Divorce & Dissolution of Marriage

Divorce is much more than the legal end to a marriage. It involves a complete transition of your entire life. With the mere stroke of a Judge's pen, you go from being married to being single and now you have a whole new lifestyle. In the divorce process, you may become a single parent, or the parent responsible for child support. Your emotional equilibrium will most certainly be impacted, and generally for the worse. Situational depression is common for both parent and child. Displays of strong emotion can adversely impact the process. Your spouse may wish to relocate with the children. Your financial status will change. Money used to support one household will now be used to support two separate households. The assets you have spent a lifetime in acquiring will be divided between you and your spouse. Living arrangements are, indeed, very different. Virtually every aspect of your life will change.

Ms. Real has had over twenty years of experience not only in representing her client's legal interests but also in assisting her clients' with these transitions. She assists each client in formulating two "plans:"

• The Legal Plan The first plan is the legal plan. The client, with Ms. Real's guidance and advice, determines what he or she hopes to accomplish during the divorce. Ms. Real then develops, with the client's input and consent, the legal approach to be taken in an attempt to accomplish these legal objectives. Early and thorough preparation lays the foundation for our representation. Every effort is made to settle the case, through mediation or otherwise. All clients need to know, however, that if settlement is impossible, that their attorney is capable and willing to walk into the courtroom to competently present their case before a Judge. With proper preparation of the client by the attorney, the client should feel more comfortable in a courtroom sitting next to the attorney if litigation becomes necessary. The Firm has available to the client all necessary resources to value assets and determine income. Tax consequences must always be contemplated and built into the legal plan. There is no substitute for experience in formulating a legal plan.
  
  
• The "Lets Get A Life" Plan The second plan is a "life plan." i.e., a plan that will set out how the client will live while going through the divorce itself. Answers to questions like the following help make up this life plan.

  Where should I live? Should I leave the marital home? How will my assets be divided? Should I take money from joint accounts without consultation with my spouse? How much money will be available for my normal living expenses? What are the tax consequences of paying or receiving alimony? Who should get custody? What will a visitation schedule be like? What should I do about our joint credit cards?

  
  
  When you are involved in a divorce, you feel like you have lost control of your entire life. The goal of the Firm in devising this plan is to help every client gain a feeling of control and direction during the divorce practice. Many clients have advised the Firm that the life plan was a lifesaver during this tumultuous process.
  
  The Firm has developed professional relationships with a number of experts who are available to assist clients in dealing with the various aspects of their changing lives. Divorce counselors for the client and the client's children, financial advisors, CPA's, real estate appraisers and real estate sales persons, investigators, actuaries, bank officers, and scores of other resources are available through referral to our Firm's clients based upon the unique needs of every case.

The Firm's holistic approach to divorce may make a difficult process significantly easier to endure. The Firm's primary objective is to assist clients with the legal and lifestyle problems they face as a result of the divorce process itself. Only in this way can the client hope that the quality of life will be better when the divorce is over than when it first began.