Bardol Law Firm, LLC

Yes and no. While all families go through an adjustment period during and after a divorce, the two parents have a substantial amount of control over the damage that is done to the children during a divorce. Some key things to remember are to avoid discussing the divorce in front of the children, to make sure and promote a healthy relationship between the children and your spouse, and to seek counseling for everyone involved if the situation is high conflict.

A young child plan is a certain type of custody plan that is put in place by some Judges when the child at issue in a custody case is very young or has not spent meaningful time with one of the two parents, which in most cases is the father. It is also a rare example of a situation where a Judge is allowed to order a custody plan to change or be modified at some date in the future rather than coming back to Court.

Collaborative Divorce is an alternative to the traditional “courtroom and judge” divorce process. Unlike the mediation process, where the couple typically sits down with a single mediator to discuss matters, spouses going through the collaborative process each hire a specially trained collaborative-divorce attorney. The attorneys are not always the only people helping the spouses sort out their affairs. Oftentimes, specialists like counselors, coaches and financial advisors will join in the process. As a group, the attorneys, spouses and specialists will work together, outside the watch of the court, and walk through the issues at hand.

There are multiple types of adoptions and the process can vary between the different types. However, the basic St. Louis adoption court process always starts with a family wanting to adopt a specific child and then filing paperwork with the St. Louis County or St. Louis City Circuit Court. The initial paperwork includes a Petition for Adoption, as well as an Affidavit of Expenses for costs incurred to go through the adoption, and some other basic filing documents. The case is then processed and the Judge is assigned to the case. If the case involves a transfer of custody then the first hearing will be scheduled and a Guardian ad Litem will be appointed. If the case just needs a finalization hearing, then it is scheduled and a Guardian ad Litem is appointed. When the hearing day arrives, the parties appear in Court and testify briefly about the facts of the case. The Judge then makes a final decision on whether to grant or deny the adoption.

In family law matters where financial issues are in dispute, a party can request that the court order the opposing party to undergo a vocational exam. A vocational exam or vocational evaluation is when a party hires a vocational expert to determine the opposing party’s ability to work and income potential. While the court does not have to rely on the expert’s findings, it can be very beneficial in cases where a party has been out of work for an extended period of time or in situations where a party appears to be earning much less than their education and/or work experience would indicate.