ThE type of family law work WE HANDLE
Family law addresses all types of personal relationships. Below are common family law actions and the relationships that apply.
(1) Prenuptial agreements - These are for couples entering into marriage.
(2) Postnuptial agreements- These are for couples already married who intend to stay married and want to formalize agreements regarding custody, support, or property.
(3) Nullity- This is for people who married but believe the marriage is not valid.
(4) Dissolutions/divorces or legal separations - For couples divorcing or separating.
(5) Paternity or a child custody and support action.- People with children who are no longer together.
(6) Grandparent visitation - For grandparents who need legal help to spend time with their grandchildren.
(7) Domestic violence restraining orders- For people in an intimate personal relationship that need protection because of abuse.
(8) Interim Request for orders or stipulations- These are for people who already have a family law case but need help quickly with custody, support, or property.
(9) Post-judgment request for orders or stipulations- These are for people who finished their divorce, legal separation, or custody action and need to change their previous orders.
Currently, we handle everything listed above except domestic violence cases. We also do not handle adoptions, guardianships, or termination of parental rights.
Service options available
There are many ways to handle your family law needs. Our firm believes in providing options. Our service options include (1) mediation, (2) co-mediation, (3) collaborative law, (4) collaborative hybrids, (5) litigation support services, and (6) litigation.
Brief information about our service options-
mediation services
This service is a voluntary, confidential process that must be agreed upon by both parties.
At our firm, mediation is where the attorney acts as a neutral professional to help both sides reach agreements. Since the attorney is acting as a neutral, she is not an attorney for either party. Legal information is provided throughout the process, but no legal advice is given.
If the parties agree in writing ahead of time, our firm can handle any required court paperwork including scribing of settlement agreements. However, since no legal advice is given, the parties would need to seek out and hire their own independent attorney if s/he wants legal advice including review of any agreements reached in mediation.
Mediation is best for parties who can communicate with each other, are open to compromise, transparent with information, and believe they can work together to reach agreements with the help of a neutral professional.
Mediation is not a good idea for parties where any of the following might apply (a) there is a history of abuse, (b) at least one party is too emotionally upset to have conversations with the other even with a mediator present, (c) the trust is so broken one party is unwilling to believe the other during the process, (d) one person is not willing to share any and all information or documents required for the process, (e) at least one party is someone who never wants to compromise on anything, or (f) at least one person is the type of person who wants to have his/her “day in court” or “hear it from the judge”.
This service is not the same as court-ordered mediation through family court services that addresses child custody and parenting time.
CO-Mediation
The difference between mediation and co-mediation is in co-mediation you have more than one neutral professional helping with settlement. Co-mediation options available through our firm include (1) using one neutral attorney with one neutral mental health professional or (2) one neutral attorney with one neutral financial expert. This option is recommended when the parties believe having this additional professional will help with settlement. If children are involved, the use of a neutral mental health professional who is also a child specialist is recommended.
Collaborative services
This service is also a voluntary process that must be agreed upon by both parties.
Collaborative services include a team. A collaborative team includes one collaborative attorney for each party, one neutral mental health professional, and one neutral financial person.
Once all professional team members are hired, a written agreement to use the collaborative process is signed. It includes a “disqualification clause”, which states that neither collaborative attorney will go to court and litigate the case.
Collaborative attorneys work with the parties to educate them on the law and their rights with the goal being to settle the case out of court. Collaborative attorneys are specially trained for this process.
The benefits of the collaborative approach are parties talk with each other support by a professional, the attorneys are settlement minded, formal discovery is not used, and the parties do not have to go through court for anything other than submitting paperwork. The parties can also can be creative with their agreements in a way the court would not be.
The collaborative process works best with parties who are (a) willing to trust each other through the process, (b) can communicate with one another effectively with the proper support, (c) want to reach their own agreements, (d) have large estates, support issues, or unique issues requiring more professionals, and/or (d) they want to be their own decision-makers instead of having a judge make orders.
The collaborative process is not recommended if you (a) need emergency orders, (b) do not want to have conversations with the other side, (c) there is a history of serious abuse, or (d) you think the other side can not be trusted through the process to provide information and documents requested.
Hybrid Collaborative services
The difference between the collaborative option and a hybrid option is the hybrid option doesn’t require a full collaborative team. Hybrid options available include (1) two collaborative attorneys or (2)two collaborative attorneys and one other neutral professional. This option is recommended when both parties want his/her own legal advice from the start of the process.
Litigation services
Litigation is the typical process for court action and can be very expensive, especially if you go to trial. It is not voluntary and is the “default” method used by the court once a party has started a lawsuit. Litigation can become a very expensive process.
Litigation services for family law are best for someone who (a) needs emergency orders, (b) is being abused, (c) believes the other side is too difficult to work with, (d) does not believe the other side can be trusted or will hide information through the process, and/or (e) you believe you are going to need a judge to decide some or all parts of your case.
Litigation SUPPORT services - CONSULTING AND Document preparation
Litigation support services are best for someone with a limited budget or simpler needs such as review of paperwork, getting specific legal questions answered with advice given, or drafting of court paperwork.