Daniel Peters Law is a Top-Rated Family Law Firm Practicing in Oregon
Our legal services cover the following:
The advantage of coming to us is that we are small enough to give you the personal attention you want during such a difficult time, and we are experienced enough to give you the expert guidance you need. From the beginning of the process, you’ll work one on one with both Brandy and Dan. We touch base with you every step of the way. You will see any written communication we have with opposing counsel, and we’ll seek out your ideas before we respond. You take the lead in the major decisions, but you’ll never need to feel you’re standing alone.
The thing is, those decisions can sometimes feel overwhelming, and divorces and separations can be much more complicated than they may at first appear. You need someone who can guide you through the complex property and debt division, parenting time and child support issues, retirement accounts, college funding, and more, and leave you feeling safe and your interests secure. Dan Peters has spent the last twenty-five years doing just that for his clients. There are many different options for dealing with all of these issues, ranging from a mediated settlement to litigation in court. Let us help you find the right solutions for the immediate problems, and develop a strategy to protect your financial future.
Most people want to avoid having to go to court, and our goal is to fairly resolve everything through settlement discussions and mediation. The vast majority of our cases settle without the need for court hearings or trials. It is essential for your lawyer to have extensive experience—both in and out of court—to assess how to approach settlement negotiations.
There are cases where the parties have honest differences on important issues that cannot be resolved. There are other cases where one party is simply not being reasonable. Those are cases that need to be taken to court. But when you and your spouse have come to an agreement on most of the issues, and you simply need an experienced attorney to guide you through some of the more complex issues, mediation and settlement are good options.
In the mediation and settlement process, each party still retains their own representation. When working towards a settlement, the two attorneys discuss the major points of agreement, as well as any points of contention. The attorneys then use their negotiation skills and knowledge of the law to assess the range of requests that are likely to be most successful, and work closely with each other to find the best compromise for everyone. When we negotiate a settlement, we involve our clients every step of the way, and often find a middle path that allows a settlement to be entered with the court without the clients ever needing to set foot in a courtroom.
Sometimes, however, certain issues seem to get within a hair’s breadth of settlement, but the two positions don’t quite align. In these cases, an experienced senior attorney or retired judge is often asked to step in and facilitate a mediation. Years of practicing law help these mediators understand the nature of each party’s needs. Clients get the advantage of having guidance not only from their own attorneys, but often from someone with judicial experience. And still, they don’t have to face the stresses of a trial.
We know these are the kinds of solutions many of you are looking for. They save time and money, and protect you from the potential confrontations of a courtroom trial. Daniel Peters has years of experience successfully negotiating with attorneys from all around the Portland area and beyond to reach agreements that work for everyone involved.
The court is authorized to approve custody and parenting time that is in the best interest of the children. A well-crafted parenting plan should provide a clear schedule for holidays, vacations, etc., so you can focus on enjoying time with your kids. This should promote a smoother interaction between the parents.
In certain cases, it is important to let emotions subside to the point where each parent can focus on putting their children’s needs first. We have extensive experience in finding creative solutions when tensions run high between family members. Counseling and mediation oftentimes can help parents transition through this process. Overall, our cases require skilled negotiations and strong advocacy, and, occasionally, referrals to psychologists or other experts.
In our view, your children shouldn’t be dragged through unnecessary battles; we can help you avoid that and instead build a parenting plan that works for everyone.
All calculations have a basis in parental incomes and expenses. The guidelines are determined by monthly earnings, insurance costs, and the number of overnights spent with each parent, amongst other constants. But not every nuance of your life will fit neatly into a pre-designed spreadsheet. Some of the possible factors for the court to consider in ordering a different amount from the child support guidelines are:
- Financial resources available to the parents, including those afforded by a new spouse
- The net remaining income of a parent after paying child support
- Special hardships of a parent
- A cost-benefit analysis of the custodial parent being a full-time parent and homemaker
- Special needs of a child
- Extra child-related expenses
A full list of the rebuttal factors allowed under Oregon law can be found here.
To address this inequity, Oregon law provides for three types of spousal support: transitional, maintenance, and compensatory. Transitional support provides financial assistance to allow training or education that will increase earning capacity. Maintenance support is ordered so that both spouses may maintain a lifestyle similar to that which they were accustomed during the marriage. Compensatory support, the least common of the three, acknowledges significant contributions and sacrifices one party made during the marriage in order to support the developing career of their spouse.
Although the categories of spousal support may sound simple, there are nuances in the determination of appropriate types, duration, and amounts. Should the monthly payments last three years or ten? Should the monthly payments all be the same amount, or should they gradually step down over time? How will they be affected by anticipated increases in income? What happens when one or both spouses retire? Oregon courts most often will try to achieve a “just and equitable” division, but what does that really mean?
Dan Peters has handled hundreds of spousal support cases. He can help you evaluate your options and explain the likely outcomes in court.
There are also tax considerations in negotiating a fair property division. For 25 years, Daniel Peters has been advising clients on how to address these issues.
We can help you determine how your changing needs can be best served by a modification of your existing court orders, or how to respond to a modification sought by a former spouse.
Enforcement actions become necessary when a party refuses to follow the terms of the dissolution judgment or other court order. We have extensive experience in handling contempt matters and other enforcement proceedings. Frequently, we request from the court an order for reimbursement of legal fees expended on your behalf. People should honor their agreements and orders of the court, and we provide strong advocacy to protect our clients from those who don’t.
In short, we are here to help in post-judgment matters when the need arises.
Stalking protective orders, on the other hand, have a different set of criteria: perpetrators must have made repeated unwanted coercive contact or contact that causes reasonable fear for your safety or that of your immediate family. This must have happened at least twice in the two years preceding filing. The accuser and accused neither have to be related nor living together.
No matter which side of the stalking or restraining order you fall on, going through the paperwork and hearing processes involved can be confusing and stressful. What’s more, the outcome can affect you for years to come. As a family law attorney with a criminal law background, Daniel Peters has experience needed to make valid orders stick, keeping you safe. He also recognizes that, on occasion, such orders are unfortunately used to manipulate the outcomes of highly emotional family cases, and can help you show the court that such an order is unnecessary.