What kind of law do you practice? What I do has many names.
I prefer the term, "Domestic."
The term “Divorce” is too narrow since I represent a lot of people who are not married.
I do a lot of high conflict custody cases.
I do a lot of cases involving valuation of the marital estate.
I handle international child abduction cases and interstate jurisdiction issues. How do I know what my rights are? In the middle of the emotional turmoil of a break-up, it is right and proper to consider what your financial situation will be. The issues can be generally broken down into two categories. The first to be considered is the property. In Kansas, the judge has very broad discretion in dividing assets. All the property of both parties, however titled or however acquired, is subject to the jurisdiction of the court. The court, however, must consider the following: 1. As part of a divorce proceeding, the trial court has a duty to make a division of the parties' assets and liabilities. In making the division of property the court shall consider the age of the parties; the duration of the marriage; the property owned by the parties; their present and future earning capacities; the time, source and manner of acquisition of property; family ties and obligations; the allowance of maintenance or lack thereof; dissipation of assets; the tax consequences of the property division upon the respective economic circumstances of the parties; and such other factors as the court considers necessary to make a just and reasonable division of property. K.S.A. 1997 Supp. 60-1610(b)(1). and (b) Financial matters. (1) Division of property. The decree shall divide the real and personal property of the parties, including any retirement and pension plans, whether owned by either spouse prior to marriage, acquired by either spouse in the spouse's own right after marriage or acquired by the spouses' joint efforts, by: (A) a division of the property in kind; (B) awarding the property or part of the property to one of the spouses and requiring the other to pay a just and proper sum; or (C) ordering a sale of the property, under conditions prescribed by the court, and dividing the proceeds of the sale. Upon request, the trial court shall set a valuation date to be used for all assets at trial, which may be the date of separation, filing or trial as the facts and circumstances of the case may dictate. The trial court may consider evidence regarding changes in value of various assets before and after the valuation date in making the division of property. Once the assets are divided, the court looks at whether support is appropriate. The court is required to provide for the support of the minor children. Kansas Child Support Guidelines are mandatory and there is very little discretion. Amount of parenting time can be used to adjust the amount of child support. Maintenance is what used to be called alimony. It is support for dependant spouse. The court has a lot of discretion on this issue. (from K.S.A. 60-1610) – (2) Maintenance. The decree may award to either party an allowance for future support denominated as maintenance, in an amount the court finds to be fair, just and equitable under all of the circumstances. The decree may make the future payments modifiable or terminable under circumstances prescribed in the decree. The court may make a modification of maintenance retroactive to a date at least one month after the date that the motion to modify was filed with the court. In any event, the court may not award maintenance for a period of time in excess of 121 months. If the original court decree reserves the power of the court to hear subsequent motions for reinstatement of maintenance and such a motion is filed prior to the expiration of the stated period of time for maintenance payments, the court shall have jurisdiction to hear a motion by the recipient of the maintenance to reinstate the maintenance payments. Upon motion and hearing, the court may reinstate the payments in whole or in part for a period of time, conditioned upon any modifying or terminating circumstances prescribed by the court, but the reinstatement shall be limited to a period of time not exceeding 121 months. The recipient may file subsequent motions for reinstatement of maintenance prior to the expiration of subsequent periods of time for maintenance payments to be made, but no single period of reinstatement ordered by the court may exceed 121 months. Maintenance may be in a lump sum, in periodic payments, on a percentage of earnings or on any other basis. At any time, on a hearing with reasonable notice to the party affected, the court may modify the amounts or other conditions for the payment of any portion of the maintenance originally awarded that has not already become due, but no modification shall be made without the consent of the party liable for the maintenance, if it has the effect of increasing or accelerating the liability for the unpaid maintenance beyond what was prescribed in the original decree. Except for good cause shown, every order requiring payment of maintenance under this section shall require that the maintenance be paid through the central unit for collection and disbursement of support payments designated pursuant to K.S.A. 23-4,118, and amendments thereto. A written agreement between the parties to make direct maintenance payments to the obligee and not pay through the central unit shall constitute good cause. If child support and maintenance payments are both made to an obligee by the same obligor, and if the court has made a determination concerning the manner of payment of child support, then maintenance payments shall be paid in the same manner.[1] What if you own your own business? The valuation of a business often requires expert consideration. A lot of people have rules of thumb about values or real estate, hard assets, and businesses. It’s best to consult (even if briefly) with an expert prior going to trial or settling a case. I have worked with many business valuations and can bring in very good experts to look over the situation. How much do you charge? Each case is different. I don’t charge for the first 30 minute conference. During that time we can discuss the costs, fees, and retainer if required. I can sometimes give an estimate of the overall cost. I bill once per month with a detailed account of how my time is spent on your case. I’m happy to discuss any charges. What is a retainer? In cases which are not settled prior to filing, I often require a retainer. My retainer depends on the level of conflict and the complexity of the issues. If I know that the case will require an expert (forensic psychologist or accountant for example) then I factor that cost into my retainer. Your retainer is deposited into my trust account for safekeeping. It draws interest which the Kansas Bar Association Trust Fund distributes in grants to various charities. As I work on your file, I log my time into a billing software program. Once per month, I print out the statement. At that time, I pay myself out of the trust account. All of this activity is on the statement sent to you. If the retainer is used up, we will talk about "refreshing it" or paying the balance due. If, at the end of the case, there is still money in your trust account, I refund it to you. Do I represent more men or women? I get this question a lot. Maybe because I'm a woman. I've never sat down and done an analysis of whether I represent more of one or the other. My guess is that it's about the same. I don’t try to advance “Women’s Rights” or “Father’s Rights” in a case; I try to advance my client’s position. My job is to counsel and coach my client through the process. Each case is different. Each client is different. I treat each client as an adult. He or she is copied on every document sent or received. I make no agreements without authority from the client. If there are "back room" conversations with opposing counsel with or without the judge, I document that to the client. It's your case, not mine, your life, not mine. How long will the process take? Sometimes when a client comes in, however, he or she is emotionally devastated and wants the whole thing over with right away. Frequently, after a month or two of separation, that person begins to live again. My client's mental health is very important to me. Often, I encourage and sometimes insist that the client go to some type of counseling or at least talk to the family doctor. I'm not a psychologist but I'm good friends with quite a few. I know the lingo and the meds. The best use of my time is to counsel you on legal issues. But back to the question of how long will this take. If there are children, I tell people that the process we are beginning will last the rest of your life. There's a wonderful book called, How to Avoid the Divorce from Hell (and Dance Together at your Daughter's wedding). The goal, however, is to get through the conflicted part of the case and either remain friends or at least leave a rickety bridge there to strengthen in the future. I believe that life is a process with hills and valleys. The legal process may be a valley, maybe even a very deep valley but you have to stay focused on the climb to come and enjoy the view. Of course, if there are no children, then the operative phrase is getting it over with as soon as possible and move on.
On a more prosaic level, the statute requires a 60 day waiting period for a divorce. If the parties are agreed, whether it's a divorce, equitable division, or parentage case, the case can be expedited. If the parties are not agreed, the court will set it for status conferences to keep it from dragging on forever. So, somewhere between two months and just short of forever is how long it will take. Seriously though, it depends on the case and most cases are resolved within six months. On rare occasions, the court will grant an emergency divorce.
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