To Do List

We love nothing more than a “to do” list. It’s oddly satisfying to check of things that we have accomplished!

There are typically three (3) times of year when we recommend that co-parents revisit their to do list, making sure that all of their ducks are going in the right direction and quacking appropriately: the beginning and conclusion of each school year, as well as at the end of the calendar year. Some of the matters can be addressed in an informal writing, such as a text, email or parenting app, while others may benefit from either a formalized writing or court intervention:

1. Determiming who is getting the children to and from school.
2. Discussing activities will the children be participating in during this school year.
3. Confirming how any school and extra circular costs be initially paid, inclduding a plan in place for remibursement(s).
4. Verifiying who will be included on the school emergency and medical forms.
5. Clarifying will be providing the school with legal or medical documentation as needed.
6. Ratifying that both parents will be receiving newsletters, attending events and have access to the school’s portal.
7.Sharing any thoughts or constructive criticism about the last school year which could help them to better co-parent in the upcoming.
8. Establishing consistent, reasonable and age appropriate bed times and homework routines.
9. Certifying who will be claiming the children on their taxes for the current calendar year.
10. Arranging and bringing the children to routine medical appointments which might be required.
11. Determining who will pick up or stay home with the children when (not if) needed.
12. Exchanging contact lists for any regular babysitters, doctors, therapists, tutors who have a relationship with the children.
13. Syncing family calendars and adding important dates/ events as they become available.
14. Reviewing upcoming holiday parenting schedules, including arrangements for half days, long weekends and potential vacations during the school year.

Even if the content in this newsletter is not relevant to you, we encourage you think about how it may apply to your life by revisiting your current estate plan. We typically suggest that people at least ponder how their life has changed since an estate plan was establshed: children/ grandchildren, marriage, divorce, retirement, significant change in assets or any other big event, including passing of a beneficiary or someone who has agreed to a responsiblity as a Personal Representative, Health Care Proxy or Power of Attorney.

As always, we appreciate that you took the time to read our newsletter. We are always available to answer your questions regarding this or any other matters!

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Dolly.



The world is forever a changed place without Dolly. We will miss not only her rhinestones, but also her sparkle.

Dolly was an inspiration to many, not only for her talent, but for her wisdom. Some of our favorite Dolly-isms:

1. Be yourself. You’re awesome the way you are so don’t change for others.
2. You only real competition is yourself. Challenge yourself to be the best version of you possible.
3. Be kind and give back to the community. We cannot all donate hundreds of millions of books but we can do little, meaningful things to enhance our community by donating our time.
4. Remember your roots and honor them. Your upbringing is a part of who you are, but it’s up to you how you apply those lessons.
5. Protect your value and ownership. If Dolly could stand up to Elvis, you can stand up for yourself too.
6. Go outside of your comfort zone. Who ever had a duet with Motley Crue on their bingo card in 2025? Not us but it was awesome:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3Xw6Sm3lQY&list=RDU3Xw6Sm3lQY&start_radio=1

As always, we appreciate that you took this newsletter. RIP Dolly.

*** We intentionally chose the library books photo in her honor!***

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Do Not Pass(port)

I  forgot.
I’ll get to it later.
I don’t have the money.
The money is being used to pay a mortgage, not for my kid.*
My co-parent doesn’t need the money/ they make enough/ more than me.

We’ve heard it ALL. People love to talk about why they didn’t pay their child support obligation. Realistically, most excuses are exactly that, rather than legitimate reasons.

Affordability is a legitimate concern and reason for many people. Life is expensive for sure; however, in our experience, the majority of people who make this statement to us have financial priorities other than their children.

Imagine this scenario**: Our client offered a combination excuse of can’t afford it, ex makes more than me and that he would get around to paying “at some point.” He then posted photos on social media of two (2) nights at Taylor Swift concert in Las Vegas, both shows with very good seats. A conservative guestimate of the cost of this trip would be $5000-$8000, depending on the hotel, travel, and general length of stay (not including whether you are traveling with someone else who may or may not be sharing the expenses).

We see things like this all-the-time. We can almost guarantee that the co-parent will somehow find out and will share a screenshot of the adventures with the court. Usually, it does not end well for the person has prioritzed things other than a child support obligation.

The Federal government now is protecting against this type of situation. Going forward, passports will not be issued if there is $2,500.00 or more due in arrears for child support and existing ones may be revoked:

https://travel.state.gov/en/passports/contact-support/legal-matters/child-support.html

How this development is enforced is super interesting to us. We expect that individuals will be judged on a case by case basis, but also that the threat of contempt allegations to skyrocket as the result.

As always, please let us know how we best serve you!

Warm regards,
John & Faye
* Making sure that your child has a place to live is important!
** Yes, this really happened and, yes, it was during the Eras tour when “bad” seats were easily $1,000.00 each.

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The BEST Legal Advice You’ll Ever Get (and it’s free)!

We pride ourselves on generally being pretty positive people. We try to smile more than growl and use honey rather than daggers. Sometimes, it is our own clients who bring us to the edge of sanity. Inspired by a friend who suggested this, some ideas on how to not to upset your attorney*:

1. Know the facts of your case. If you do not know the facts, we won’t and cannot make strong representations on your behalf.
2. Be consistent in overall goals. Don’t keep changing your mind on what you want to achieve, because your case will definately take longer to resolve.
3. Flexibility leads to resolution. Understand that your perception is your reality, but the same is also true for the other side. The truth and the solution are often somewhere in the middle.
4. Always tell us the full story without omissions or lies. We are likely going to find out the rest of the story at some point, so better that we can be properly prepared ahead of time.
5. Understand that we have other clients and personal lives, so it might take a hot minute to return your call or email. As the kids say, don’t
“spam call” us. We will get back to you when we are able and within a reasonable amount of time (usually 24 hours unless it’s a holiday or weekend).
6.  Ghosting is fun on Halloween but not when we’re trying to move your case forward. Respond and let us know that you’re gathering information or cannot provide an answer at that moment.
7. Keep your private life private. Do not vent or brag about your life on social media. We cannot tell you how many times we have discovered that a party, who is six (6) months behind on child support took a luxurious trip or bought a new, expensive car. The attorneys will eventually uncover the information and, at minimial, will probably need to spend some time discussing it.
8 Maintain authentic documents. Altering, removing or deleting portions of an email or text can compromise your credibility, but also compromises our ability to properly argue your case.
9. This is not our first rodeo so trust our advice. Over the years, we have noticed that our clients with the largest legal bills are often the ones who keep asking the same questions over and over or ignore our advice. We have had similar cases in the past and know how the case will likely be resolved.
10. Pay your bill. We understand that legal expenses can be high, but you’re paying for our expertise and our time. Similarly, understand that it does take time to review documents, especially if it includes thousands of pages (and, yes, we will read all of them).
11. Prepare for court by providing requested documentation, dressing appropriately and being on time.
12. Understand what differentiates between an actual “emergency” and what is important to you. We do prioritze our cases and that order changes sometimes by the minute. In the event that there is a real emergency, the first call should usually be to the police, not us. One of us has a blackbelt and the other is 5’2″ but neither of us are coming to home to kick your ex’s butt if they are breaking into your home.
13. Remember that we are not your therapist or best friend. It’s not to say that we don’t love a good story or joke (and we DO), but our role is legal guidance.

In the words of Miranda Priestly, “that’s all.” We’re pretty easy and are always happy to work with you to help you achieve your goals. As always, please let us know how we can best help you!

Warm regards,
John & Faye

* Shoutout to our friends @Fun Enterprises for the (positive) inspiration for this newsletter!

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Well….



We know how much everyone loves it when we do not give a yes or no answer to their questions. Realistically, sometimes, the question can not be so easily answered. For instance, are you allowed to start dating during a divorce?

Simple answer- yes.
Real answer- maybe. It depends on the totality of the circumstances and the real question is whether you *should* date.

To hear our thoughts on the matter, please check out our reel on Instagram:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.instagram.com_reel_DYmyt9Fy1sG_-3Figsh-3DdXg5dGt2d2lpdTZr&d=DwICAg&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=Mj7fry4mBudBr0hy3UVW0IW5LjHPEM6DJMVrLmFkfx8&m=msBHRg7CxO6Upp6O4Wbl3bdTQ3NNx6G69pX5kD9ah6x4ldyWv0Xn7EylA7OHyxpj&s=ErN1Ivd5RpNJPKBspkvo0LgM2R839-5usFn0hvoF3zs&e=


Or Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1JCBmcYomQ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

As always, we are grateful for your support of and trust in us for the most personal aspects of your life.

Regards,
John & Faye

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