Stacey Hessler, the mother who abandoned her four children, banker husband and warm bed in Florida to join protesters in the Financial District close to Zuccotti Park has made headlines again. This time, Hessler is in the news for divorcing her husband of 19 years, relinquishing custodial rights to him and literally taking him to the cleaners with a whopping $85,000 settlement. Many might recognize the stark irony of the divorce settlement. Here is a “professional protester” as the divorce filing lists her occupation, raking money in from the very institution she protests against on Wall Street! It is the height of contradiction. Listing her (ex) husband as a banker on an annual salary of $65,000, the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ employee’s annual income was recorded as $0 on the divorce filing initiated by her husband, Curtiss.
The reason for the divorce is reportedly listed as “irreconcilable differences”, which does not come as a surprise, given that Hessler’s chosen life style since abandoning her family to join Occupy has become significantly different. Chosen life style, divorce payout and other facts aside, Stacey Hessler raises, yet again, the issue that we are most concerned about at Provda Law Firm; the real casualties of divorce. Stacey has left four children without a mother to become a professional protester and to pursue her own interests. Divorce, one can safely assume, became the unavoidable for a variety of reasons; all associated with Hessler’s choice. While there is no scrap of evidence or fact to suggest that Curtiss, the ex-husband, will be unable to adequately cater for the financial, emotional and other needs of the children, the fact remains that they stand a higher risk of being psychologically affected by what must seem to them as a mother’s rejection. Research confirms that children from broken homes suffer emotional and behavioural needs more than their counterparts from homes where the parents remain together.
The direct implication is felt on society in many ways, including the vicious cycle in the relationships and marriages of many of the affected children. At Provda Law Firm, we encourage parents going through divorce to always put their children’s interests first; to think beyond the pain, hatred, anger, disappointment or any other negative emotion they have towards the other party and to focus on their children’s future. The salient question should be whether or not the other party is able to contribute positively to the children’s lives. An answer in the affirmative means that concerted effort must be put into ensuring that the children do not suffer more than they necessarily have to on account of the divorce.
Stacey Hessler may have abandoned her four children and husband, she may be nearly $90, 000 richer directly or indirectly from the institutions she now fervently protests against, she may be many things to different people, depending on the view point, however by giving custody of the children to her apparently more stable ex-husband, it would seem that she had their best interests at heart at the end of the day. Although some might say she has a rather funny way of showing it.
This article was written by Bruce Provda, a New York divorce attorney. For advice on divorce, child custody, support and maintenance as well as other related family law issues in the State of New York, call Bruce Provda at Provda Law Firm, 40 Wall Street, 11 Floor, New York, NY 10005, (212) 671-0936 or visit his divorce law website.