A. Mandatory Financial Disclosure:

All clients with financial issues in their divorces, paternity cases, or other family law matters (alimony or child support modifications, pre and post nuptial agreements, etc.), are required to disclose financial information. This is intended to help with the division of assets, to set child support and alimony, and to determine whether either party will owe the other attorney’s fees. Comprehensive financial disclosure is one area where the client’s efforts can save money in their case.

B. Mediation:

Our local courts require parties to participate in mediation before a final hearing on most family law cases. Mediation is an “informal negotiation session” usually run by a trained and experienced family law mediator. The parties, their attorneys, and the mediator meet in either one room, or in separate rooms (with the mediator shuttling between them), making offers and counter offers in order to reach an agreement. If no agreement can be reached, a family court judge will decide the case in a final hearing.

C. Parenting Classes:

In all divorces involving children, the parties are required to attend and complete a parenting course, focused on assisting children in adjusting to their parents’ divorce. These courses are approved by the court. I will give my clients the information on attending a live course, or on taking a court-approved course available on the internet.