Family Law issues are often among the most adversarial, difficult and stressful.  It is said that when people fight over children and property, there is often noone left in-tact.  Often-times, the polestar for domestic law courts, being the best interests of the children, is trampled roughshod.  Legal representation, at its best, seeks to minimize the emotional and economic trauma to parents, now ex-spouses, and their children.  

While many people have heard of Mediation and its benefits compared with litigation of all pertinent issues, a new area is emerging in domestic law.
Collaborative Practice is an inter-disciplinary effort to bring estranged people into an safe arena, where guided by mental health professionals, financial experts, and attorneys, a win-win result can become a foundation for a healthy transition to new lives and relationships.

Where individuals are not amenable to mediation or collaborative, when seeking a family lawyer, they are invited for a free initial consultation to address issues of separation, custody and visitation, child support, alimony, and divorce.

A Last Will and Testament has been described as a final love letter in which an individual documents and directs the disposition of his/her property.
If you have not made a will, you are not alone, since in  any given year, up to 70% of Americans die without a will.  Nevertheless, you do have a will:
the state wrote it for you years ago, but you may not like what it says or how it divides your possessions!

Writing a will is essential if you want to control what happens to your family and your possessions after death.  Appointing personal representatives and trustees, naming guardians for young children, and deciding how you would like your worldly goods distributed will give you peace of mind and relieve your loved ones of the burden of those decisions. 

In your  will, you may name the person who will serve as guardian if you and your spouse both die while a child is a minor (under the age of 18).  A will also gives you the opportunity to create Trusts that will control how, when and under what circumstances your assets will be turned over to your children.  In this way, you can prevent funds from being distributed to children before they are mature enough to handle them responsibly.

A properly drafted will can substantially reduce federal and state estate and inheritance taxes.

Advance Directives, from the Attorney General's Office of the State of Maryland, appoints a Healthcare Agent and gives instructions for how you would like to be treated if you are incapacitated. 

An Estate Plan can reflect your values.  Preparing to write a will is an act of love for your family and friends, a way of easing the pain of loss that follows death.  It is also your final  legacy, which can include funeral instructions as well as providing charitable bequests to worthy institutions and causes.

Collaborative Law is often applied in the family law context; however, it has many applications in  other areas of law, such as commercial and general business litigation, as well as contract disputes.
Collaborative Law, as an alternative resolution mechanism for disputes, encourages open, transparent, mature, and cooperative behavior between parties. 

The hallmark of the collaborative process is that the parties pledge not to go to court and work towards an agreed upon resolution.  The parties and their attorneys enter a Participation Agreement, which defines the environment in which the parties and their counsel commit to reach efficient and mutually agreeable settlements, without court intervention.

Collaboration can provide a family-friendly, client-friendly, and pocketbook-friendly way to divorce.  Navigating emotional currents in Collaborative practice is a way to a graceful divorce solution.  Collaborative has been described as a revolutionary method that results in less stress, lower costs, and happier children-- without going to court.

Under the auspices of the Department of Family Administration of the Administrative Office of the Courts, in cooperation with the Maryland State Bar Association, Interdisciplinary Team Collaborative Law Training will predictably grow as a viable option and should ethically be discussed as such by attorneys, alongside mediation and traditional litigation models.