Michigan Judge Takes Surprising Action When Kids Refuse Order to See Their Father
Recently, a judge in Oakland County Michigan made national headlines for sending three children, ages 9, 10, and 15, to a juvenile facility after finding them in contempt of court for refusing to see their father. In an ongoing custody battle, the children refused to...
New Grant Allows Parents Access to Child Care During Court in Jefferson County
As a member of the 1st District Access to Justice Committee (ATJ), I help find grants benefitting our courts. Working with excellent, passionate committee members, I have been part of the team winning two recent grants for our district. Earlier, I worked with Ric...
Evergreen Chamber Community Fund: A new way to give back
When FEMA officials visited my beautiful hometown of Evergreen, Colorado after our recent floods, they said that we could expect a major disaster every four years or so. Reflecting on recent blizzards, floods and fires, this sounds accurate. And the resulting...
What are the first steps in filing for divorce?
So you decided to file for divorce. What next? In Colorado, the first step is to serve the other parent with a petition, case information sheet and summons. These forms are available on the Colorado Judicial forms website. You cannot serve these forms yourself. You...
Before you draft your own will, read this
I believe in people drafting their own legal documents but NOT their own wills using online programs and forms. As much as I want to empower people to take ownership and participate in their legal issues, I find this option to be a horrible disaster. And I have good...
How and why to keep the kids out of your divorce
I want to address the issue of putting the kids in the middle of a divorce tug of war. Don't do it! It's natural that when the other parent slings mud at you, puts you down to the children or tries to pull them over to their side, you want to defend yourself and "pull...
The Future of Family Law: Pairing Mediation & Unbundled Services
Your divorce, support and parental responsibilities cases involve the most critical issues in your life: your family, your finances and your future. And yet 75 percent of parties in the first judicial district do not have an attorney in their domestic relations case....
Sharing Unique Aspects of my Practice with Law Students
On April 9, 2015, I was honored to appear with five other panelists to present to Denver University Law School students on entrepreneurial lawyering. Increasingly, law students are embracing the option of hanging their own shingles rather than waiting for an offer to...