch navigate this alone are not unintelligent — they’re just operating without information that takes years of family court practice to accumulate. That’s not a fair fight.
If you’re going through a divorce or custody matter in Rhode Island — even one that feels straightforward — please talk to an attorney before you sign anything or walk into that courtroom. One consultation can tell you whether what’s on the table is actually fair, and what your rights are if it isn’t.
Frank Ribezzo handles family law matters at Devane, Fogarty & Ribezzo in West Warwick, RI. Call today for a consultation: (401) 821-9945
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