Matthew Keith Purcell

Certified Family Law Specialist, Divorce & Custody Lawyer, Husband, Daddy, Pet-Parent, Gamer, Bruin, Fantasy Football Savant, Sunscreen Aficionado, @matthewkpurcell

Matthew K. Purcell is a Shareholder of Forester Purcell Stowell PC, Family Law Attorneys. He has been recognized as a Certified Family Law Specialist by the California State Bar Association’s Board of Legal Specialization since 2011. Matt was the youngest Certified Family Law Specialist in California at the time he received this prestigious recognition of expertise in the field.

Experience: Matt has more than a decade of experience handling a range of family law issues, as well as guardianships and juvenile dependency. Offering broad expertise to his clients, Matt has handled everything from intricate property and support issues to complex custody issues involving allegations of sexual and physical abuse, domestic violence, parental alienation, and relocations.

With significant experience in the more specialized fields of guardianships, grandparent rights, and juvenile dependency cases, Matt is adept at counseling clients in situations where Child Protective Services removes children from parents based upon allegations of abuse and/or neglect.

Matt handles all aspects of dissolutions, but is particularly passionate about protecting the well-being of the children who are involved in these contentious adult situations. While he has found that successful outcomes are most often reached through negotiation and settlement, there are some cases where one or both parties simply cannot compromise. He has extensive litigation experience, including arguing in front of the Court of Appeal, if necessary. Matt was the attorney of record both at the trial court and appellate level on the published 2011 precedent setting relocation case Jacob A. v. C.H. (196 1591).

A graduate of Folsom High School, Matt attended college at UCLA where he graduated with a degree in History. He then earned his J.D. from the Syracuse University College of Law in New York. After braving three winters in New York, he returned to the Sacramento area where he started his law practice in 2005. Prior to co-founding Forester Purcell Inc., Matt worked for more than eight years as the associate attorney to one of Sacramento’s premiere family law attorneys, Frank E. Dougherty.

Matt presently resides near Folsom with his wife and better-half, Kellie, their son Jack and their dog George. He practices primarily in Sacramento, Placer, Yolo and El Dorado Counties, although he has handled cases in most Northern California counties.

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