Theodore James Rechel

I found Ted through Avvo and during my first in-person consultation I knew he was the right attorney to represent me through my divorce. I retained Ted right away after my previous lawyer had turned out to be incapable of handling the complexity of my case. My divorce was after the 23 years of mar...riage, with the two minor children and involved the domestic violence allegations, multiple injunctions and finacial manipulation - all in the attempt to weaken my negotiation position, alienate me from the children and take the finacial advantage of the situation. Ted immediately laid out a smart strategy and action plan on how to lead my case to a positive closure. Step by step, I was regaining the ground under my feet, first trough cancelling the validity of the injunctions imposed on me, then through recovering the contact with my children, then reaching a parental plan agreement, and finally signing a marital settlement agreement with the very favorable final terms. The whole process, despite its complexity, took only under one year, which is very rare, considering how multi-layered it was. I cannot thank Ted enough for his patient guidance, relentless support, responsiveness, intelligence and confidence. All of this with a great sense of humor and a smile on his face. Also, Ted’s team was always available for me and ready to help either with drafting and filing important documents or just simply having a listening ear for me when I needed it. Thank you Patti, Denise, Janice and Debra! I would highly recommend Ted’s services to anybody who looks for a solid, reliable and well-thought-through legal representation in the family law matters! Time and money well invested!

Ted is an amazing attorney. He cares deeply for his clients and fights for the best outcome. My case was very difficult and required not only legal expertise but also a person with a big heart. Ted taught me more about family law than I ever wanted to know but he also shows compassion and forgiven...ess. He has excellent relationships with attorneys and experts and helped my case go through 5 days of trial. We WON! I got everything I had asked for and an even better result than our settlement offer.

I was first divorced in Hillsborough County as an Active Duty military Officer. After I was deep in the process, and becoming increasingly distrustful of my lawyer, I asked a military lawyer for some advice. He told me he had handled a few cases out in town and talked to his civilian colleagues and... his advice was to give me two names who he would use if he ever had to get a divorce, Ted Rechel was one of those. In 2018, late in my divorce, I did a one hour consult with Ted. He immediately spotted a number of very questionable practices by my attorney, but remained very frank and honest with me and told me my best course of action at that point if I wanted to end things fast was to stay the course, but gave me items to be wary of. Four years later, my ex-wife was living with her boyfriend in violation of our MSA, which should have voided alimony. I consulted with Ted and immediately hired him to handle a (now) complex case involving multiple state jurisdictions. While I was nervous at his retainer, I found that unlike my initial lawyer, Ted was judicious in billing and the money lasted far longer than in the first case. Four months into the process and my ex wife - though initially full of fight - has relinquished any and all alimony, everything has been filed with the courts, and I'm getting back around 40% of the initial retainer. Ted "gets it." He's frank, honest, and pragmatic. He is light years ahead of my original lawyer and just saved me several hundred thousand dollars. I wish I had found him when I started my divorce. While I at times felt frustrated at what I perceived to be a lack of communication, after the first month or two everything that needed to happen was happening and he wasn't milking me for money by billing for elaborate email responses or phone calls. He took care of my money, my time, and my interests. I couldn't be happier.

Florida believes in Joint Custody and at 10 1/2 when my ex filed papers, I was terrified. I left him at 4 1/2 months pregnant, he had never had any time alone with my daughter, never supported her because he was not on the birth certificate, and had stopped with even sporadic visits 4 years earlier.... And now this man who had been emotionally abusive to the point where even the judge referred to it as "gaslighting" was trying to get my child. Thank God for Ted Rechel! He was the attorney my first attorney found for me because she and her staff were being harrassed by my ex...he was representing himself. Due to my case she had to install security and cameras at her practice and her front office staff now had mace in their desks. During this process I became empowered because Mr. Rechel and his staff handled everything and knew how to do it. The process allowed my daughter very little contact, all supervised, by a Family Reunification Psychologist who specialized in working with sociopaths---again, direction to the right specialists who knew how to deal with this personality type and diagnose it during the trial was something Mr. Rechel had a plethora of resources and specialists to meet the needs of our case and keep my daughter protected. The Court ordered communication ONLY through monitored email and prior to that I would get at least 20 messages a day from my ex. It was draining and exhausting. I would show up to court and have to be walked to my car by bailiffs because they did not like the unpredictability of my ex. We went through 3 judges(they change frequently in Family Court) and Mr. Rechel stood strong every time we had to face off. I began to feel strong again because Mr. Rechel and his firm were handling all of the craziness from the self-appointed attorney and everything got to me filtered and already addressed. My ex filed Motions like there was no tomorrow and when faced by the Judge Mr. Rechel would talk to the insanity. And as my ex would repeatedly try to address me directly in court, Mr. Rechel stepped in. Professionally and emotionally, they knew what I needed and how to do it through the right channels so it would not be overturned. I now stand in a place of strength with my child protected from so much of what could have been. He is allowed no direct contact and more than likely will never have that ability. My child has an advocate to speak for her about the few supervised encounters they had and how he brutalized her and was forced to leave 15 minute sessions. This therapist has helped my child realize that her biological father has a mental illness and that is not on her. We have been surrounded with a support system that we never knew we needed but are so thankful we had. Our Special Circumstances were identified through the court and upheld in the final outcome. My daughter is safe and protected, as am I. And Child Support was ordered based on a job evaluation done through Mr. Rechel's sources signifying the financial situation of my ex to not be at all what he claimed...so now I also have a nest egg building for my daughter. This is definitely the firm when you need someone to fight and be a bull dog!

We can't say enough great things about Ted and his team. Ted took the time to get to know us and what we needed in a lawyer. He was all of that and more. He's caring, a great listener, easy to talk to, and is an incredible lawyer. I would highly recommend him to anyone that needs an attorney that rea...lly knows the law and can get stuff done! Even if you have a complex case, Ted is the absolutely best option for you!