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728 E. Chapman Ave.
Orange,
California
92866
Phone: 714-289-9889
Fax: 714-289-9862
19200 Von Karman, Suite 600
Irvine,
California
92612
Phone: 949-622-5505
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ALL ATTORNEYS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL
There are those who:
- Really care
- Provide honest and ethical service because they are honest and ethical
- Are concerned about your expenditure of time and money
- Think earnestly about your children and your relationship to them now, and in the future
- Sincerely want to preserve your assets
- Avoid escalating further conflict
- Try to place themselves in your position to understand your issues better
- Place principle and honor above monetary gain
- Are committed to doing their best
- Respect your opinion
I pride myself in being one of “those” attorneys.
About Rosemarie McElhaney:
- Practice specialty in Divorce Law
- Juris Doctorate
- Sole Practitioner since 1983
- Former Administrative Law Judge
- Judge Pro Tempore
- Former Instructor of Law
- Certified Mediator & Trainer
- Co-founder: Sonoma County Community Mediation Services
- Co-founder: Orange County Collaborative Divorce Organization
- Former Board Member: Mariposa Family Services
- Extensive Training in Collaborative Negotiation
- Extensive Training in Collaborative Divorce Law
- Recipient of County Bar Community Service Award
For a time effective, cost effective, more dignified process……….Ask me about Collaborative Divorce and my Collaborative Divorce Network
A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM THE ATTORNEY
Dear Reader:
The words that follow are heartfelt and I hope you will receive them in the same spirit in which they are offered.
Divorce is not easy under any circumstances. It’s a time of uncertainty, pain, confusion, instability, frustration, and extreme emotions. It’s a time when we need to be heard, when we need to trust and be trusted, when we need strength and courage and more than ever, it’s a time when we need an anchor to help stabilize our course.
You are embarking on one of the most challenging times of your life. It is not unusual for you to feel angry, injured, resentful, hurt, frightened, vulnerable, insecure and anxious. Those feelings, some or all, are yours and they belong to you regardless of how they may be disregarded or diminished. No one can legitimately take them away from you. However, what you do with them will skillfully define the road ahead as potentially destructive or surprisingly beneficial.
The dissolution process, and how it is navigated, can do serious and lasting damage or it can actually begin the healing that you and your loved ones will need to rebuild a healthy future.
If you have children, this will be a trying and confusing experience for them also. They need you now more than ever. They need for you too make the heroic sacrifice to remember through your own heartache and confusion, that, what is about to take place in their own little world threatens the very fiber that sustains them. Your wisdom and sensitivity will never be more important to the choices you make at this juncture.
Where there are children, you and your spouse will always be in each other’s lives on some level. What you bring to that connection can detract from or enhance the world in which your children either decline or flourish.
It is no surprise that the common thread that resonates most with divorcing parties is the welfare, emotional stability, and overall well being of the children. Here is an opportunity to safeguard them from the emotional and financial damage that most often results from positional confrontation and a “go for the jugular” approach.
Also critical to most is the desire to avoid unnecessary time expenditures and/or escalating fees. You have all heard the war stories and the unbelievable costs associated with them. You have an opportunity to opt out of that war. However, the truth is that I can’t promise you less injury, less effort and lower costs, because ultimately those choices lie with you and your spouse. The results not only depend on which process you choose, but on what each party respectively contributes in terms of commitment and responsibility. It is that quality of participation that will save you from the shortcomings of the mainstream combative divorce. Whatever the process, it is hard work.
Although court is a sometimes impossible arena for parties to avoid, I am now committed to imparting my knowledge and experience in furtherance of settling cases. I will be there to listen to your interests and support your needs in furtherance of resolution.
Being well-informed will help you to recognize the best process for your situation. Take advantage of the opportunity by allowing me to assist in answering your questions before you decide which path to follow. I will be happy to discuss and explore the options with you. Whether or not you retain my services I counsel you to study the differences of each process and to follow the path that feels right for the outcome you are seeking to achieve and the future you are willing to create.
Robert Frost wrote: “Two roads diverged in a wood… I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
I wish you the wisdom and the strength to choose the road less traveled.
Sincerely,
Rosemarie McElhaney, Esq.
DISSOLUTION OPTIONS
There are several alternatives for you, and we as a family law firm can proceed as you wish. With twenty years of experience as an attorney, and substantial training in the following, I can represent you in whichever way you are comfortable within my specialty of alternative dispute resolution. I would like you to take a moment to read about each process carefully and to make a careful choice in balancing the merits and/or disadvantages of each, according to where you see you and your spouse being most successful. Consider the following:
Pro Per: Neither party has an attorney. Parties represent themselves and must nevertheless meet statutory requirements for filing deadlines and discovery.
Litigation: The traditional adversarial approach which prepares from the beginning for the advent of possible trial. Each party has an attorney who will engage in vigorous discovery in preparation for court intervention. Neither party maintains control of the process which is relinquished to attorneys and the court. Where parties are unable to communicate or compromise due to power imbalance, extreme anger, and/or rising resentments, this is often the only alternative.
Arbitration: In arbitration, an outside party called an arbitrator makes the ultimate decision in the case. The parties appear before the arbitrator with their respective attorneys. Using the services of an arbitrator may save time and the cost of additional paperwork and hearings in preparation for trial. However, the decision is binding and it is not subject to appeal.
Mediation: Neither party is represented by counsel. The mediator will facilitate communication, explain the law, and suggest options, but will not give legal advice to either party. The advantage is that in those cases where the parties are able to be flexible, they take back their power and assume responsibility for the ultimate resolutions and outcomes regarding property distribution, custody issues, and their future. Where agreements are reached, they tend to be more binding because of the exercise in mutual participation. Where possible this method has many advantages over litigation. The disadvantage of mediation is that if an impasse is reached, the mediator cannot represent either party because of the inside information to which he/she is now privy, and both must seek legal representation.
Collaborative Divorce: A relatively new process quickly growing in popularity, wherein both parties are represented by attorneys who will advocate for his/her respective client but where counsel and parties have contracted never to seek court intervention. Here each party has an advocate to represent his or her respective interest. All participants are committed to collaborating in the best interest of the family unit, especially the children. There are several variations to collaborative divorce, including the interdisciplinary method wherein a team of professionals are in place to assist the parties where necessary. That team will consist of two collaborative attorneys, two divorce coaches from the mental health profession, a financial planner, and a child specialist. All professionals are licensed in their field, usually have a minimum of five years experience, and are fully trained in the collaborative process. The goal for all is to achieve a win-win resolution for the principals and their children. Again, as in mediation, if the process should fail and/or either of the parties decides to resort to the Court, the process will terminate and the parties will need to seek new attorneys.
Now that you know a little about each process, you should also know that the following qualifies me to do guide you in each and every method available to you.
My practice consists exclusively of Family Law including divorce, custody, modifications, family law motions, and adoptions.
I have been a Judge Pro Tem in the Municipal and Superior Courts of Fullerton, Santa Ana, and Irvine and the Superior Court of Santa Rosa, and was appointed Administrative Law Judge for the Department of Insurance.
I worked for the District Attorney Child Support Division in Monterey County where I was privy to an inside look at all aspects of child support issues.
I am a certified mediator with extensive training in interest based mediation and negotiation. I co- founded the Sonoma County Community Mediation Center in Santa Rosa, California, as well as the Redwood Empire Victim Offender Mediation Program of Sonoma County. I participated in creating the Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules of Court for Sonoma County Superior Court. For my efforts on behalf of community mediation, I received the Sonoma County Bar Special Achievement Award.
I am co-founder and former president-elect of Collaborative Divorce Solutions of Orange County and have substantial training in the collaborative process.
I am happy to discuss your options on the phone and in person before you decide to retain legal services.
Feel free to call at (949) 622-5505 or (714) 289-9889.
OUR PROMISE
Our firm can’t guarantee outcomes. No one can honestly do that and no one should promise you specific results. But…
We can promise to do our very best to support your important interests and those of your children, if any, through these most trying of times.
We can promise that you will be more than a number and that throughout the proceedings your wishes will not be forgotten.
We can promise that time efficiency and cost efficiency will not be subordinated to special agendas.
We can promise that your calls will be returned, your questions will be answered, and your time and money will be respected.
We can promise that we care.
Please email us or visit our website for additional information.
Articles by Rosemarie McElhaney, Attorney at Law:
