please crawl

Both parties hire lawyers and those divorce lawyers represent just the single client’s interest during the divorce. Most of the time, a collaborative divorce ends in a satisfactory settlement, often accomplished with the help of a mediator.

A major difference between collaborative divorce and traditional divorce is that lawyers doing collaborative divorce sign agreements with their clients not to represent them in confrontational litigation. There are guidelines for the collaborative divorce process that lawyers and clients then plan to follow. Each party in a collaborative divorce can still go before a judge but he or she will do it with the help of a different lawyer.

Our firm recognizes collaborative divorce both as a legal concept and as a practical matter. Sometimes, couples simply need someone to help them figure out divorce math. Our office helps make the paperwork match your needs. Most often, divorce represents a communication breakdown and each side wants his or her own lawyer. The lawyers can talk with each other and their respective clients to fashion agreements.

We might accomplish similar results in what is technically a collaborative divorce or by creative negotiation.

Issues that are often addressed during a divorce are: custody of the children of the marriage, parenting time, child support, who pays for health insurance for the children, division of debts, division of property (including retirement accounts), and spousal support.

The entry of a divorce judgment marks the end date of the marriage. If the spouses agree about all of the terms of the divorce, they will probably be able to complete the necessary paperwork themselves.

While having a lawyer can be helpful in getting the paperwork right, our firm sees our primary roles as advisers, negotiators, and litigators. In our role as advisers we help you to understand your rights, responsibilities, and opportunities with regard to your divorce. In our role as negotiators we seek a divorce process that puts the divorcing spouses in the best possible position to craft a divorce agreement that serves the interests, rights, and needs of all involved. In our role as litigators we advocate for our clients on those issues where the divorcing spouses were unable to agree on the terms of their divorce.

At the Eliot Law Office we feel strongly that spouses should strive for a divorce which empowers everyone involved to achieve solutions which serve the interests and needs of all involve—a divorce which empowers participants to achieve a divorce worth celebrating.

In a divorce, the court has broad authority to arrive at a just and proper division of the spouses’ retirement accounts.

Retirement accounts can raise complex issues, including valuation and vesting, and even the process of dividing retirement accounts can be challenging.

This is an important area in which to get legal advice before you make decisions that could have a huge impact on your financial future.

These major decisions could include religious training, health care, education, and where the child will live.

There are two types of custody: sole custody and joint custody.

Under sole custody, the parent with custody has the legal right to make major decisions regarding the child. There is not a direct relationship between custody and parenting time; for example, one parent could have sole custody but the parenting time could be divided equally between the parents. The parent without custody will generally be awarded “parenting time” which will set a minimum amount of time that the non-custodial parent is to have. The parent without custody will have access to the child’s records, and can authorize emergency medical care. Generally, neither parent can move more than 60 miles from the other parent without telling the other parent and the court.

Under joint custody, the parents will share the decision-making about the minor child. Joint custody just means that the parents are sharing this decision-making authority. Joint custody can exist in situations where the child is living with one parent 100% of the time. Joint custody is something that the parents have to agree upon.

Joint custody can be a powerful tool in empowering parents to act together in the best interests of the child.

Our firm may be able to assist in this area if the default child-support amount is inappropriate or if a spouse is not providing financial information.