Crista Marichalar

I wish I had better things to say about my experience with Crista. When my ex-husband filed for divorce in Texas, my NJ attorney recommended Crista. Although Crista is very personable, I felt like I was always chasing her down to have a conversation. Both paralegals in the office were equally as d...ifficult to contact. The divorce has been finalized, yet I have a few open matters which I continue to attempt to resolve. I have had no success in obtaining a phone call from Crista, with my request sent three weeks ago. I felt that because of my professional background, I was left making decisions which should have been looked at more carefully by Crista. The settlement did not receive proper attention to tax implications; I ended up adversely affected by a cash settlement which my ex-husband reworded as "alimony." I believe this was wording Crista should have explained, given me the opportunity to question and potentially negotiate the amount. Crista always seemed overloaded with work, with my case receiving "bottom of the pile" attention.

I hired Crista late in my child custody case, and she has had to clean up a mess that was created by my previous attorney and myself. She has been honest about things since the beginning by telling me upfront what may or may not work. She knows how to cover all bases when things arise in order to g...et control of the situation and do what is best for my daughter. Crista and her paralegals are really good about returning calls, emails, and keeping me calm as things keep popping up in my case. They seem to really care about what is best for my daughter. Crista remembers every little detail about my case so I don't have to continually give her a summary of what is going on. I know I am not her only client, but she definitely makes me feel like it every time I speak with her and when we are in court. I was worried about hiring another attorney due to my lack of assistance previously, however, Crista has restored my faith in lawyers.

I have known Crista since college. She was focused and devoted to studying law and becoming a moral and legal expert. She has handled my divorce with great decorum, and made a difficult time much easier for me. Since then she also has handled my grandparents estate which was much more complicated tha...n expected, and drawn up family wills anticipating any scenarios that could create complications. She is personable, empathetic with her clients, but has no hesitation with being aggressive when necessary to get the appropriate rights for her clients. She is absolutely a wonderful attorney and ally.

Crista Marichalar handled my case for me which involved settling my late father’s estate in the interest of my mother who was his beneficiary. His Will was unfortunately, not written by Mrs . Marichalar. When she and her staff attempted to get the Will probated , the judge found a descrepancy in sign...atures of one of the witnesses and because of that , the judge delayed the probate. This caused me undue inconvenience in trying to settle my dad’s Estate on behalf of my mom since I was the Executrix of my dad’s estate. Now Ms.Maricharlar had to locate that witness who at the time of the writing of the Will , was working for another law firm. Now , the witness was no longer working for the previous law firm and could not be found. This required much time and dedication on behalf of Ms Marichalar and her staff to try to track down this person , which after much effort , was found. However , after locating the witness , she was not readily agreeing to appearing in court and testifying before the judge , that indeed both signatures were hers evident in the Will and the error was hers. As stated, this turn of events required much time and energy and dedication of service to client for this situation to be resolved in my favor, but with Ms Marichalar’s tenacity and determination to serve her client in a most professional manner , the situation was resolved with the Will probated and my mom’s legal interests were protected and my execution of the responsibilities laid before me could continue. I could never repay my attorney for the service , dedication , determination and professionalism she demonstrated in helping me in a time of grief and despair. Ms. Marichalar would not give up until she saw the situation resolved as only it should be. I feel it important to state as well, Ms. Marichalar was readily available when needed and returned calls when necessary in a timely manner without attaching an additional charge to her services. This does suggest that she is compassionate and a dedicated professional as well as an Attorney worthy of recognition not only by her clients but her peers as well.