If you would like to schedule an Initial Consultation with one of our attorneys, please click here for our contact information.

At your first family law consultation at Wayne and Jemilo, you will meet with an attorney and will likely discuss some or all of the following items based on the facts of your case:

• You and your spouse’s work history, income, assets and debts.
• Custody and visitation concerns, if there are children.
• Options about how to proceed: file immediately and move forward in court, attempt counseling, explore working with a mediator.
• Litigation, mediation or somewhere in between. Litigation is often necessary if an agreement cannot be reached: we will represent your interests in our trial preparation and at trial in a bold and creative manner. We also strongly support the mediation process and will work with mediators to bring your agreement to a final resolution. We can refer you to experienced, reputable, and effective mediators.

To help make your first family law consultation as productive as possible, please bring to your first consultation as many of these documents as you can access:

• Copies of your personal and business tax returns for the past three years
• Current pay stubs for you and your spouse
• Recent statements for all of your and your spouse's retirement, investment, checking, and savings accounts
• Copies of current health and life insurance policies
• Current statements for all debts, including mortgages and credit cards

This step includes agreeing to a retainer fee and an hourly rate, as well as signing the retainer agreement and paying the retainer.

The initial documents that are filed for a dissolution or paternity action must be signed and served on the opposing party.

• We file the legal documents and either use an official server (sheriff / special process) or send a letter to your spouse to advise that the dissolution or paternity or post-dissolution action has been filed.
• Your spouse retains an attorney or decides to represent himself/herself Pro Se.

After your spouse either obtains counsel or decides to proceed pro se (representing himself/herself in court), we conduct a process of discovery which entails obtaining financial documents and may or may not involve depositions of the parties in order to determine each party’s financial situation which will be used to allocate assets.

If minor (non-emancipated) children are involved and custody is an issue, a 604(b) psychological evaluation (ordered by the court) or a 604.5 psychological evaluation (on behalf of a single party) may be conducted. This involves observations of each parent with the child(ren), interviews with the parents, children, and other important persons, review of documents, and possibly psychological testing. These reports and the testimony offered by the evaluator at trial could be important factors in the custody and visitation decision.

The parties, on their own or through their attorneys, can often reach an agreement without proceeding to a trial. If an agreement is reached, it is incorporated into a document entitled “Marital Settlement Agreement.” That documents become part of the Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage that is entered on the final court date or referred to as the Prove-Up date.

If there are still disputed issues as discovery is completed, a Pre-Trial Conference is conducted with the judge. For this conference, both parties draft a Pre-Trial Memorandum, which summarizes their positions. The judge may offer an opinion on the case that will assist the parties to settle the case. If the parties cannot settle after a Pre-Trial Conference, the case is set for trial.

When you cannot settle the case, you will proceed to a trial. You and your spouse may testify, and you both can call other witnesses, such as business evaluators, neighbors, or teachers who will testify in support of your position. A trial can last a few hours or a few months. After the trial is completed, the judge makes a decision.

At the end of the case, whether or not it proceeded to trial, a Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage is entered.

• If you settled your case before trial, this Judgment amounts to an agreement between the parties dissolving their marriage, and includes a Marital Settlement Agreement and a Parenting Agreement (if applicable).
• For settlements, a special day called a “Prove-Up” is arranged in court where both parties appear and state under oath that they understand and will adhere to the terms of the Judgment.
• On the other hand, if the case proceeded to trial, you will receive only a Judgment outlining the judge’s conclusions and orders as to all issues in your case.
• After the entry of a Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage, you will be legally divorced from your spouse.

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