Legal Areas of Focus
“NONE OF US CAN LIVE IN TODAY’S WORLD WITHOUT COMING INTO CONTACT WITH OUR LAWS AND COURTS. ”
I service the legal needs of individuals, families, and small businesses when they need protection of the laws and the courts. Personal service is a priority. The goal is to have clients make informed decisions and to keep fees reasonable. The desire is for clients to come away having received value for services.
FAMILY LAW
Divorce is never easy. Nor is it simple, especially when there are children to consider. There is shared parenting to consider, and there must be a division the assets and debts. But there are best practices for resolving disputes in terms of both the emotional cost and the dollar-cost. To the extent possible, clients are encouraged to manage their separation, dissolution, or divorce. Clients may even decide to made use of mediation or another dispute resolution technique to work through their divorce. This is a client-centered, not a law-centered, approach. The hope is for clients to transform their relationships when they focus on their own well-being and on the best interests of the children. This same approach can be used in Juvenile Court custody cases with unmarried parents. These custody agreements first establish parental rights as well as their responsibilities. Here, also, parents are encouraged to mediate their differences. Judges review the agreement to endure the arrangements serve the best interest of the children.
MEDIATION
There is a way to resolve disputes without serious confrontation and great expense. This is an informal process that can be scheduled at a time that works for you and not the courts. It helps you reach agreements—even when there is no settlement. It identifies important issues, clarifies misunderstandings, explores solutions, can lead to healing—and aims for settlement. The clients, not the mediator, directs the outcome. When mediation is successful, the end result is truly transformative.
PREMARITAL, POSTMARITAL & DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP PLANNING
These agreements between intimate partners are no longer forewarnings leadings to divorce or separation, as they once were. Parents and domestic partners are treated as equals. All of these arrangements involve fundamentally the same concerns: (1) asset management, including previously acquired assets, (2) financial responsibilities regarding, for example, mortgages and school tuitions; and (3) decision-making authority. Married couples may also address alimony, and in the case of domestic partnerships, palimony. These agreements can put in place at any stage of the relationship.
ESTATE & LEGACY PLANNING
A family trust helps ensure that your loved ones receive your wealth. Trust are designed to avoid public disclosure of assets and the way in which those assets should be used in two major ways: for the person who sets up the trust and for those who will benefit. When preparing estate documents, you need a lawyer who makes sure your intentions are clear and readable to your family, your planners, and your doctor, and one who takes a practical and economic approach to trusts, wills, powers of attorney, living wills, and health directives. The elderly way may want to plan in the event they become physically or mentally incapacitated.
TRUST & PROBATE ADMINISTRATION
Estate planning is for your future and the future of your family. We consider many choices among living trusts, irrevocable trusts, simple wills, complex wills, powers of attorney, family limited partnerships, and charitable giving. It doesn’t have to be complicated. We will help you decide between having a will or a trust or another more useful estate planning tool. We work with individuals, couples, families, and a special category referred to as blended families. We use the simplest approach in transferring property. This approach may involve Last Wills & Testaments or designating beneficiaries on existing legal documents. The tools that we recommend assure that the proper documents are in place so that your intentions are known and honored. An effective estate planning attorney will assure that all assets are gathered, all bills are paid, and all distributions are appropriate.
SMALL BUSINESS MATTERS
Small businesses are as good as the hardworking people to established and run them. A small business is often treated as a member of the family. Like families, small businesses are affected, by economic times, legal compliance, employee relations, and contract disputes. They are often family-run businesses that seek to stay on for generations but must adjust to changing times and face succession planning.