The Servicemember Family Protection Act (H.R. 4201) would prevent family court judges from ruling against our military members in child custody cases based solely on past or future deployments. Supporters of the bill believe that the simple fact of military lifestyle should not unfairly prevent that parent from being awarded custody.

H.R. 4201 states : For servicemembers who deploy for periods between 60 days and 18 months, this bill would restrict courts from considering those absences when determining permanent child-custody arrangements. The bill also would require the reinstatement of custody orders in effect preceding any deployment or anticipated deployment of the servicemember (unless a court finds that reinstatement is not in the child’s best interest) and provide servicemembers with either the protections under this bill or applicable state law, whichever is most favorable.

Some of our military have been scrutinized for leaving their children in the custody of a grandparent, stepparent or other family member when they deploy. It is in the best interests of servicemembers to communicate regularly about the status of future deployments.  While the law would give military parents more leverage during deployment, parents should also be taking appropriate measures to ensure that, as always, the well-being of their children is a priority.

For more information about military divorce and custody actions, please call or contact our office today.

DEAR CAROLYN: My husband’s brother is in the middle of a very nasty divorce, and my husband and I are grieving the loss of a wonderful friendship with our ex-sister-in-law.

The brother has been adamant about our cutting ties with her. We are not so sure we can do this, and have been thinking of including her in our holiday plans.

Would you agree that it’s OK to make an exception at holidays, especially for someone who doesn’t really have other family in the area?

— Anonymous

DEAR CAROLYN: This is wholly dependent on context. The simplistic answer is to say your brother-in-law doesn’t have the right to make you cut ties. He doesn’t.

But: He might have the right to ask. Who wronged whom in the marriage? I’ve read too many accounts of abuse victims whose families insist on staying in touch with the abusers. That’s a huge betrayal by family.

On the other hand, if your brother-in-law mistreated his ex, then his family has standing to say, “You want nothing to do with her, and that’s your right, but she was good to us and we grew to love her over these 7/17/27 years.”

You can even ask him to back up his request: “If she mistreated you, then please say so, because we don’t want to harbor someone who harmed you. But if you just don’t love her anymore, then I feel I have a right to continue my own relationship with her.”

Just make sure you’re confident in your facts and prepared for any consequences before you act, since any choice is likely to alienate someone. If you’re not willing to risk your relationship with the brother, or if your husband isn’t, then that decides it. Otherwise you maintain ties as you deem appropriate and let others decide how to respond.

Unfortunately, that is often not the case. An experienced attorney realizes that more often than not, their expertise is necessary to avoid additional legal and financial pitfalls. In an uncontested divorce, for instance, an attorney can give direction when it comes to wording the document to resolve child support, custody, college education and settlements. The Clark County Court System is very busy and while many of the officials there are well-meaning, they are technically not allowed to give legal advise. Also, paperwork must be filed correctly and in detail. It has to be filed within certain time periods. A proper attorney knows all of the rules and regulations and is priceless when it comes to representing you without botching your case.

I have been seeing couples that attempt a DIY divorce, either because they believe it is a simple case or because of the money involved, only to have it rejected by the Court. Any unclear wording or the smallest of errors can cause a divorce action to be put on hold by a judge. It is usually less expensive overall, easier, and faster to prevent bad things from happening during a divorce than it is to undo or repair the damage once it is done. If you count the time and expense, a DIY divorce can be more trouble than if you had spoken to an attorney initially.

Feel free to call my office today to set up an appointment for a free consultation, or fill out the contact form on the website, www.SteinbergLawGroup.com. I am ready to assist you with all of your family law needs and to be your advocate in Court.

Spring Clean Your Bad Habits

Hillary Torchin, VP of Relationship Marketing, writes for Las Vegas Woman magazine. You can view her latest article here :

Spring Clean Your Bad Habits

So now that you’re engaged, let’s talk about finances and prenuptial agreements. Taking care of your financial responsibilities helps make sure that your assets go where you want them to should your marriage eventually end in either death or divorce.  In Nevada, a community property state, this is especially true since all income earned during the marriage is split 50-50 upon divorce.

To be certain that a prenup is valid in court, make sure that:

1. Both of you have plenty of time to review the prenuptial agreement;
2. Both of you are honest about your finances;
3. Both of you retain separate attorneys to review prenuptial agreement.

Prenups are becoming popular because many couples are choosing to marry in their late 20’s and 30’s.  At this age,  many have established careers, perhaps a home or other investments.  A prenup allows you to have control over how your assets should be divided, rather than leaving these decisions up to a judge.

Prenuptial agreements are favored highly in second marriages. If you have children from previous relationship, it is vital to make sure that you provide for them in the case of divorce or death.

For more information on prenuptial agreements or any family law matter, please call us at Steinberg Law Group (702) 384-9664 or fill out the email contact form to make an appointment today.

Please give us a call to schedule an appointment today!

As a native Las Vegan, Mr. Fleeman has lifelong ties to our local community. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from the UNLV Honors College, Mr. Fleeman worked for several years at a local ambulance company as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and as an American Heart Association certified CPR and First Aid Instructor. While working as an EMT, Mr. Fleeman attended the William S. Boyd School of Law where he earned several academic awards and graduated in the top 10% of his class. He is a member of the Nevada State Bar Family Law Section, and has counseled clients through hundreds of divorce, child custody, and support hearings in front of our local judges.

“We are all thrilled to welcome Jack to our team,” said Brian Steinberg, president of Steinberg Law Group. “His ability and success will enable us to increase our clientele, while strengthening the personal services we provide to assist our clients.”

Steinberg Law Group, a Family Law firm established in 1996, specializes in issues such as divorce, divorce mediation, child custody, child support, adoption, pre-nuptial agreements, same-sex partnerships, guardianship and post-judgment modifications.

I often hear that hiring an attorney to litigate is too expensive, but there is another way to fairly and safely get your divorce and custody case done without going to Court. It’s called mediation and some of the benefits are listed below.

Benefits of Mediation vs. Litigation

(1) Mediation is less expensive than litigation. We’ve all heard of divorces costing over 6 figures – most litigated divorces cost upwards of $20,000 per person. A mediated divorce or child custody action is much, much less expensive.

(2) Mediation often produces better results since the parties agree on the resolution. In divorce or custody litigation, a judge who does not know the parties or their children makes decisions for them that may not be agreeable to one or both parties.

(3) Mediation takes one to two months, whereas litigation takes four months to over one year… or longer!

(4) The parties have much more flexibility to agree upon child support and alimony based upon need and ability to pay. The Court does not have much flexibility with regard to child support since this is set by statute.

(5) In mediation, the parties can be taught how to avoid going to Court in the future.

(6) Mediation can be therapeutic in many ways, whereas litigation is an adversarial process that often hurts the parties’ ability to work together for the sake of their children.

Requirements for Mediation

I usually restrict mediation to parties who are likely to succeed in this process. The parties will need to be able to be in the same room with each other and interact in a civilized manner. Each party will need to be up front and honest in a divorce regarding assets and debts as the resolution of these issues impacts the future and any children. Custody also requires honesty about each party’s work hours, and salary. Basically, the parties must strongly desire to resolve custody issues for the benefit of their children.

Conclusion

Many of the mediations that I have done over the years involved people such as teachers, nurses, doctors, business owners, military and other professionals. I believe that mediation is a smart alternative to litigation. In mediation, my goal is to educate people so that each person can make an informed, intelligent, and educated decision pertaining to the resolution of all custody and divorce matters out of Court. However, I find that my knowing how to litigate is important to successful divorce and child custody mediation. My litigation experience allows me to know and understand how things will likely be resolved in Court by a good judge and this knowledge is useful for the parties to consider.

My belief is that litigation is contrary to successful co-parenting. For the sake of children, parties should not be allowed to litigate their custody and/or divorce dispute in Court until after they have attempted to resolve all their issues in mediation with a qualified and experienced mediator. In other words, if both parties want to avoid going to Court, then divorce and custody mediation wins hands down.

If I was choosing a family law attorney for myself, then these are the important questions that I would consider:
(1) Do I like the attorney?
(2) Do I feel that I can trust this attorney with my divorce or custody situation based on his demeanor and experience?
(3) Does the attorney’s office answer the phone?
(4) Does the attorney or staff return calls quickly?
(5) Do all staff members seem to care about the client as much as the attorney does?
(6) Does the attorney and staff appear competent about the law?
(7) Does the attorney and staff appear competent in preparing necessary documents?
(8) Does the attorney and staff seem ready and able to handle your particular problem and other problems as they come up?
(9) Does the attorney and staff have time for your case?
(10) Does the attorney really take the time to listen to you and know your case so he or she will be ready to fight for you when it comes time to go to Court?

If you can generally answer these questions with a resounding “yes”, then there is a good chance you have found the right family law attorney.