Lloyd T. Kelso

Please take reviews seriously. If anyone or company has bad reviews, there is a reason. I had a very bad experience with Lloyd Kelso. I was going through a divorce and was very poor. Lloyd played on like he would help, seemed compassionate but the longer things went on, I realized he only loves money.... My mission was to have health insurance, it was VERY important as I have an illness that will eventually take my life. Not only did I walk away with $4700 in debt for his fees (we never stepped foot in a courtroom) no insurance. Everything that was negotiated was done by me. He even advised me to take a lower amount. He allowed it to be put in my divorce papers that I cannot seek alienation of affection from the woman my ex cheated with. Funny how the truth comes out after papers are signed. Please do yourself a favor and walk away. I was on the verge of firing him before we went to mediation. By this time I was already $3700 in debt. That was the worst mistake I made, not firing him.

To Carmen from March 2019. Years ago, over 20, I was referred to Lloyd Kelso by a very reputable law firm in Raleigh. He was referred as the "one of the best" Family Law Attorney's in NC. I traveled many miles to see him with a small child. At first I was very pleased. I thought I had one of the bes...t lawyers out there. Then he left the firm he was with to go into Entertainment Law and moved his practice to Tennessee. I did not switch lawyers, I stuck with him. My divorce was a nightmare. I was caught between being a mother, a caregiver for elderly relatives, an uncooperative ex-spouse and what turned-out to be an uncaring attorney. The move was the first thing. It took 4 years to get my ex to sign the separation agreement. He held-out to keep me from claiming alienation of affection. That would have been easy to prove. He has a son by his then girlfriend who is only a little more than 5 months younger than our son. I signed-off thinking everything was great even though there was a just issue with my ex's retirement. His 401k was in the agreement but it didn't appear to me that that included all of his retirement. Years later when my husband retired I found-out that the agreement had not included his retirement from his job, even though state law says I am entitled to it. He, my ex told me he would not sign anything for me to get his retirement. All the years I had spent married to my ex, moving from county to county, leaving jobs that could have provided me and my children with sufficient income to support them, even having to give-up our house, and it looked like no one thought I deserved to be able to retire. I knew the law couldn't make my husband stay in the lives of our children, he didn't, but at least I could have been allowed to retire decently. I tried other lawyers when I found-out he had filed the QDRO at the same time I took early retirement (my job was physically killing me). I returned to Mr. Kelso who told me he hadn't promised me anything. Based on the other reviews I read that described Mr. Kelso as "brilliant, "excellent", and "Christian", and my experience and Carmen's, makes me wonder if the service he provides applies to everyone. My life is almost at an end and I want God's forgiveness so I forgive Mr. Kelso.

At the time I hired Mr. Kelso, I had been working to bring resolution to my child custody and equitable distribution case for almost two years. Two prior attorneys worked on my case. I regarded neither of them as trustworthy or responsive. Mr. Kelso was a breath of fresh air. He listened to my st...ory without judgment, and he empathized with me as a father who was trying to ensure that his right to have a quality relationship with his daughter was protected. Mr. Kelso was always responsive to my phone calls and he or his paralegal Debra was prompt in communicating changes in the disposition of my case. Mr. Kelso work diligently to provide me with the best results while minimizing legal expenses including travel as my case was in the Lincoln County court systems some 3 hours away from where I work and live. In the end, Mr. Kelso, using his extensive knowledge of family law and adept negotiating skills, was able to obtain a reasonable resolution to my case outside the court system. I am pleased with the outcome. I would highly recommend Mr. Kelso’s family law services.

Most people when faced with obtaining legal counsel typically find themselves in unknown territory and are frightened, confused, and emotional. This was my case when I was served with papers by my ex husband in regards to alimony and child custody. I went to Mr. Kelso completely devasted by the tur...n of events and Mr. Kelso explained his job as one of not only legal counsel, but spiritual guidance as well. He said oftentimes his clients bring a wheelbarrow full of stuff and it is his job to try to make sense of it all and help his client make sense of it all as well. There are always two sides to every story and it always takes two to get to the point of hiring or needing an attorney, but where Mr. Kelso helped me the most was making me look inward at myself, realizing how things got to this point, and emphasizing the Christian aspect that we are all sinners saved alone by God's grace. Whatever your beliefs, this is extremely comforting when faced with the prospect of possibly losing one's children. I dealt with much evil, lying, and manipulation from those putting me through this legal ordeal, but Mr. Kelso from the beginning said we would stand on the truth and that we did. We did not go to trial and I feel like I got the best deal possible in mediation - most importantly that my children were not taken away. One of the most valuable, and yes time consuming, things Mr. Kelso had me do was write "my story". In it I wrote how I felt my marriage had been, what got me to the point of divorce, and the aftermath. Looking back at my marriage and putting it on paper had a healing affect for me - I was able to objectly look at my part in the demise of our marriage. Oftentimes you hear couples divoricng always blaming one for a specific reason and this just isn't the case...it does take two to get to that point. Mr. Kelso is extremely knowledgable in his field of family law and helped me tremdously - both legally and most importantly to me - spiritually. And...after all the legal drama is over, I believe most people would also want peace of mind and soul. Mr. Kelso helped me obtain that goal.