While it may be natural to see divorce or legal separation as the end of a relationship, you can also see it as the start of a new and different series of relationships. The original vision of your family may seem broken, but you can put the pieces together in a new way and, like a stained-glass window, the end result may be more beautiful than the original, allowing you and your children to flourish despite the brokenness.
At Children First Family Law, we protect the interests of clients in all aspects of divorce, but we do so in a way that respects the value of relationships. We want you to have the results that are best now and in the years to come. For that to happen, it is important to consider not only the outcome but the process itself. We won’t encourage you to dwell on all the mistakes made in the past but to focus on finding the best solutions for the future.
Security for What Matters Most
While couples often seem to worry tremendously about “custody” when contemplating divorce, legal separation, or allocation of parenting time for couples never married, what they are really worried about is losing the relationship they’ve had with their children and missing out on opportunities to grow with them in the future. When you approach family breakdown from a perspective focused on preserving relationships, you can approach this in a better way.
Traditional family law processes focus on winning and making the other party look bad, padding attorneys’ pockets with lots of money, and increasing conflict in a way that hurts children. This ends up destroying not only what is left of the relationship between a couple but also the relationships among extended family members and mutual friends and, most importantly, puts children in the crosshairs, damaging them in sometimes irreparable ways. We use the analogy that this approach takes the broken pieces of a relationship and grinds them even more into debris that is not functional and not thriving.
Instead of damaging further what has already been broken, we believe there is a better way: to seek peaceful efforts to reframe the family dynamic in a manner that focuses on getting through this often-ugly process in as effective and efficient and child-focused manner as possible, preserving and assuring your future while not going to war in the process, and through that approach, making the crushed glass more like stained glass. It looks different than you expected your family would look, but it’s remade and allows you, your former partner, and most importantly your children to move forward and flourish.
At Children First Family Law we use a number of different techniques to resolve disagreements and shape plans for the future effectively, civilly, and even amicably. This not only preserves relationships for the long-term, but it also reduces the stress in the divorce process for you and everyone involved, particularly your children.
Custody and Parenting Arrangements
When children are involved in a family law conflicts, it is important to put their needs at the forefront. With our extensive experience in the role of child’s legal representative (CLR) and child and family investigator (CFI), and our extensive advocacy on behalf of children’s requisites in divorce, Children First Family Law understands the most advantageous methods of developing parenting plans that truly serve a child’s best interests.
Financial Issues
Worries about finances can also provide a serious source of contention in divorce. The divorce process involves:
- Ascertaining which property belongs solely to one spouse
- Determining which property will be divided as marital property and how that property will be split
- Assessing whether one spouse has a need for spousal support and whether the other spouse has the ability to pay it
- Determining how long support payments should continue
- Establishing obligations for child support
In addition to these issues, both spouses need to deal with the issues associated with setting up a separate household. At Children First Family Law, we are keenly aware of the financial strain a divorce can put on both spouses. We work to develop fair and effective plans to resolve financial matters and to do so in a way that keeps the process itself cost-effective. Your situation is highly unique and warrants legal advice to ensure you will be able to flourish in spite of this new and often unexpected financial implication of divorce. We are well equipped to help you navigate this situation and all its complexities.
Learn More About Our Protective Approach to Divorce and Legal Separation
Your future—and the wellbeing of your children—are of paramount importance, and they are at risk when divorce is handled in an adversarial manner. But you have a choice, and you can choose to neutralize conflict and rebuild instead of tearing down relationships.
Children First Family Law considers itself not a divorce firm but a family defense law firm. We work to settle the terms of divorce by taking positive steps forward. To learn more about the ways we can make a difference in your family law matters, please contact us.