Work with an experienced family lawyer

As a parent, your children are your top priority. That dedication doesn’t change if you and your partner decide to get divorced, and struggling over child custody can be one of the most difficult parts of any separation. We can help you get the legal guidance you need to petition for child custody.

When there is so much at stake, understanding the ins and outs of child custody is priority number one. You want to make sure you know what you can do to help guide your case in the right direction.

Two basic principles guide the child custody process. First, what’s in the best interest of the child. The court can grant sole or joint custody, depending on the child’s preference, emotional and physical needs and more. Second, that it’s usually best for the child to have a strong, stable and ongoing relationship with both parents.

As experienced family lawyers, we can provide you with the legal guidance you need and help you protect the well-being of your child.

Getting child support can make a difference in your child's life. While critical financial decisions like these are particularly stressful, it's important you keep your child's best interest at heart.

We know that this can be a stressful process, but you don’t have to do it all by yourself. We can help you prepare for a child support hearing, including practical tips and valuable insights into how to get the best  possible outcome for your case.

Child support is a payment made by one parent to the other to help with the cost of looking after your children. If parents agree on the terms of child support, there’s no need to go to court—you and your spouse can settle behind the scenes.

But if you find yourself in a position in which you can’t come to an agreement, you’ll have to head to a trial for a judge to decide. In most states, child support is based on only a few factors: your income, your spouse’s income, your child’s expenses and how much time each of you will spend with your children.

Creating a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can be a smart step to protecting yourself in the future. When you get married, it often feels less than ideal to think about what will happen in the case of separation, but it can be an essential step in assuring your financial wellbeing in the future.

The purpose of both prenups and postnups is to streamline a potential future separation. Both agreements cover practical and financial matters like who keeps what assets, who lives where, who’s responsible for spousal support and what happens if one or both of you incur significant debt.

Prenuptial agreements are usually written before getting married and commence immediately after the wedding. They typically cover property and assets that each partner owned before the marriage. Postnuptial agreements can be written anytime after getting married. They can be back-dated or forward-dated. They typically cover assets that came into existence after the union, like new businesses or a family home.

Our team of legal professionals can help you with an agreement that fits your needs. Schedule a call to learn about your options.

Divorce is a disruptive time of life. It’s hard to find your footing during a separation, which makes it especially difficult to find common ground with your spouse. In some cases, mediation can help.

Mediation is very different from a collaborative divorce, where both sides have separate lawyers, and there is little or no direct communication. With divorce mediation, the two spouses meet at the same time with an independent mediator. That mediator is specially trained to reconcile different views and help couples reach a mutually acceptable agreement.

Any agreement you reach through mediation is not legally binding on its own. It only becomes so once it’s incorporated into a final divorce decree that has been signed off by the courts.

To see whether mediation could be a good option for you, schedule a call with our team of legal professionals.

Becoming someone’s guardian can change the course of your life. When you’re a guardian, you step in to provide strong and caring support to someone during a time of great need. Your first step is to fully understand what’s ahead.

When you’re ready to make a difference in a child’s life, we can provide you with the legal guidance you need to move forward. Since every case is different, timelines change. On average, guardianship cases take between 2-6 months. If your case is more complicated or contentious, it could take longer.

Children need dependable care and guidance to thrive. In any guardianship case, the judge’s first consideration is what’s in the best interest of the child in question.

The first requirement to becoming a guardian is to have their wellbeing at heart. While most guardians already have an existing close relationship with the child in question—oftentimes applicants are an aunt, uncle, older sibling, grandparent or cousin—a family connection isn’t necessarily required. If children have lived with you as a non-family member for a long time, that’s also considered.

To take the next step forward with your guardianship case, schedule a call with our team.

Adopting a child can be one of the most meaningful moments in a person’s life. Whille adoption can be a challenging journey, its rewards make it all worthwhile.

There are different ways to adopt and the process may differ based on your individual case. You can use public agency services provided by the state, work with a private adoption agency based in the US, work with a private international adoption agency, or adopt within your immediate family. Since adoption is one of the most serious commitments you can make, it’s done carefully and thoroughly, and can take a considerable amount of time.

Different aspects may affect the amount of time adoption takes. Your flexibility, financial resources, compatibility and the professional opinions of childcare workers involved may all play a part in your process.

To find out more about what adoption could look like for you, speak with our team of professionals.