Litigation: the in-court option

Dissolution, Parenting Plans, and Child Support:

These family changes can be some of the most difficult choices and emotionally taxing processes most people will ever experience. I have been working with clients in these areas for over fifteen years, and that experience is how I’m able to give counsel and develop strategies, in addition to knowing the law. Family law is an area where judges and commissioners have broad discretion, but also tend to follow patterns, which makes family law more of an art than a hard science. What the system is looking for is stability and safety for children, and fair resolutions for spouses and parents. You can find whatever position you want by researching on the internet, and friends usually want to be supportive and agreeable, whereas an attorney’s role is to give you personalized, skilled, and objective advice that may be comforting or may be frustrating, but is ideally what you need to hear to make the best decisions for yourself and your family. If you feel like you could use legal counsel or representation, please reach out to my office.

Guardianship, Conservatorship and Adoption:

We have helped many families navigate adoption, step-parent adoption, or minor guardianship (formerly third-party custody). Often, stepping in to help parent a child starts with the desire for a child to have stability, safety and support. These cases can be legally and procedurally complicated, so it’s important to speak with an attorney about what option is best and how to proceed.

Adoption is a permanent legal process that terminates the parental rights of one or both parents, and then establishes parental rights with the adoptive parent(s). Terminating parental rights is a very difficult process if a parent objects. Minor guardianship is a temporary or long-term option, wherein the legal parent retains their parental rights, but the court establishes a non-parent legal guardian for a set period of time due to parental deficiencies. Due to the various options available and procedural complexity, we do recommend that you set up consultation with an attorney if you are exploring either adoption or guardianship.