Family Law Attorneys

January 27, 2018January 27, 2018 AdminAdmin 0 Comment

Family Law

Divorce can be one of the most significant, stressful events in your life. It can lead to changes in lifestyle, location, and most importantly, parenting. When you are dealing with the uncertainties that accompany divorce, you need experienced legal representation to help guide you through the process and stand up for your interests. For over 30 years.

Contact us today for a free phone consultation about your divorce or family law issue.

A Caring, Competent Approach

We provide personal attention and skilled representation that is focused on your needs and the best interests of your children. Family law attorney has handled a myriad of cases, from uncontested, straightforward divorces to complex divorce litigation cases involving custody disputes and millions of dollars in assets.

Many clients find that mediation of their family law matter is their best alternative. Mediation is an out of court dispute resolution process designed to minimize the stress and cost of a divorce. Mediation can be a sensible, economical, efficient alternative to a hostile, contested divorce.

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Family Law

You may elect to hire your own personal attorney who will represent you only and provide confidential, essential legal advice needed to resolve your case. Even if both parties have their own attorney, you may still be able to resolve your case by way of settlement. If settlement is not possible after exploring all viable alternatives, we will vigorously represent you in Court. The divorce process can seem daunting. When children are involved, you may worry about the impact on them and their future. We give you information about what your options are and explain the next steps. We will lay out realistic expectations for your case and help you feel confident about what lies ahead.

Our goal is keeping you out of court if possible to give you, instead of a judge, control of your case. We focus on saving you money and protecting your confidentiality. When the end result would benefit you more than litigation, we fully explore all settlement options before engaging in contested litigation.

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Divorce Settlement LawyersDivorce Settlement Lawyers

Divorce Settlement

Conflict can be a major cause for and element of divorce. There may be a dispute over assets and obligations or bitterness because of past wrongs. If the differences between you and your spouse have become so great that settlement is not possible, a judge will be needed to make decisions in your case. If so, you need personal representation by knowledgeable, experienced attorneys. We have been providing divorce litigation services to residents of the Central Coast and surrounding California communities for over 30 years.

Attorney has handled all types of divorce cases, including high-net-worth, complex divorce litigation. We can help you achieve your goals and get to the next stage in your life.

In the past, the most common way of getting a divorce or obtaining other family law orders has been for each party to retain their own attorney to represent them in court. In a contested case, the parties rarely discussed their issues face to face.

We Fully Explore All Settlement Options

We believe that simply because the parties have each hired their own attorney, this does not mean there must be a big fight. An important service your personal advocate can provide is to identify issues, collect information and participate in settlement negotiations.

Working with opposing counsel, we can facilitate settlement of issues in some cases and avoid court proceedings.

We Know What Needs to be Done and How to Do it

Your personal attorney will carefully listen to your concerns and goals. The attorney then has a job to do:

    • In custody and visitation cases, this may include interviewing witnesses and collecting records by subpoena or otherwise. In especially difficult cases, expert witnesses may be called in to perform custody and/or psychological evaluations.
    • When child support and/or spousal support is at issue, the attorney will gather evidence of each party’s income or perhaps, their ability to earn income. An expert witness may be utilized to perform a vocational evaluation of a spouse who has not worked for a considerable period of time. If one or both parties is self employed, the investigation of actual income available for support may be more complex, requiring the services of a forensic CPA or other expert who can prepare a report to use in settlement negotiations and can testify to financial details in court if necessary.

  • When property characterization and division is at issue, the attorney will gather evidence regarding the acquisition of assets and their value. An expert witness may be employed to provide a report about property value, and testify in court if necessary.
  • When debt allocation is at issue, the attorney will gather evidence about when and how the debt was incurred, security, if any, for the repayment of the debt, and other specifics which vary depending on the type of debt involved. The attorney will also assist the client by accumulating evidence regarding any reimbursements that may be due the client or charges which should be assessed against the other party.
  • When responsibility for attorney fees is at issue, the attorney will gather evidence for use in settlement or to present to the court so an appropriate order can be made.
  • If necessary, your attorney will obtain restraining orders to protect the personal safety of the client and children or to protect the assets of the marriage.

Whatever issues you may be facing with your divorce or family law case, you can trust us to provide essential, confidential legal advice and dedicated, results-driven representation.

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Child Custody Law

Legal matters involving children require careful counsel. You want to minimize the impact of disputes on the children while protecting your rights. The decisions made about custody, visitation and child support will affect you and your children in the long and short term. It is important to have compassionate representation from a highly qualified attorney. We understand not only the legal, but the emotional and psychological aspects of family law cases.

Attorney has handled all types of family law cases. We can assist you with paternity, child custody and visitation, child support and step-parent adoptions.

Contact us today for a free phone consultation about your case.

Resolving Custody Disputes

Whether your custody issue is related to a divorce or another situation, we will help you find the best possible solution for your family. We have helped clients obtain and modify orders relating to legal and physical custody, joint custody and move-away custody arrangements, as well as custody modifications.

With strong negotiation skills, we can help you and your spouse or partner come to an agreement through mediation that will save you time and money and leave you and your reorganized family free to go on with your lives.

If mediation is not right for you, we have the familiarity with local courts and extensive experience to aggressively represent you in settlement negotiations with the attorney representing your spouse or partner. If settlement negotiations are unsuccessful, we will aggressively and competently represent you at trial.

Establishing or Modifying Child and/or Spousal Support

When there are disputes over child support or spousal support, we will gather evidence of each party’s income or their ability to earn income. Our priority is making sure a fair amount of support is being paid — whether you are the payor or the payee.

We can help with establishment of initial support orders and also represent you in modification proceedings. Child support orders often need to be changed due to a new custodial arrangement or change in income of one or both parties. Spousal support orders also may require modification based on changes in income, marital status, cohabitation or simply the passage of time. We also provide services in child support cases initiated by the Department of Child Support Services against non-custodial parents for establishment or modification of child support.

What if One Parent Wants to Relocate With the Children?

If you or your spouse plans to move out of the state with the children, there are many things to consider. If you have existing custody orders, they generally will need to be modified to allow the move. If there are no existing custody orders, you may need to petition the court for permission to move the children away from the other parent. Alternatively, if you are the non-moving parent, you may wish to ask the court to prohibit the move.

Move away cases can be complicated, requiring highly qualified legal counsel. We are knowledgeable about the law and an help guide you through the process.

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Assisting with Paternity Actions

We are experienced with California paternity law and can skillfully assist mothers or alleged fathers in paternity suits.

In a paternity matter, we will make arrangements for a DNA paternity test, including obtaining an order for any refusing party to participate in the testing. Once paternity is established, we will proceed to gather evidence toward the goal of obtaining orders regarding custody, visitation and child support.

However complex your paternity matter may be, we can help resolve it through mediation or litigation.

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Mediation can be a practical option for many people who are pursuing divorce or involved in other family disputes— not just those who get along. Facilitated by a skilled lawyer, mediation can help resolve your case quickly, protect your privacy and save on costs. We pride ourselves on helping clients resolve divorce and family law cases through mediation.

Family law attorney has received divorce mediation training from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University and advanced family mediation skills training with the Mediation Center for Family Law.

Our firm provides mediation services for all types of divorce and family law matters, including child custody, visitation, child support, spousal support, property settlement, allocation of debt and paternity cases.

Contact us today to discuss mediation and your case.

How Mediation Works

Mediation is a voluntary process where both parties — a husband and wife, mother and father or two domestic partners — retain a firm to assist both parties identify, resolve and settle their issues.

Our practice provides confidential sessions in the privacy of our offices in Arroyo Grande. We will guide the sessions, where each party will speak for themselves. We will prepare all necessary court paperwork and if an agreement is reached, neither party will ever have to enter a courtroom.

Through mediation, we will provide information to help you and your former partner frame the issues and make well-thought-out decisions to resolve all issues and bring the case to a prompt conclusion.

In a mediated case, the parties save a considerable amount of time and money by simply sharing information with each other rather than requiring dueling attorneys to drag it out of the other side or third parties. The mediator will guide the parties by providing specific instructions regarding the nature and extent of information that is necessary to resolve the issues in your particular case.

If you own a business or real estate, we can assist you with selecting expert witnesses such as a forensic CPA to place a value on your business or an appraiser to place a value on your property.

Is Mediation Right for You?

In a free telephone consultation, we will help you explore whether mediation is the best option for your case.

One of the benefits of mediation is you retain control — of the schedule, the cost and the decisions that will be made. You have a hand in shaping your future instead of letting a judge decide it. You can go at your own pace, taking the time to consider the long-term impacts of a decision. It is more confidential than litigation, and it saves the cost of having opposing attorneys fight it out in court.

When children are involved, mediation can begin a positive start to co-parenting.

Some disputes are unable to be resolved through mediation, however, and require litigation. We have extensive courtroom experience and can help you protect your rights.

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Keep in mind that litigation does not have to mean a fight to the finish. Simply because each party has hired their own attorney, an expensive trial is not inevitable. In some cases, attorneys can facilitate settlement of issues.

The situations where a party may need their own personal advocate include, but are certainly not limited to the following:

  • There has been domestic violence in the relationship.
  • One partner/spouse feels intimidated by the other spouse to the point it is impossible to comfortably negotiate in a mediation setting.
  • One spouse has a far superior knowledge and understanding of the parties’ assets and obligations.
  • There is a lack of trust between the spouses which cannot be overcome in a mediation setting.
  • The level of animosity between the parties cannot be overcome by one or both spouses.
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