Bernie Johannes Kempen

Complete waste of time and money. Do yourself a favor and hire someone else. They move so slowly and do not provide any updates or guide you. Throughout the process, it felt that I was paying them but they favored my ex. I hired a private judge for final judgment, no clear instructions were provided ...to pay the judge and I was charged $300 for delaying the payment for a day. didn't even have Coutsey to mail the final divorce papers, When I asked, the response was that the documents were e-mailed and I should print them for my records, which is not acceptable. In the end, the transfer of property deeds took them 3 months and nothing was done, so I withdrew my case and decided to go with another attorney at 75% less cost. But they didn't even return my payment I paid them upfront for deed transfer. So, please don't fall for the good reviews and hire them. They will never discuss the case with you and tell you what to expect, all interactions are via Email only, if you ask 4 questions in one e-mail, they will answer one and will charge you separately for every e-mail.

Bernie is a very strong and "get to the point" attorney. He helped my family with a contested step- parent adoption case in which many others we consulted with were skeptical of. When we consulted with Bernie, he was very personable but was realistic with us and always honest. This steered us to hire... him as our attorney. He and his paralegal, Debbie, were both amazing to work with, very patient when we had our worries, and always assured us that they would do the best they could but without making promises. They're confident and very knowledgeable people. Debbie prepared our documents very nicely and is very detailed; you can tell she pays great attention. She was very pleasant to work and communicate with. Bernie was very informative, always on top of the laws and knew exactly what he was doing. As clients of Bernie's, we noticed that he was very well respected by the court. He knew how to communicate with us without sugar coating and was very quick to share any information that came up. We hope that we won't need to contact Bernie and Debbie in the future but if issues or concerns were to come up, we won't hesitate to reach out. Thank you Bernie and Debbie for your amazing work. You're both very well informed, respected, and truly did not fail us.

Bernie was recommended to me by a trusted friend during a very emotional and tumultuous time when I didn't trust anyone. I know I was not an easy client for Bernie, but he and his paralegal, Debbie, never gave up and did what they could to establish a trusting relationship so that we could move forw...ard as fast as I'd allow. They always had my best interests and if I had listened to Bernie from the very beginning, they probably could have completed the entire divorce process in weeks. Bernie was always a straight shooter with me, and while at times I wished I had a little more "hand holding", in the end, he was always aware of the $$ and did whatever he could to be efficient and make sure I knew what I was entitled to. Debbie was amazing and so responsive. They were able to settle the case for me out of court, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I know they were wanting me to ask for more, but they remained respectful of my needs to complete this process as soon as possible and with as little animosity as possible as well.

The following statement is my personal opinion based on my experience with Attorney Bernie Kempen. I would not recommend Bernie to anyone getting a divorce. Initially Bernie made me feel comfortable and that this case was a slam dunk. $40k later I am still married and left not knowing what to do. ... The other parent was given 50% custody. I feel Bernie did not fight for me. I feel he laid down and was intimidated by the other attorney. The other parent, as a result of the 50% custody agreement, has gotten away with paying a very, very small amount of child support. Yet, as predicted, for the most part has not followed through with the custody arrangement- leaving me to have the kids on the other parents time (most of the time) and sticking with a huge grocery bill, more utilities, etc., The other parent lied to the court about their income and nothing was really done. Bernie did not fight for what is in the best interest of the children. He did not fight for alimony for me. He did not fight for ANYTHING. IMO, Bernie carried this out only to bill me more and more money. Than when I could not afford to pay him anymore (after $40k), he dropped me like a hot potato. Now, 6 years later, I am still not divorced. His slogan, "It's Over"... Is quite contrary to my experience. IT AIN'T OVER. So after all of this money I spent, I am still married to a bully that now violates the court orders at will and doesn't care saying, "Oh well", "take me to court", because this person knows I got screwed and now I have no representation. The other party is getting 1/2 my pension, 1/2 my retirement, pays a very small amount of child support (enough to pay maybe one utility), yet this person makes twice as much as me, just bought a new boat and a new car... Leaves the kids with me on their time with him, has given up completely on 1 child and never sees him. After all this time, and after all the money I gave Bernie, I still have not resolved any issues other than child custody which Bernie just laid down for, even though it was clearly in the best interest of the children to stay with me... Even the mediator thought it was. There are still issues regarding money, etc... Which the other parent is fighting to take from me (my pension, retirement, etc... but I have no representation - Bernie gave up because I ran out of money). I am afraid to go back to court and do anything because I don't know what will happen. I feel I was victimized by Bernie. I feel I was bullied by Bernie every time I asked a question. He would argue back at me and make me feel stupid for asking it, and then he would never address the concerns I had. The other attorney would lie in court, lie in court paperwork, etc... and Bernie barely addressed it. And when I brought it up, I was made to feel that it wasn't important. I feel Bernie would create situations that caused me to email or phone the office and ask questions, only so he could bill me more money, until finally I was broke. If I could complain to a governing body about Bernie Kempen, and knew it would do me some good, I would. I am sure Bernie will come on here and make some dumb excuse and try to defend it, but I only see that as another attempt to bully me. To sum it all up. I spent about $40k with Bernie and got nowhere. Then when I couldn't pay anymore he dropped me as a client. And now I am being bullied and harassed by the the other parent all the time. I know of two other clients that have started with Bernie but were smart enough to drop him before they got sucked in.