Finding a Family Law Attorney

When searching for a family law attorney, there are few items that you need to take into consideration.

First, where is the attorney located? Is the attorney located in or near the courthouse where your case will be heard? Would you rather have the attorney close to your home or work so that you can meet easily with the attorney?

Second, has the attorney handled your type of case before? Most attorneys offer free consultations or consultations for a small fee. During this consultation, ask the attorney how many cases like your case that he/she has handled. Ask how long the attorney has been practicing in the area of family law and has she/he ever had a case in the county where the action is taking place.

Third, make sure you feel comfortable with the attorney. If your gut tells you not to hire the attorney, listen to your gut. You want to work with an attorney that you feel comfortable with.

Finally, ask others about what attorney they have used.

H. Swisher Law Firm LLC offers free consultations. I have appeared and handled cases in Anoka, Sherburne, Mille Lacs, Benton, Isanti, Wright, Chisago, Ramsey, Stearns, and Hennepin County. I meet clients in Elk River, Coon Rapids and St. Francis. I have been a family law attorney for over four years and I have experience as a child support officer and legal assistant. Please feel free to contact me for a consultation.

Modifying parenting time

A new case, Boland v. Boland, explains the framework for a court to evaluate a motion to modify custody. A party seeking to modify custody must support their motion with an affidavit stating the relevant facts supporting the requested modification. The district court must accept the facts in the moving party's affidavit as true, disregard contrary allegations in the other party's affidavits, and consider the other party's allegations only as explanations or contextualizations. Next, the district court must determine if the moving party has made a prima facie (evident at first sight) showing for modification. If there is a prima facie showing, then an evidentiary hearing will occur.

What does this mean? It means that the party wanting to change custody must show in their affidavits that there are legal grounds for modifying the custody. There are four statutory factors that the moving party must establish before the court will find a prima facie showing:

1. A change in circumstances;
2. The modification is necessary for the child's best interests;
3. That the child's present environment endangers his/her physical or emotional health, or emotional development; and
4. That the harm from changing custody outweighs the advantage of the change.

These four factors can be difficult to prove but it all depends on the facts of the case.