Guardian ad litem (GAL) refers to an individual appointed or approved by the Court representing the best interest of a minor or a person who lacks individual legal capacity to make decisions in a legal proceeding. Although uncommon, guardian ad litem cases do come up...
PERSONAL MATTERS.
PERSONALIZED APPROACH.
Restraining Orders
Your Safety Starts Here: Filing for Protection
First Steps When Filing a Domestic Violence Restraining Order Domestic Violence is extremely common in today’s society. The process can be scary, disheartening, and overwhelming. Here are a few first steps to take when seeking protection through a Domestic Violence...
Will I Get My Attorney Fees & Costs Back If I Win?
Family Law - Generally: I believe a good general “assumption” for family law is that the likelihood of full attorney fees and costs being awarded is generally not clear-cut even if the statute or specific issue allot for the requesting of those fees. For example,...
What if the Other Person Has a Lawyer and I Don’t?
You have found yourself going through a family law matter alone, without representation, and Opposing Party hires a lawyer. What now? First thing to do, is not to panic. You can certainly go through your Family Law matter and the Courts self-represented, if you are...
Family Law Hearings 101
Throughout your family law matter, there are many different types of hearings you may encounter. The process of modifying child custody or going through a dissolution can come in all flavors and lengths and levels of difficulty. It is best to understand the different...
The Meet and Confer Requirement
You may often hear, while in Court with your attorney, the Judge asks if counsel has met and conferred yet and you may be wondering what that means and why we must do it? There is a “meet and confer” requirement when filing and litigating a Request for Order amongst...
“Friends with Benefits”: What Relationships “Count” for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order
The Court of Appeals recently released an opinion that may affect who qualifies to request a domestic violence restraining order. The case, M.A. v. B.F., addressed the question many people avoid, what is the relationship status of “friends with benefits”? This...
Behind the Gypsy Rose Blanchard Case: Family Law’s Role
I’m sure everyone has heard of Gypsy Rose Blanchard in one way or another at this point with her recent media tour and a new lifetime documentary regarding her life. If you are unaware of who Gypsy Rose is let me give you a little background on who she is and why her...
How to Use Discovery to Drive Settlement
“Discovery” is the process of obtaining information for determining the applicable claims, defenses, and information which may be used in anticipation of trial. This can include serving requests for written responses from a particular party to the litigation to be...
How will Senate Bill 741 Impact my Domestic Violence Case?
Senate Bill 741 will prohibit discovery pursuant to the civil discovery act for purposes of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (“DVPA”) except when a Court grants a request for discovery upon showing of good cause by the party making the request. The Court must...