Gresham Family Divorce Lawyer
Handling Divorce Filings, Separation and Marriage Dissolutions for Clients in Gresham, Portland and Throughout Clackamas and Multnomah Counties.
Sometimes, even with the best of intentions, people reach a point where divorce or separation is necessary. Watching out for your financial and personal interests can be especially critical during this process of transition.
Your first step, regardless of who it is that files divorce papers and who must respond, should be to talk with a professional to understand the process and manage your expectations. Our team can help you, whether you are dissolving a traditional marriage, legally separating, or separating from a domestic partnership.
A Divorce or “Dissolution of Marriage” is an order by a court that declares that a valid marriage no longer exists. A Dissolution will provide for division of property including debts and retirement accounts, and will make arrangements for child custody and support.
If you have children, the guiding principal is to do what is “in the best interests and welfare of the child”. Stephanie understands that this is the most frightening issue for most divorcing parents and everyone has a different opinion on what is best for the children. Many times, the court looks to the testimony of counselors or evaluators to determine what is best for the children.
The division of assets and liabilities (property and debt) will be done by the court if parties cannot do it themselves. Once a divorce is filed, parties are banned from hiding or secreting property as well as incurring any additional debt not related to their standard costs of living. Through the discovery phase, Stephanie and staff will work with you to determine what assets and liabilities exist and ask the court to divide the property equitably, which means fairly but does not always mean 50% each.
If you need assistance with your divorce case or just want to know what your options are, call (503) 492-1276 or complete the form on the left which we will receive immediately in email and we will be in touch quickly to schedule your consultation.