Blog
Upgrade Your Parenting Plan
Many parents are frustrated by oversight and lack of attention to detail in their child custody orders and parenting plans. We can help you upgrade your orders with comprehensive terminology and provisions to address the needs of your children and improve and enhance expectations between parents
How We Bill
The law requires us to bill by the hour except for our work on injury cases. Our fee arrangement is called an "Evergreen" retainer, meaning that our clients maintain a pre-established amount in trust with us throughout our representation.
An Evergreen retainer requires the client to replenish the account whenever the balance falls below a predetermined minimum. This ensures that there are always sufficient funds to cover legal fees. As the lawyer provides legal services, they bill against the retainer. The fees are deducted from the trust account, and the client is notified of any remaining balance.
Evergreen retainers are more flexible than traditional retainers and provide both the lawyer and the client with a more predictable and efficient way to handle legal fees.
Above-the-Guidelines Child Support for HNW and UHNW Individuals
Child support calculators are designed to work for incomes ranging from upper-middle class to below the federal poverty level. The formulas cease to work when incomes exceed a certain amount per month. When your income exceeds your state’s child support ceiling, the court has discretion to make an “upward deviation” and require additional child support beyond the maximum obligation in the child support calculator.
Executive Compensation and Divorce
C-suite executives often receive a variety of compensation packages beyond traditional salary and bonuses. An expert is often needed to find and value compensation plans in a divorce involving a business executive.
Social Security and Divorce
In a divorce, it's important to consider the availability and nature of Social Security benefits resulting from the marriage.
Dividing Retirement Accounts
A Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) is a legal document that tells a retirement plan administrator how to divide retirement benefits between two people who were married.
Why File First?
The most important reason to file first is that the person who files first almost always gets to speak first in court.
The Unfairness of Emergencies
There are two major reasons that the damage from an unfair one-sided communication can’t be corrected simply by giving the other side a chance to speak and be heard later.
Emergency Custody
To request emergency custody of a child, the person seeking the emergency must be able to show that an emergency order is necessary because the child is in harm's way and will likely be irreparably harmed if the emergency is not granted.
Making Voluntary Disclosures
Evidence for each case should be organized and prepared for disclosure to the other side.
Ideals versus Reality
We are hyper-aware and equipped to deal with the lowest level of gamesmanship and deception that the opposition can muster. In every case, we work to provide our clients with the best private resolution possible. When we are in court, we make the strongest case possible, uncompromised by the status quo, local politics, or substandard practices.
Best Interests
A parent involved in a custody or visitation case should focus on child-centered facts that will help the judge make the right decision. When available, independent, objective evidence, such as photographs, records, grades, and written communication, can bolster a parent’s case for custody.
Half of Your Half
This example illustrates why it is in your interest to hire experienced legal counsel as early as possible to help you avoid expensive and stressful scenarios like this one. It also shows that if divorce is imminent, it’s important to move forward proactively.
Custody, Visitation, and Child Support Basics
There are many myths and misconceptions about custody, visitation, and child support. Unfortunately, many of the misunderstandings were created and have been perpetuated by legal professionals. Here, we clean up the terminology and explain basic concepts.
Discovery Sanctions
When a party violates discovery rules, the court may impose sanctions to compel compliance or punish the misconduct. Trial courts have broad discretion to impose sanctions on parties or attorneys who violate discovery orders.
Motion to Compel Discovery
If you look up “motion to compel” on the internet, you may read something like this: If the other side has not answered discovery in a civil lawsuit, you can file a motion to compel discovery.
It’s not that simple.
Preparing for Your First Meeting
There are preliminary steps you can take to have a quality first meeting and be better prepared for legal action when you hire us.
Our Approach to Mediation
We’ve developed a process for handling cases, including how we approach mediation. Even when we’re hired late in the case, if the circumstances permit, we'll still implement the process.