Grand Rapids, MI
Family Lawyer at Grand Rapids, MI
Practice Areas: Family, Divorce & Separation ... +3 more
OUTCOME: Consent Judgment of Divorce entered
I represented husband/father in a divorce with three minor children. We were able to enter a consent judgment, through which the parties share joint legal and physical custody. My client has more tha ... n half the parenting time, which was one of his goals at the outset.
OUTCOME: Fully Funded Joint Revocable Living Trust
Going the extra mile made for very happy clients! Clients wanted a joint revocable living trust. Part of my service is to file quit claim deed(s) to transfer real property into the trust. We ran int ... o a problem when county up north had an illegible deed on line and client could not find the original. Client eventually found the original and we were able to re-record the original along with a Quit Claim Deed transferring the property into the trust. The client was grateful for the extra effort needed to fully fund their trust.
OUTCOME: Up-to-date Estate Plan
I met with clients who had an existing estate plan that was put in place 20+ years ago. I completed a thorough review of their plan at no cost, and then made a proposal for updates that were necessa ... ry to bring the plan up-to-date. The clients now have a complete, up-to-date estate plan which reflects their current situation and the goals they have for distributing their estate down the road.
OUTCOME: Completed Durable Power of Attorney-Healthcare
I created a Durable Power of Attorney-Healthcare on very short notice for a client who was scheduled for major surgery. My client and his family were very grateful for the quick turnaround, and the ... comfort that having the Durable Power of Attorney-Healthcare in place gave them one less thing to worry about.
OUTCOME: Created custom, blended family estate plan
Blended families, in which one or both spouses has children from a prior relationship, are becoming more common. Blended families also present unique estate planning challenges, as spouses in blen ... ded families often want to provide for each other while also leaving their own assets to their own children. For this particular client, we created two, custom revocable living trusts. The clients owned a house together, but they also had maintained separate ownership of other assets. We were able to achieve the client's goal of providing for each other during their lifetimes, while also ensuring that each of the children received the balance of his/her own parent's estate.
OUTCOME: Judgment of Divorce entered
I recently completed a divorce in which the other party did not have an attorney. This matter involved minor children, and the parties owned their home. We were able to resolve all issues amicably, ... without having to go to trial. We were even able to mediation.
OUTCOME: Ex-husband's Petition to Vacation in Kenya with Child Denied
My client's ex-husband petitioned the court to take the parties' minor child with him to Kenya for vacation. The parties' judgment of divorce required my client's consent before ex-husband could tak ... e the child out of the country. My client requested itinerary for the trip, including phone numbers, addresses of hotels, etc. Because Dad never provided this basic information, my client denied permission. Dad asked the court to allow the vacation over my client's denial. My client was concerned the trip itinerary was not provided to her; she was also concerned that she would have no legal recourse in Kenya because Kenya is not a signatory to the Hague Convention on Child Abduction. The court denied Dad's petition to take the child on vacation to Kenya.
OUTCOME: Judgment of Divorce entered
My client divorced her husband after forty-plus years of marriage. We were able to settle all issues through mediation and a Judgment of Divorce was entered without a trial. My client had not lived ... alone in nearly fifty years, so much of my guidance in this case was related to personal, more than legal, matters. I was able to help my client find a realtor that she trusted so she could buy a new home; I helped her understand social security and her rights to increased payments post-divorce; I was able to assist as she worked with her financial advisor to set up and manage her own investment accounts.
OUTCOME: Ex-husband's Motion to Change Minor Child's Domicile was denied.
My client's ex-husband petitioned the court to allow him to move out of state and to take the parties' daughter with him. Because my client did not agree to allow her ex-husband to move the daughter ... out of state, the ex-husband petitioned the court for permission to do so. Following an evidentiary hearing on this matter, the court ruled in our favor. My client's daughter did not move out of state with her father. We won this case by proving to the court that it was not in the best interests of the child to move out of state.
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