LET’S FACE IT: THE FAMILY COURT SYSTEM IS BROKEN.
Much of the advice that you’ll get from your friend, your brother-in-law or the guy at the dry cleaners is wrong, wrong, wrong. Even books by reputable publishers can launch you into a court battle that will cost $30,000.00 or more on each side, make you so upset that you can’t parent effectively, and make it impossible to solve routine problems. We recently got a call from a divorcing mother who had spent $250,000.00 fighting over her kids, and that was just her fees. Husband likely spent at least that much.
If you had half a million dollars, would you spend it on an exhausting court battle? Just think of what this couple could have done for the children, themselves or their favorite cause with that money.
The fact is, most middle-class Americans are priced out of a litigated divorce. And even if you had the money for a court battle, why would you spend the money enriching your attorney? Not only does litigated divorce cost tens, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars; the result you get is often no better than if you had negotiated with your spouse and agreed on everything.
But don’t you need the protection of a top-notch lawyer? We agree that having experts, such as lawyers, financial analysts and mental health professionals can be crucial to getting the right result. But you can get that result without both spouses hiring a lawyer and then airing out their confidential family problems in a public courtroom. Simply put, there is a better way.
DON’T HIRE A LAWYER–HIRE A TOP-NOTCH MEDIATOR.
How would you like to have all the advantages of a California-Licensed family law attorney and a trained financial analyst present while you sat down with your spouse to discuss how you will divorce, divide your property and share responsibilities regarding the children? And, what if these same professionals were trained to keep your conversation on track, deal with emotional issues as they come up, and assist you in finding creative solutions to your divorce problems?
That is exactly what you will get through mediation. The Divorce Life Solutions mediation model features Thomas D. Ferreira, a family law attorney with 25 years of litigation experience. Thomas co-mediates with financial expert Tammy R. Ferreira, Certified Divorce Financial analyst(tm). Tammy will show you the numbers and assist you to obtain financial settlements that are in your interests, not the interests of attorneys and other divorce professionals. In mediation, we take the intangibles into account, like your security, your needs and your desires for your new family. We guide you through the process from start to finish for about a 10th of the average cost of a litigated divorce. And, we put you in the driver’s seat. You and your spouse agree to the solutions and we help you implement those solutions.
DIVORCE THE DLS WAY:
Whether you need pre-divorce planning, financial advice or help creating a cooperative parenting plan for the children, Divorce Life Solutions can help. Tammy can give you expert financial advice and show you what you can expect in terms of support and property division.
Thomas has also founded the Law Offices of Thomas D. Ferreira to handle your needs for legal advice, document preparation and representation before the family courts of San Diego and Riverside County. Go to www.myfamilylawoffice.com to learn more and see this month’s special discounts.
SELF-REPRESENTATION
Divorce Life Solutions is dedicated to assisting the pro per litigant, that is, someone representing themselves. In mediation, the parties need not hire lawyers until the end of the process, and only then just for an hour or so to review their agreements. We handle all the paperwork, taking you from the initial petition through the final judgment without your ever having to set foot in court. And, we do this completely confidentially so that you don’t have to share family secrets and financial information with the entire world.
We also assist the self-represented to navigate the family courts, and obtain needed orders with a minimum of cost. If you have Family Court Services mediation coming up, we can coach you on what to say and what not to say.
We also give quarterly educational workshops on self-representation and family law. See our calendar section for the next workshop.
And perhaps more important, Tammy and Thomas have both been where you are now. We have a blended family with children and 2 ex-spouses, and parenting plans. This means that we can approach your divorce problems with compassion, according to your goals and values.
We provide a variety of other services, including Qualified Domestic Relations Orders, required by the IRS Code to avoid penalties and taxes when dividing pensions and tax-deferred savings plans. And, we have resources for just about every problem that can come up in your co-parenting relationship.
WHAT FOLKS ARE SAYING ABOUT DIVORCE LIFE SOLUTIONS
“Thomas was very, very understanding and patient with our divorce mediation … It was important that the parties were listened to, that we felt the process was impartial. My feelings are that the approach worked well.” Eric of Oceanside, CA.
“We have just completed a mediated divorce with Thomas D. Ferreira, Divorce Life Solutions. The mediation sessions were run by Thomas Ferreira, who deals with the mediation and the legal aspects, and Tammy Ferreira, who deals with the financial aspects and with filing the appropriate paperwork with the court. They are a good working team and helped make a terrible situation more tolerable. Some of the mediation sessions were in person and one was done by phone. Thomas was able to help us navigate through some of the sticking points and we came up with a divorce agreement that we both felt comfortable with. The entire process was completed on time, approximately 7 months from start to finish. Both Thomas and Tammy were accessible by email, and they were responsive to our requests for changes to the agreement.” –from online review on superpages.com.
For additional reviews, click here.
CONCLUSION:
We hope you use this site as a resource, even if you don’t sign up for mediation. We have excellent divorce and co-parenting results ourselves, and our passion is to help you do it, too. Feel free to use the resources you find here, and go to our Law Office website to obtain parenting tips, get educated on the laws, and how to navigate the court system without going to court.
We wish you the best of luck as you embark on this life-changing journey. Please call us at 760-990-4752 if you need any help.
