Family Law

Few legal areas are as emotionally charged as family law, primarily for the litigants, but also for the lawyers and judges involved in the cases and even the public at large. In divorce and child custody cases in particular, the adversarial process has increased tensions between the parties that do not abate even when the process is complete. As a result, many states have begun to explore other, non-adversarial alternatives, such as mandatory mediation, which can save time and money and preserve relationships to the extent possible. Mediation and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes provide an option for those who prefer to stay out of court. ADR provides many potential advantages for most cases, including reduced cost, faster resolution, less emotional stress, the ability to construct solutions that are outside of the authority of the courts.

DIVORCE & CHILD CUSTODY

A divorce of a short-term marriage with no children and no assets can usually be obtained without a lawyer. However, if the marriage is long-term, includes children, or has more complex issues, it is advisable to talk with a lawyer. If there are children, careful consideration must be given to the issues of child support, custody, and placement. If there are substantial assets and/or debts, a detailed review of the parties' overall financial picture must be made. The legal and emotional effects of these matters are a primary concern of Caryl Jacobs Gabe & Associates. It is our job to ensure that a settlement, which is in your best interest, is reached as soon as possible; we try to do this while keeping your costs within reason.

SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE

The obligation of spouses to support each other does not necessarily terminate when they divorce. If the divorce will leave one spouse with very little income and the other with enough to contribute to the low-income spouse's support, the court may award spousal maintenance, or what has historically been referred to as alimony. The amount and duration of spousal maintenance depends on several factors, including:

The length of the marriage
The age of each spouse
The health of each spouse
The ability of each spouse to be self-supporting, including a consideration of responsibilities to the parties' minor children, if any
The income of the primary breadwinner
Standard of living the parties enjoyed during the marriage

MARITAL PROPERTY ISSUES

In today's world, dividing a marital estate at the time of a divorce has become an increasingly complex process. Divorce is no longer simply a matter of identifying and dividing property. Today's divorce client requires the knowledge and expertise necessary to examine and evaluate issues relating to valuation of medical practices, law firms, and other closely held business interests; identification and valuation of executive compensation packages, including 401(k)s, pensions, stock options, employee stock ownership plans and other popular executive severance plans; and analysis of estate planning issues such as trusts, life insurance trusts, and family limited partnerships. Ms. Gabe is able to provide her clients with the resources necessary to evaluate a marital estate and then negotiate or litigate an appropriate property settlement agreement.

POST-JUDGMENT ISSUES INVOLVING CHILDREN

In divorce actions involving minor children, all issues surrounding the children must be resolved at the time of the divorce. These issues may be as simple as determining an appropriate child support amount or as complex as determining which parent should be given the right to determine the primary residence of the child. Unfortunately, issues involving minor children do not always end on the date of divorce. Often circumstances arise after the divorce that can result in one or both of the parties seeking to modify the original order. Ms. Gabe has developed a network of outside resources in the community, including investigators, physicians, therapists and counselors, to address and resolve these children's issues, both at the time of divorce as well as during any subsequent modification action.

ENFORCEMENT AND OTHER POST-JUDGMENT ISSUES

In addition to modification of a prior order, it is often necessary to seek legal assistance to enforce the terms and conditions of an existing order. Probably the most common enforcement issues are nonpayment of child support and failure to comply with established periods of placement or visitation. Other post divorce issues include transfer and delivery of property, enforcement of the property division, and division of marital assets not divided at the time of divorce.

PATERNITY

By virtue of biology, the determination of motherhood is made at the time of the child's birth. Unfortunately for fathers, the law regarding their rights is not quite as simple as biology. Fathering a child does not automatically establish that parent's legal rights to custody or visitation with the child; nor does it automatically establish the legal duty to support the child. Ms. Gabe can assist biological fathers who voluntarily acknowledge paternity to establish their legal rights to their children and can also help mothers bring involuntary suits against biological fathers for purposes of securing child support for the child.

MEDIATION

Mediation is a voluntary, confidential process that empowers couples to negotiate their own agreement with the guidance of a neutral mediator. Any agreement must be acceptable to both parties. Ms. Gabe has experience in mediation working with couples who are divorcing or have some other family conflict. We organize the discussion and the collection of information, help the couple identify issues and common interests, and explore options.