If you don’t want to have a trial in your court case, you have to settle your case first. In a divorce or custody context, settlement is achieved when there is a signed agreement negotiated between the parties. In a divorce case, you would sign and negotiate a separation agreement – a legal contract that...
Can I draft my own custody agreement?
Custody cases are interesting because they can come up in a number of ways, unlike divorce. In a divorce, you have essentially two options: (1) negotiate a signed separation agreement, or (2) litigate in court. Divorce Cases Where Custody is an Issue Divorce is filed in the circuit court. Custody, though, can present differently. Custody...
Making the decision to hire a divorce attorney is a difficult one. Once you’ve reached the already difficult decision to separate and, eventually, to end your marriage, you have to decide whether or not you’ll hire an attorney to represent you in the divorce and then, if so, whom. I probably don’t need to tell...
Once you have an appointment – like an initial consultation – with a lawyer, that lawyer cannot meet with, give advice to, or represent the opposing party. In a divorce or custody case, if a wife meets with five of the top local divorce attorneys, none of those five will be able to represent her...
Emotionally, going through a divorce or custody case (or, worse, a divorce AND custody case) is easily one of the most difficult things that you will face in your adult life. Many therapists even liken the experience of going through divorce to a death – it’s just that traumatic. Even a good divorce –...
Eeks – the word bulldog! I hate it. I really do. But still, time and time again, that’s what people ask for. A shark. A bulldog. A pitbull. A no-nonsense, take-no-names, kick-ass lawyer. I get it. The stakes are high. They’re high in any legal case, but they may be especially high in family law. ...
If you’re still hoping to save your marriage, you’re not alone. In fact, that’s something I hear all the time. One thing that I think is universally true is that every single woman who decides to get a divorce has to do everything she feels she has to do in order to try to save...
Few things in the world are scarier than facing a custody and visitation case. Few things, too, are more difficult to gather up-to-date, state-specific information about – at least, if the information you’re looking for is also credible. There are a lot of non-attorneys out there offering advice and opinions, much of which – though...