Cathy Steele Tappel

I let go of my first lawyer (not Cathy) due a large mistake that cost me a lot of money and a lack of emotional connection. Cathy stepped in and was amazing! I had a great experience with her. I went through a very rough separation / divorce and she was there every step of the way, and made sure I wa...s taken care of and made the right choices. She also made me feel she cared emotionally about what I was going through and it helped so much. She is worth every penny! I cannot say enough about her.

Cathy had her assistant file my divorce paperwork (according to Cathy). The assistant did not have me review the paperwork before she just went ahead and filed it. I told Cathy in our first meeting that not having my home address on the filing was of paramount importance for me and my safety, but she... 1 listed my address 2 filed it without having me check She amended the paperwork without charging me, but that particular bell cannot be un-rung and my home address became a matter of public record. I had to install security cameras and drastically accelerate my plans to move. She also made several other mistakes on the initial filing that would have been easily caught by a cursory review by me. But they weren't, because she let my divorce papers get filed without getting reviewed by me. When she finally completed the new paperwork, she waited a week to file it because her assistant was out of town on vacation. I do not know why no filing could happen with her assistant out of town, but it delayed the whole divorce process for me by a week. This ended up mattering significantly because I had to move quickly. Because Cathy let my home address get publicly listed and I no longer felt safe in my home. The whole thing ended up costing 40% more than she initially quoted to me, despite the divorce having gone as predicted (except for when she filed my divorce without having me review it, which I believe I was not charged extra for).

Cathy helped me with custody issues that arose after a previously mediated divorce. She kept me honest, kept my child's best interest in mind, and was clear about expectations. I ended up with more time with my child during the summer and kept my ex from feeling like she lost too much. She really mad...e both sides feel like they won and most importantly we can go about comparenting. Thank you Cathy!

I am trying to fix an issue in the language of my Order from years ago that has cost me so much time and money and I am getting 50.00 a month out of an arrears by the other parent in the five digits, Ms. Tappel did not put in the Order how to resolve this once the kids aged out. She only did if with... short-vision, not long one. I need it now more than ever and I won't probably be able to collect on it due to it.