Our team will offer support and compassion during your difficult time and will always help you make the best long-term decisions for you and your family. Specific family law areas we specialize in are:
- Dissolution of marriage (divorce)
- Dissolution of domestic partnerships (unmarried relationships)
- Modifications
- Custody & parenting time (visitation)
- Child and spousal support
- Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
- Contempt issues (enforcement)
- Interstate Disputes
- Mediation
- Reference judging
- Collaborative law
We recognize that each of our clients has different needs, objectives, and goals. Our team is committed to helping our clients reach their most positive outcome, which can be accomplished via traditional litigation, collaborative law, and other options such as mediation. We want to enable our clients to make their most informed decisions and solve problems practically.
COLLABORATIVE LAW
Because the best solutions to family issues are often resolutions in which both parties feel that their needs are met, we offer this effective way of moving forward that fosters mutually satisfactory, long-lasting solutions while avoiding the costs – both emotional and monetary – of court.
Developed by lawyers, mental health professionals and mediators, collaborative law is a cooperative process through which the people who are divorcing exchange information, get professional advice, and work together to maximize financial and emotional benefits for everyone.
How Does it Work?
Both persons commit in writing to resolve dissolution issues (parenting time, residence, child support, property division, and spousal support) without going to court. Each agrees to openly exchange information and to freely provide all necessary documentation on time.
The attorneys agree to provide a safe environment and enlist accountants, financial planners, mental health professionals and mediators as needed to help prepare and guide the parties, as well as to offer communication skills designed to work after separation or divorce.
Each person continues to be advised by their own independent attorney, with the goal of ensuring a level playing field and arriving at the best possible results for the entire family.
Why It Works So Well
The parties agree to take personal responsibility for their outcome rather than leave the outcome up to third parties – the attorneys and court system; the process is collaborative, not adversarial.
Parties don’t pay for endless legalities, such as motions, depositions, subpoenas and hearings. Instead, they receive useful financial planning, tax advice, and counseling for the parties and the children, as needed.
Ultimately, the goal of a divorce, despite its difficulties, is to set both parties on a course towards successful lives, and if there are children, to smooth their emotionally healthy transition to two single parent homes, or blended families.
TRUSTS AND ESTATE PLANNING
Although inevitable, most of us don’t want to think about illness, incapacity, and the end of life. However, these times are easier to face when legal and financial matters have been taken care of ahead of time.
Our team has the knowledge and skill to help guide you through a decision-making process that best fits you and your loved ones. We’ll explain your options and the available legal tools to help with health care management and financial matters.
We can assist you with:
- Wills
- Powers of Attorneys
- Advance Directives for Health Care
- Revocable Living Trusts
Our team will always listen to your needs to help create a plan that works for you and your loved ones.