Kayla Lee Upchurch

I would like to personally thank Kayla Upchurch, Attorney MT&T, for her relentless work on my divorce. My divorce had to be one of the most frustrating cases imaginable. My spouse initially filed for divorce but did everything possible to prevent it from proceeding. She and her attorney’s approach... to the case was to stall, and make it financially costly, with hopes that I would reconsider my counterclaim. This case destroyed my relationship with my teenage son, even though I did my absolute best to keep him from being involved. He lives with his mother and has little to no room to think independently. He was forced to pick a “side” knowing the consequences at home if he didn’t choose his mother. In my opinion my case was clearly parental alienation, but the family court system is not in favor of the father unless physical abuse is present. They did not consider the long-term emotional/mental effects of a child having to choose between his parents. Kayla kept me focused on what I could do to get my case settled but not to give more than I was comfortable with. She was aggressive when required and more than willing to fight for my best interest. Kayla was honest with me throughout the entire case even when she knew that what she had to say was not something I wanted to hear. She made it clear early on that there was no “fair” divorce, and both sides should be willing to “give” a little. My divorce has taken almost three years because the opposing party didn’t feel it necessary to "give” in any area. If Cherokee County courts had allowed my case to be heard and simply go to trial, it would have been less costly. The most frustrating things about my divorce was the judge’s refusal to hear my case, even after 2 ½ years of litigation and multiple mediations, and the fact that the plaintiff was allowed to prolong the divorce process that she initiated. My case did not go as I had hoped, but financially the opposing party costed herself thousands of dollars by delaying the case and refusing to mediate in good faith. I had hoped that my divorce would have been civil and would limit my teenage son’s involvement in the process, but my ex-spouse involved him from start to finish. He was used by her which is very sad. If you are looking for a young aggressive, but professional attorney, Kayla Upchurch is the attorney for you. At the end Kayla and the M&T team saved me a very large amount in equitable division/property division due to their strategic decisions making throughout the case.

Atty Upchurch was assigned to my case and made the divorce process less difficult. She is knowledgeable; has a great work ethic; and professionalism is one her strongest traits. Kayla is also compassionate and she saw me as a "person", not a client number. I trusted Atty Upchurch and she delivered "a...s promised"!

Divorce and custody issues are extremely difficult and undesirable, but when it became unavoidable, I was so relieved to have a team at Meriwether & Tharp, LLC represent me and the interests of my children. I settled on this firm partly because I was impressed with just how thoroughly they educate re...aders through their website, and provide resources online that other firms would charge for. I found that I had made an excellent choice. When my ex-husband was served with the divorce papers, he immediately promised to make the process a "long, drawn out, nasty battle", and he lived up to it. However, Kayla Upchurch and my team were very professional, communicative, supportive and validating the entire time. Taking the "high road" was always my teams response to antagonism and lack of cooperation from the other side, while never diminishing the strength of my representation. I knew what to expect from my team during the process, which was important to me at a time in my life when everything else was uncertain. Communication and responses were prompt, usually the same day or the next day, and the case was settled in mediation on 7.31.2020, about two months shy of what would have been 21 years of marriage. I'm happy with the terms of the settlement, and even happier to close this chapter my life and my children's lives, and move on. I do not wish the circumstances leading up to divorce, or divorce on anyone, but if that becomes the reality you are dealt, I highly recommend Meriwether & Tharp, LLC.