Chris Allen Houghtaling

Well, I would strongly advise against using mr. Houghtaling! i trusted him and he abused that trust. We had an arrangement and I still don’t know to this day why he gave up literally and failed to communicate with me what was happening. We had 21 days to respond to the courts and he totally would n...ot respond to me. I went into office, he told me he could fix all of it to my face , then to again go to no communication. Not really sure what type of man does that, I was making monthly payments. So I don’t think that was it. Maybe this is what lawyers do, I don’t really know. I feel like he set me up for failure. I’m sad cause I lost a lot now and that I trusted him!

Do not hire this attorney! He talked about all the things he will do and then never returns calls, texts or emails. I called and texted 3 of 5 days a week and never heard from him. Went to court for a hearing scheduled by my ex-husband to be and no prior appt or even a meeting at the court house wit...h him was done before we met with opposing counsel and I lost because Mr Houghtaling did not pay attention to details in the proposal. I am now paying all the bills at the martial home, including mortgage payment and all credit cards, earning 1/2 of the income of my ex to be. My ex-husband to be is informed by his attorney of everything in the case and I still am asking questions and not getting answers. I need to fire this guy!!! Which I intend to do.

I brief moment in time turned my life upside down. I contacted Chris for an appointment and got in right away. He was very easy to talk to and helped me understand what I was up against. He provided real expectations and he didn't over charge for his services. His fees were very fair all thin...gs considered. Chris helped me challenge a PPO and the original version was amended twice. Once to allow me to enter my work place and the second, to allow me to gather my belongings from my ex-wife's house. Chris defended me in a SM assault case (first offense). I never had to post bond and I was ultimately granted special probation. (avoided jail time!!) Chris also helped me challenge a related restitution claim and had the total reduced by $400. Chris also handled my divorce and this went as smooth as could be expected. Chris typically answers his cell phone and will talk to you on the spot. If he can't talk right then, he'll always return your call in a reasonable amount of time. Chris cares about his clients and their families. Chris also has solid professional relationships with other lawyers, based on the interactions I saw. I highly recommend Chris to anyone needing a lawyer in the Muskegon area.

Chris was great on the phone when I discussed a family law matter with him. Five months have now passed since he agreed to work on a jurisdiction change for a divorce that was completed five years ago in another state and needs to be transferred to MI. His office has received the True-Attest copies... of the final decree from me in July 2015 and as of wring this email (October 2015) he and/or his office has not been able to provide me with any update on the status of my case with the court system. Like another reviewer I too am experiencing a lack of communication and when I call his staff they have no case notes and keep telling me that they will ask Chris for an update, but I never get any response...

I hired Chris based upon this very website and a glowing peer review. However, my experience was much different than the reviews I have seen here. Yes he is a nice guy and yes if you are dealing with a relatively uncomplicated divorce, he will do fine. If you are dealing with a narcissist in any w...ay shape or form, you are probably going to need a tougher lawyer, or one who deals extensively with domestic violence. I went into my divorce of course naieve as could be, thinking my ex could handle being amicable, which he didn't handle at all, and I felt totally steamrolled through the process. Emails to Chris went unanswered for a month at one point. If I called, the receptionist seemed short with me. I feel anything over 48 hours is unacceptable for a question that takes 2 minutes to answer. It was very rare that my emails were answered in a timely manner. Even if I gained a reputation as a difficult client with too many questions, I did not feel it would be too much to write a couple sentences back at the end of a week to answer a question. Finally, during court cases, he seemed calm, but almost a little too calm, because my ex's lawyer just kept on going, and my ex kept getting granted almost everything he wanted while chris did not defend or say a word. He seemed a bit unprepared. After all was supposed to be said and done, I am still getting dragged to court over clauses that were not written very well in the divorce decree. Between Chris and the judge, there was a push towards mediation. If I was able to do anything through mediation, I wouldn't have hired a lawyer.