WORKING TO IMPROVE QUALITY REPRESENTATION IN NOBLESVILLE FAMILY LAW CASES

Earlier this month, I completed a course through Purdue University via edx.org called COMMUNICATING STRATEGICALLY.  This is in line with my philosophy of strategic legal representation.  It also improves the quality of legal writing on your behalf. Finally, by using a course through edx.org, I can improve my representation with no additional overhead (From their website: "Edx.org offers interactive online classes and MOOCs from the world’s best universities, colleges and organizations. Online courses from MITx, HarvardX, BerkeleyX, UTx and many other universities can be taken here.")

I am a huge fan of edx.org, TED talks, and other online resources focused on educational improvement. For example, I am enrolled in 2 current classes:

THE AMERICAN DREAM FOR THE NEXT GENERATION (MIT) and POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT FOR YOUNG CHILDREN (UWashington).

These courses will help me offer more solutions and alternatives to clients with children (how to keep the stress of litigation off your children) and today's economy how it can affect current and future jobs for you and your spouse).

I will start a class called CYBERWAR, SURVEILLANCE AND SECURITY (Adelaide) in May just because I am interested in stuff like that. 

By using resources such as this - and encouraging you to use resources such as this - my representation in your family law case can remain strategic, efficient, current and creative.  This is in addition to the Continuing Legal Education courses we are required to complete each year to maintain our law licenses.  

I will admit that part of my motivation for taking classes is my love of learning and interest in these subjects. But the main motivation is to be able to offer you a clear choice when you are selecting your Fishers divorce lawyer or Noblesville paternity lawyer: a lawyer applying experience and the most current and modern ideas from the top thoughtleaders.  You and your family deserve this.

You can download free materials to learn more about my VALUE ADDED DIVORCE/PATERNITY strategic process, designed to efficiently reduce your divorce litigation costs and time, and focus on results and goals built on your vision of your family.

To schedule a no-fee Strategic Consultation - in person or by phone or web - please use the CONTACT page.

Indiana Family Law: Value Added Divorce VISION

Value Added Divorce/Paternity - VADP - is a strategic approach that allows you to define what your life and - if applicable - the lives of your children will look like after the litigation concludes. It is a process in which each step is measured against your vision of the short term objectives and the long term goals of the litigation and beyond.  

What is VISION?

It is not goals. Goals are measurable and specific.  But families are not made like cars.  

It is not dreams. Dreams are vague and rely on someone else to complete them.

VISION is what you see when you think of your family.  It is the articulation of your dreams, your goals, and your passions.  It is how you see your family developing and growing.  It is the unique roles each person in the family fulfilled.

Most clients never define their VISION for divorce litigation. All they think is “I want as much as I can get” or “I want to make sure the other gets nothing they want.”  VISION puts this in context of now and 5 or 10 years from now.  This is as important for your relationship with your children as it is for your finances now and down the road.

VISION is important because decisions are made consistent with the vision.  it prevents you from drifting aimlessly.  It helps you respond to attacks and attempts by the other side to raise unrelated allegations or issues.  It defines the goals but is more than the goals themselves.

In divorce litigation, VISION is important because it keeps lawyer fees in line with your goals.  It helps you and your lawyer decide what experts are necessary.  It focuses the discovery process.  It prevents you from overreacting or under reacting to attacks by the other side.

VISION is defined by you with your lawyer’s assistance.  It turns the litigation into a true partnership and gives your lawyer better insight into making decisions and giving appropriate advice.

Go to our Hamilton County Family Law page for a FREE eBook and/or Overview sheet explaining this revolutionary approach to divorce and paternity representation.

For a FREE strategic review of how VADP can help your situation, please use my CONTACT PAGE to give me your contact information. I return every contact within 24 hours.

Indiana Family Law: Value Added Paternity

Value AddedDivorce/Paternity is a strategic approach that allows you to define what your life and - if applicable - the lives of your children will look like after the litigation concludes. It is a process in which each step is measured against your vision of the short term objectives and the long term goals of the litigation and beyond.  

It is not an accident that you are reading this post. You are here because of 1 of 3 situations. You are involved in family law litigation and you want to eliminate the fear and doubt that is eating away at your self-confidence and self-esteem. Or else you see litigation on the horizon or even at your doorstep and you want to get ahead of the indecision that is grinding your life to a halt. Or you just got out of litigation and the results have left youfearful, doubting yourself and the system, and indecisive as to any action you want or need to take, including costs.

You are looking for something that will restore your faith in yourself and your decisions. You want to take definite action that won't be used against you. And you want - finally - to have a feeling of definitiveness and commitment.  Value Added Divorce/Paternity - VADP - may be the approach that works best for you.

Go to our Hamilton County Family Law page for a FREE eBook and/or Overview sheet explaining this revolutionary approach to divorce and paternity representation.

The VADP Flowchart:

YOUR VISION --> Strategy --> Strategic Plan <--> Discovery <--> Engagement

YOUR VISION defines your family and finances, and gives the mediator or Judge an integrated picture of how you see post-litigation life. Very helpful for same-sex couples to define and inform the dynamics of your family.  Also helpful for families suffering through domestic violence or substance abuse or emotional health issues, to explain what life could be like with these issues seriously addressed.

STRATEGY is the definition of the strategy and goals needed to make your vision a reality.

For a FREE strategic review of how VADP can help your situation, please use my CONTACT PAGE to give me your contact information. I return every contact within 24 hours.

Indiana Family Law: Value Added Divorce

Value AddedDivorce/Paternity is a strategic approach that allows you to define what your life and - if applicable - the lives of your children will look like after the litigation concludes. It is a process in which each step is measured against your vision of the short term objectives and the long term goals of the litigation and beyond.  

It is not an accident that you are reading this post. You are here because of 1 of 3 situations. You are involved in family law litigation and you want to eliminate the fear and doubt that is eating away at your self-confidence and self-esteem. Or else you see litigation on the horizon or even at your doorstep and you want to get ahead of the indecision that is grinding your life to a halt. Or you just got out of litigation and the results have left you fearful, doubting yourself and the system, and indecisive as to any action you want or need to take, including costs.

You are looking for something that will restore your faith in yourself and your decisions. You want to take definite action that won't be used against you. And you want - finally - to have a feeling of definitiveness and commitment.  Value Added Divorce/Paternity - VADP - may be the approach that works best for you.

Go to our Hamilton County Family Law page for a FREE eBook and/or Overview sheet explaining this revolutionary approach to divorce and paternity representation.

The VADP Flowchart:

YOUR VISION --> Strategy --> Strategic Plan <--> Discovery <--> Engagement

YOUR VISION defines your family and finances, and gives the mediator or Judge an integrated picture of how you see post-litigation life. Very helpful for same-sex couples to define and inform the dynamics of your family.  Also helpful for families suffering through domestic violence or substance abuse or emotional health issues, to explain what life could be like with these issues seriously addressed.

STRATEGY is the definition of the strategy and goals needed to make your vision a reality.

For a FREE strategic review of how VADP can help your situation, please use my CONTACT PAGE to give me your contact information. I return every contact within 24 hours.

Indiana Family Law: My Job Is To Make Your Job Easier

Many people save money for an emergency. Some people save money for vacations. Others save money for purchasing cars or houses or college for the kids. But very few people save money in case they need to hire an attorney. People hire an attorney when they have a difficult legal situation that they want handled as efficiently and cost effectively as possible.

Your job is to get past your legal situation. My job if you hire me as your lawyer is to make that as easy as possible.

To do that requires 3 basic steps:

1. Developing clear goals and a clear strategy for you and your attorney to work together.

2. To be open with your attorney

3. To provide any requested information or documents as soon as possible.

These 3 principles keep the cost down by keeping the litigation focused on moving your case forward. They also help to minimize unexpected surprises and to protect any vulnerabilities in your case. An Indiana family law case is most effective when it is focused on your goals, not on simply battling your ex.

Your lawyer's job is to take the information and the strategy and apply his or her skill and experience to effectively advance toward your goals. Throughout this process, you and your lawyer are communicating and discussing how best to achieve this process.

One benefit to you and your family of taking a strategic approach is to evaluate the potential for unintended consequences of the litigation. A negative unintended consequence could be impairing what had been a workable relationship with your ex. A positive unintended consequence could be addressing emotional or substance abuse issues that had been manifesting as legal problems. Your lawyer can bring these to your attention, so you both can develop plans to deal with them.

To schedule a strategic review of your situation, please use our CONTACT page. I will apply my 20 years of experience in every area of family law, as well as my Six Sigma Master Black Belt certification (a process-control and feedback mechanism to minimize errors and reduce costs) to help you achieve your goals as cost-effectively and as beneficially to you as possible. I return every contact from the CONTACT page within 24 hours, including weekends. We can meet at locations throughout Indianapolis, Noblesville, Fishers, and central Indiana, as well as a location at your election depending on your need for discretion, or via phone or video-feed consultation.

Indiana Child Support: Why is it so difficult?

Indiana child support is governed and determined by the Indiana Child Support Guidelines, and in reality by the Child Support Obligation Worksheet.  The State of Indiana provides a free online calculator at Indiana child support.

This post is not going to explain how to calculate child support, or how to collect it, or how to raise it or lower it.  Indiana child support is designed and intended that parents can exchange their income and payment information, decide on the number of overnights the non-custodial parent receives, and calculate the child support obligation.  And like every well-intentioned government program, it almost never works that way.

My 20+ years of experience in litigating Indiana, Marion and Hamilton County child support cases - and sometimes sitting as judge pro tem in deciding child support cases - leads me to these realizations: generally, the person receiving child support views any modification downward as a "cut in pay" and the person paying child support views any modification upward as a "punishment" for making more money.  That the money is intended for the children is usually factually disputed (but never ignored by the Court).

So bitterly fought (that lawyer code for "expensive") battles rage over determining income; deciding which health insurance plan to use; fighting over the cheap daycare versus the best daycare; etc.

There can be an alternative.

Possibly the increase in child support can be paid to cover the cost of a child's new activity? Or is placed into a college fund to be credited to both parents when college time rolls around? Or can be a down payment on a child's car (cars are not considered at all in the Child Support Guidelines).

The point is that parents can develop their own personal - and family-specific - child support guidelines.  It takes creativity, experience, and the ability to think outside the box when it comes to a cash payment between parents. It is this kind of alternate approach that can satisfy the needs of both parents, give maximum assistance to the child, and not have the family die on every litigation hill.

I have over 20 years family law experience, in 2 states - Indiana primarily and Illinois - and a broad range of litigation experience (family law to patent and international trademark and domain name).  I have appeared in over half of the counties in Indiana, so my experience is virtually state-wide.  My focus is developing an aggressive strategy focused on achieving your goals as cost effectively and efficiently as possible.  Your focus is on your family.   Your lawyer's focus should be also.

Please schedule a 1 hour strategic review of your situation.  If you are in litigation, you will have a written strategic plan and goals.  We can also plan your action steps to put you in the best situation if or when litigation occurs. Use our CONTACT page and I will call you within 24 hours.

Can You Ask For Too Much In An Indiana Divorce?

Many participating in an Indiana divorce are scared to ask the court for "too much." They are often afraid that they will be perceived as greedy or not cooperative with the other side. This is especially true concerning access to children or requesting maintenance or an unequal division of the marital estate.

However, if the request can be supported by evidence and law, then the request is not "too much." The judge in a divorce makes certain presumptions concerning parenting time, custody, and division of the marital estate. The judge considers a request for spousal maintenance based on certain statutory and case law factors. If these requests are supported, then they cannot be too much. 

It is not a question of making the judge angry or making the judge look down on you. The judge assumes that a case winds up in his or her court because the parties cannot agree. The judge's job is to hear both sides and determine which request is more reasonable or to fashion his or her own reasonable decision.

Deciding what to request from an Indiana family law court is a strategic decision that must be made between you and your attorney. This family court decision is based not only on what you are more likely to be awarded, but also what in fact you require to be awarded. If there are legitimate and supportable concerns for your request for a specific custody or parenting time schedule, then those concerns must be brought to the court's attention. If there are specific and supportable reasons for your request for an unequal division of the marital estate or for temporary or permanent spousal maintenance, then those requests should be presented to the judge.

The strategic decision of what requests to present to the court and how to present them is a combination of your needs and your attorney's experience. This should be an ongoing discussion throughout your case and not a hurried decision reached either in the very first meeting or in the last meeting before trial or mediation.

To arrange a strategic review of your situation, whether it is an initial divorce or paternity action or a modification of an existing order, please see our CONTACT page to arrange a strategic review consultation at one of our several locations, at a location that can be arranged with you, or by telephone. As a Hamilton County family law attorney, I appeared in court in almost half of Indiana counties. This experience will be used to fashion an effective and efficient strategy focused on your goals as well as the overall needs of your family.