Geraldine Welikson Hess

The short version: If you need a family law attorney, go to Geraldine. She is smart, dedicated, no nonsense (but still kind), will keep you well informed and quickly and fully responds to questions. Bottom line, she takes care of business and does so extremely efficiently. The long (yet still shortened) version: My spouse and I decided to get divorced and started off with the collaborative divorce process. As the collaborative process neared completion, my spouse terminated the collaborative process despite the advice of counsel and a mutual divorce coach. Shortly after terminating the collaborative process, my spouse hired a new attorney and filed for divorce while making many false and vicious accusations along with unreasonable and upsetting requests to the court. I obtained a new family law attorney/law group and a very contentious process ensued. After many months, not much progress had been made and my attorneys were convinced that settling outside of court was not likely. My attorneys therefore significantly increased their retainer and informed me that they would have to withdraw from my case if I was unable to pay the new retainer. At this point I had amassed a significant amount of debt and could not afford the amount they requested. They withdrew from my case. I was at a complete loss for what to do. I was financially destroyed, the emotional stress of the past year and a half was taking its toll on me and I didn’t know where to turn. Then I found Geraldine and retained her services. Almost immediately the tone of the process changed and I felt like progress was being made. Geraldine quickly got up to speed with my case and hit the ground running. She laid out the options and scenarios, explained what she was thinking and why and developed a strategy for moving forward. She kept me fully informed and answered any questions I had every step of the way. A few months after Geraldine came on board, my case was settled and with an outcome that was significantly better than what I was expecting and better than previous offers made to my spouse which had been turned down. Having the unfortunate, and likely uncommon, experience of working with multiple family law attorneys, I can say that Geraldine is awesome at her job! She did much more for me than any prior attorney in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost. I never write reviews. However, felt compelled to write one for Geraldine as 1) a way to acknowledge and thank her for a job very well done and 2) to hopefully help others out there who find themselves going through a divorce. It is not fun. It is not easy. However, having the right attorney makes a world of difference.

Geraldine became my lawyer in 1996. She attempted to settle my case, which involved child support, child custody, and property settlement, amicably. However, my former spouse made things extremely difficult. Geraldine recognized that we would need to change the strategy for my case, and she made the change seamlessly. She represented me well, which resulted in my being awarded primary custody of my children. She also ensured that I was able to maintain my retirement savings (my former spouse had depleted his after our separation, and he wanted half of mine). My former spouse took me to Court twice after our divorce to reduce the amount of child support he was paying. I retained Geraldine for both of those cases and found her to be just as thorough as she had been during my divorce. My case has been closed for some time now, but I still consult with Geraldine as needed. Geraldine is smart, meticulous, honest, knowledgeable, and accessible, and I strongly recommend her to anyone who needs a divorce attorney.

Geraldine saw me through a very contentious and protracted divorce and custody litigation. She was always well prepared, and organized. She made sure that my ex-husband's suit to remove my child from private school, custody, custody appeal, and my divorce were resolved in my favor. She is simply the best.

After interviewing several attorneys, I chose Geraldine for her expert negotiating skills and "even hand". What Geraldine provided to me exceeded my expectations. She was careful to explain all of the implications in making decisions throughout my settlement negotiations. She raised concerns that I would not have otherwise considered, and am thankful for that awareness, as it has protected me in my financial future, and my relationship with my children. She was keenly aware of how to specifically negotiate with the other party, and was tough when necessary. She was always mindful of what was in the best interest of my children.

Geraldine worked with me for at least 4 years on a very complicated property and custody case. I found her to be the right combination of calm and pushy. She was clear about when I needed to take certain steps, and was good about explaining the consequences of various actions. While she appeared to be a bit passive during the preparations, she was a tiger in all negotiations and did a great job of representing me.