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!

Before I go into any specifics and details about my personal situation, you need to understand what kind of GENTLEMAN you will be dealing with here - Which, to me, represents A LOT!!! Ted is that ULTRA-RARE combination in his field that brings DIRECT, NO-NONSENSE COMMUNICATION, along with a strictly ...guided, and uncompromising set of morals and ethics that are nearly impossible to find in his profession. He TRULY takes his clients and his business to HEART!! After dealing with Ted, I can, for the first time ever, use the words "GOOD PERSON" and "GRRREAT LAWYER" in the same sentence!! On the elements of my personal situation, I believe that by ANY standard of measure, my circumstances were very unusual, if not downright insane... As a husband and father of three children (ages 10-16), I was a stay-at-home Dad for nearly 10 years. There were recent issues involving my wife leaving the state, which divided our children. During this process, my youngest child was battling cancer (Leukemia). The levels of stress and complication in the divorce only intensified. After 10 years of living with my kids and raising them as a stay-at-home-dad, the living arrangements changed so that my middle child was living with me, while my other 2 children were with her. But that wasn't enough. She wanted all 3 children and for me to only have limited, supervised visitation!! That wasn't happening, as I wanted my middle child (12 year-old daughter) to stay living with me (she insisted on living with me, as well). The bottom-line, after many threats and every possible underhanded scheme coming from my wife to have me arrested, defamed, slandered, etc. (none of which happened, despite her repeated attempts), Ted came through. Period. While facing what seemed like insurmountable odds, Ted was by my side the entire time. I even had to call him one time before 7:00am on his cell phone because child-protective investigators (along with the police) spontaneously showed-up at my door (to investigate ongoing FALSE allegations). Ted's guidance and sound advice was always at my side, calming my stormy seas. My wife also had a supposedly "upscale" lawyer representing her. This element added a bit more stress, due to the sheer length that some lawyers will go to just to "win" their cases, etc... But I had Ted. And THAT was the GAME CHANGER. After following all of his directions and advice, he literally TURNED THE TIDE and the results were picture-perfect!! My middle child now lives with me. Visitation is reasonable. My child support for my other 2 children is fair and manageable. Most importantly, I got my life back and I can now move forward with my kids. To Ted: THANKS so much for taking my case... I actually had some concerns that you wouldn't!! (Due to its overall "insanity factor"). You're an AWESOME man, who is also the "Master Chef" of lawyers!! You whipped-up your CREATIVE, special-sauce that was specifically tailored to my pallet, regarding the circumstances in my case. You worked closely with me as a team, so that we could achieve the desired results and share in that success together!! I sincerely and humbly give you my HIGHEST PRAISE!! You DESERVE IT, Ted!!!

Ted began representing me in 2006 in my custody and child support case. The case lasted 2 years. Now, in 2012, I have retained him again to handle a modification. Ted and his staff have always been prompt to respond to calls and emails. They have also been patient, professional and courteous. He... was successful originally in aggressively pursuing and achieving the outcome I was looking for and also getting an attorney’s fees award from my ex. Each time, Ted was very reasonable regarding his attorney fees. I’ve worked in the legal system for 15 years, there’s no another family law attorney in Tampa I would have represent me.