Every divorce involves serious issues of finances, support, alimony, taxes, pensions and savings, health insurance, and much more. Parents with minor children have far more to consider; including the long term well being of their children. Like many attorney’s whose work I respect, I consider myself a ‘family first’ attorney. It is impossible to completely shield your child or children from the disruption of divorce, but we can help minimize the damage that a divorce causes. After a divorce, you and your previous spouse are no longer a couple, but you will forever be co-parents.
I am a licensed guardian ad litem, which means I have gone through training to learn to keep the best interests of children front and center in the divorce process. As your attorney, I can help you and your spouse do the same. There are many resources available to help us meet your children’s interests and emotional well-being. These resources include family relations professionals employed by the courts, guardian ad litems, and mental health professionals. Many of these professionals can assist with little cost to you and may, quite likely, not only spare your children unnecessary pain, but, in the long run, save time and attorney’s fees by helping us create a fair parenting plan without an unreasonable amount of time fighting in court. After all, you as parents know your children best. Do not leave these decisions to a judge that has never met your children.
I suspect that when you and your partner chose to have children your hope was to provide a safe, nurturing, and loving home for them and to provide them with an example of how loving parents raise a family. When you decide to divorce or separate, you can still make the commitment to continue to provide a loving and nurturing environment to you children, even if it is one where their parents live apart. It is difficult, but you now have the opportunity to provide an example to your children of how loving and mature parents separate or divorce while still providing the best parenting they can to their children. It is my job, and my privilege, to apply my knowledge and experience to help you do that.