While not an exhaustive list, experience has shown that the best Oregon divorce lawyers consistently display a handful of traits. These are the hallmarks that tend to create the client's best knowledge and are most likely to lead the client to their goals. It is common for people to want a "pitbull" or some other cliched characterization of a lawyer to represent them. However, these are the traits that, in practice, are the most likely to obtain positive results.

1. Experience. The best Portland, Oregon divorce lawyers are going to have plenty of experience. Knowledge is not something that can be cut short. Having handled at least dozens, and hopefully, hundreds of cases lead to a level of familiarity with Oregon family law that provides a sense of what a reasonable outcome is with a particular fact pattern. Underlying this sense is the trial and court experience, having seen what judges tend to do with specific fact patterns. The best Oregon divorce attorneys tend to use this experience to predict a range of possible outcomes, focusing your attention on the most likely while making you aware of the lesser possibilities.
2. No Guarantees. The Top Oregon divorce attorneys will not guarantee a particular outcome in your case. If there is one thing that experience in divorce litigation should teach any attorney, no result is assured. Sometimes even the most seemingly "clear" cases don't turn out as expected, and even issues that seem to have poor facts turn out better than hoped. Given the subjective nature of families and their structures, assets, debts, and goals, the outcome is never clear until a judge decides the outcome. If an attorney guarantees a result, this should be a red flag. As discussed earlier, the best Portland, Oregon divorce attorneys will generally present a range of outcomes, not a guarantee.
3. Focused on client goals. Perhaps one of the most overlooked traits of the top Oregon divorce and family lawyer is that they listen carefully to clients' goals, not just focusing what they believe to be best for you. Your lawyer should be on your side. This means that they should explain your risks and work towards your best outcome. However, sometimes just because obtaining a particular result is possible, it's not what a client wants. For instance, it might be that a client is an excellent candidate to receive a large amount of spousal support, but does not want to pursue it. The lawyer should explain the risks of not pursuing that and listen to why the client does not wish to pursue it. Maybe the client has other assets available to them, and they think that the money issue would be damaging to the family relationship. Perhaps there is value to the client in reducing familial conflict. The best Oregon divorce lawyer will listen to your goals and pursue those, not their own.
4. Keeping you informed. Top divorce lawyers are going to keep you informed. This is your case, your life, your family. Even if a lawyer is working hard behind the scenes, that doesn't help relieve the anxiety you may feel in the meantime. A lawyer should keep you informed about correspondence and discussions they are having with opposing counsel and make sure that you are getting copies of documents filed with the court. Even emails that are sent between attorneys should make their way into your file. If you aren't staying informed, you similarly aren't able to provide the attorney with relevant thoughts or information that might shape the case for your goals.
5. Clear Billing. One of the most challenging issues for any attorney/client relationship is that of money. It's no secret that divorces can be expensive, and issues of attorney fees and costs can drive a wedge between an otherwise productive relationship between lawyer and client. The top Oregon divorce lawyers are going to be transparent with their billing. An explicit fee agreement upfront should outline how time and expenses will be billed. Regular statements and invoices to the client should itemize work performed to understand how their retainer or other payments are being used.
6. Honesty. The best Portland family law attorneys will always be honest about your case. Lawyers usually went into law school with the idea that they wanted to help people. They are natural problem solvers. As a result, it's sometimes difficult to admit to themselves or their clients that they cannot fix a situation. Sometimes clients have poor cases. The facts are insufficient. The client is unlikely to get the outcome they would like. The top family law and divorce lawyer will level with the client and provide problematic information upfront. Providing an honest assessment of the case is most critical upfront, so a client is not led to spending thousands of hard-earned dollars to pursue an improbable outcome.
7. Organization. Organization is a hallmark of the most successful Oregon divorce lawyers. Keeping client files complete with all correspondence, pleadings, and discovery is a surprisingly work-intensive process. However, the best Oregon divorce lawyers develop systems to not only organize but also maintain accessibility to all parts of your case file. Organization from the start makes it likely that negotiations or trial, if necessary, are also organized. That necessary evidence makes its way in front of a judge in a way that can assist your case. Lost items help nobody.

Is it worth getting a lawyer for my Oregon stalking order case?

This question is standard, though completely subjective and fact-specific. Obtaining a stalking order does not require a lawyer, and it is usually secured without an attorney. However, if the matter goes to a hearing, while it is certainly possible for people to handle the stalking order hearing independently, it is probably not a great idea. In addition to being held to rules of procedure and evidence, the untrained person likely will not know which aspects of the law should require the most focus. Because judges are bound to follow the law, if you don't present the correct information, they may have no choice under the law to make a ruling that is adverse to your goals.

Oregon stalking orders have significant consequences, so having an experienced Oregon stalking order lawyer help you is almost certainly in your best interest.

Background of Oregon Child Custody

Child custody is one of the most contentiously and contested issues in Oregon family law cases. Misconceptions about what "custody" actually means tend to meld with advice from well-meaning friends and family and with conflicting information from web sources that might not even reflect Oregon law.

What is Oregon Custody?

Legal "custody" of a child in Oregon is not nearly as sweeping a status as many tend to believe. It is not a "super parent" status that allows a custodial parent to make unilateral moves for the child that involve relocation or schedule changes. In short, legal custody refers to decision making authority on three significant issues: 1. Education - for instance, if there is a dispute regarding which of two available public schools a child would attend, the custodial parent would have the final "tie-breaking" vote. 2. Healthcare - in non-emergency circumstances, the custodial parent may determine major medical questions, like selecting which primary care pediatrician the child uses. 3. Theological training - again, for example, this would entail determining as to whether a child went to a religious school or a public school. (Note that this custodial decision says nothing about the who would pay for a private religious school.)

Unpacking the Two Types of Oregon Child Custody

There are two separate types of custody in Oregon: full legal custody and joint custody. Full custody is where one parent has the entire "tie-breaking" decision making authority, as referenced above. In joint legal custody, neither parent has any more power than the other; all determinations as to primary education, healthcare, and religious training must be by agreement of the parties. Joint custody can only come about by agreement of the parties. The court cannot force it.

By contrast, sole ("full") legal custody, if not agreed to, must be decided on by the court. When doing this, the court must take the child's best interest or children into account and apply factors as prescribed by Oregon law. In determining custody, Oregon law specifies what factors the court must evaluate and consider when deciding who should be the sole custodial parent at ORS 107.137: - a) The emotional ties between the child and other family members; - (b) The interest of the parties in and attitude toward the child; - (c) The desirability of continuing an existing relationship; - (d) The abuse of one parent by the other; - (e) The preference for the primary caregiver of the child, if the caregiver is deemed fit by the court; and - (f) The willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing relationship between the other parent and the child. However, the court may not consider such willingness and ability if one parent shows that the other parent has sexually assaulted or engaged in a pattern of behavior of abuse against the parent or a child and that a continuing relationship with the other parent will endanger the health or safety of either parent or the child.

When the parties cannot agree on joint custody, the court has no option but to decide on one parent to be awarded sole custody by applying these factors. If a case goes to trial, a court will often recite the statutory factors they considered when making their ruling and awarding custody. However, not all cases go to trial. Most do not. If parties agree on a custody arrangement, without the need for a judge to weigh the custody factors, the court will honor that decision in any final judgment. Parties can come about an agreement by themselves, with the help of attorneys, or even through a mediated settlement.

Changing Oregon Custody

Once custody is decided, or agreed-to for one parent, changing custody is substantially harder than establishing it. The court requires a "substantial and unanticipated change in circumstances," generally, which are to the detriment of a child.

Get Legal Help From Custody Law Experts

Custody issues are tricky and require knowledge of the law to present the relevant evidence in a contested case. If you need help with your Oregon custody case, contact an experienced Oregon custody lawyer at brittle.law to set up a consultation.

"Domestic abuse" is defined by Oregon law. Generally, the law states that it is abuse when a family or household member: 1. Attempts to hurt you physically; 2. Actually hurts you physically (intentionally, recklessly or knowingly); 3. Intimidates or makes you afraid of serious physical injury (intentionally, recklessly or knowingly); OR 4. Makes you have sex against your will by force, or threat of force.

Family or household member” means any of the following: 1. An adult related by blood, marriage or adoption; 2. Someone you are living with or have lived with in the past; 3. Someone you have been in a sexually intimate relationship with, within two years immediately preceding the filing of a restraining order petition under; OR 4. Someone with whom you have a child.

See: O.R.S. § 107.705(1), O.R.S. § 107.705(4)

Q: What does a family law lawyer do? What is "Oregon family law?"

A: “Oregon Family law” is an umbrella term that refers to the practice of law that involves common domestic and family issues. While it is often associated with Oregon divorce, "family law" covers far more. Common family law issues include child custody, parenting time (visitation), step-parent adoptions, spousal support, child support, restraining orders and stalking orders, prenuptial agreement, grandparent rights, and far more.

Modern families come in all sizes and arrangments, and the term "family law" simply refers to the practice of law that helps those families within the Oregon court system.

When a parent gets remarried, the stepparent may assume the role of caretaker for the stepchildren. Yet, what rights does a stepparent have in an Oregon divorce? With one in three marriages ending in divorce, according to the Oregon Health Authority, it's a question more and more families are grappling with.

Oregon law mandates that biological parents, adoptive parents, and legal guardians have a legal obligation to provide for their children's financial, emotional, physical, psychological, and health needs. However, stepparents do not automatically have the same rights as a biological or adoptive parent.

While the presumption is that the legal parent is in the best interest of the child, stepparents can overcome that presumption by demonstrating their relationship with the child meets the psychological parent doctrine. Under this doctrine, a stepparent who establishes an emotional parent-child relationship with the stepchild may petition for custody or visitation time on the same footing as the child's parent.

Oregon law allows stepparents to seek custody or parenting time in a divorce. However, the stepparent must show evidence that they are the primary caretaker, that the legal parent encouraged or fostered the relationship with the stepchild, that the legal parent unreasonably limited contact between the stepparent and stepchild, or that the legal parent is unable or unwilling to take care of the stepchild.

If the stepparent adopted the stepchild during the marriage, they have the same rights as the legal parent. In such cases, both parents have equal rights and responsibilities to the custody and control of the children. The stepparent can seek custody or parenting time as a legal parent and has the right to seek child support from the other parent if awarded custody.

As the number of blended families continues to rise, it's crucial to understand the complexities of stepparent rights in an Oregon divorce. At #PacificFamilyLawFirm, we're dedicated to providing compassionate and informed guidance for all family law matters.

Pacific Family Law Firm is a Portland, Oregon based firm of attorneys practicing in all areas of Oregon family law. We handle divorce and a full range of other family law-related issues, including child custody matters.