Derek Adam Schroen

Derek Schroen

This client signed a Joint Parenting Agreement that was entered by the court on 9/16/15. That Agreement was signed by the client after negotiations between both parties. As for what happened at the most recent court appearance, it was set for entry of Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage, to finalize the divorce. I did not go into the courtroom with the judge, my client's ex and her attorney and emerge an hour later. Instead, I went over the Judgment with the client and added language regarding a tax exemption that was favorable to him. The client had made it clear that he wanted the Judgment to be entered and had signed it with the added language written in at the bottom, so he did not go into the the courtroom with me. As for the parenting plan that he is "stuck" with, he signed off on a Joint Parenting Agreement that was fully negotiated between both parties and was entered by the court on 9/16/15, as I previously stated. The Agreement states that he is also potentially allowed visits with his son beyond the specific days laid out in the Agreement by agreement of the parties. I explained to the client that the divorce statute changed as of January 1, 2016, and we discussed the potential difficulties in amending the Joint Parenting Agreement. Lastly, with respect to the contract, I did close my former office and am now employed by a new firm. My new firm sent contracts to all the clients that I brought with me. Any clients who had pending cases were asked to pay a retainer fee, which is standard practice.