Serving Tallahassee, Crawfordville, Apalachicola, and Monticello, in Leon, Wakulla, Franklin, and Jefferson counties.
Family law
Family law needs can encompass issues like divorce, child custody, paternity and child support.
Most clients know that a court must be involved to obtain a divorce. However, there can be continuing needs for child custody changes and child support issues after the divorce that would also involve the court system and may require legal advice. Further, there are cases where the parties are unmarried, for example, and may need an adjudication as the Father of the child in paternity actions.
Guardianship law
The needs of the elderly have always been acute but especially now as a greater percent of the population ages, children of these elderly need to have a way to make decisions for their parents and ways to protect their parents from people who may take advantage of their money, property and mind during this time.
If you suspect that your parent has become unable to make decisions for themselves as they have always done, Guardianship may be an option to ensure the future health and protection of the assets of the elderly person created over their lifetime. Siblings can also disagree about what should be done with these assets and an independent person may be necessary to prevent money being spent on litigation. An attorney/guardian can be useful in these situations as an experienced third party to work through these sensitive family issues and focus on what is best for the elderly person.
Probate law
Probate law can involve the preparation of a will and the legal steps to take when a loved one passes away. It is recommended that clients have a will, including living wills and power of attorney, in the event of death or incapacity during life.
When a loved one passes away with assets that need to be distributed to family members (beneficiaries), it may be necessary to open an estate in the court system so that banks and titles of property can be changed to the living persons indicated to receive those assets in the will.
