I have a friend who was arrested because her ex filed charges against her when she moved away with their child. He was emotionally abusive and since their relationship was convicted of domestic violence. Unfortunately because she did not have full custody he reported her as having "kidnapped" their child. THis person stole from her while she was pregnant and had no interest in raising the child except to try to toture her. She has been moved to Cali even though she was in Pennsylvania at the time. Her older child is in PA with family, her young child is with His mother in Ohio (he can’t even care for her himself) and she has lost her home, her job, her car and family. I believe it will work out but she needs a good lawyer and meanwhile her kids are stranded across the country. This is an outrage and nothing can give back to her the innocence lost. Any advice would be helpful.
Thank you
Wow, I asked a serious question and amused_observer was just rude, and insensitive. Obviously there are many avenues for free legal help and that was the percise reason I posted this question. I thought I could get a response from someone who may have been in a similar situation and had some luck in getting legal aid. Thank you for the advice on picking up a **** phone book that was great along with the dripping sarcasm that I must be too lazy to do that. Your sympathy for the situation was obvious and your comments show your ignorance.. amazing.

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My long term disability benefits were cancelled after 14 years because the insurance company cherry picked two "good" visits I had with the psychiatrist this year (meaning, I wasn’t on the verge of suicide for once). It turns out that group long term disability policies fall under the federal law called ERISA and disability law under ERISA is a very, very specialized branch of law. Moreover, I have to get an attorney in the state where I became disabled (I live in Minnesota, I need a California lawyer). There is no way I can get a referral to someone good from someone I know & the only lawyer I have ever used in the past was a family lawyer for a minor matter. Social Security disability is a wholly different matter – I’m not looking for an SSDI attorney.

Any tips, other than feel them out in the initial consultation? Thanks for any advice!!
what I am looking for, is how do I know if they are a GOOD lawyer, as opposed to a mediocre one.

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My nieces and nephew had experienced separations of their parents at an early age, at the time, the youngest at one month, the middle at four, and the eldest at six years old. Their parent’s separations happened two years ago, but since then from today, my mom and I are thinking their actions are signs and symptoms of the divorce. Such as peeing in the bed, constant and frequent nightmares, crying in the middle of the night, delayed EVERYTHING(everything such as walking, talking, potty-training) for the youngest one.

Although this may be regular for children growing up, since each and every child is different. But, we do have our concerns. Do you think we should put the kids in therapy? and if so, is there any you recommend in southern California?
– I am trying to help raise these kids, if that answers your kids. So, I think it is my business. They do live with me, as well with their mother… but their mother is in a "I honestly don’t care of my children" person. and being as I’m only 16, it’s hard trying to raise these kids with my parents who work literally most of their day away.

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Is there ANY well-educated, reliable, trustworthy lawyer;
*that will get the job done
*that mainly focus on the child best interest
*that is educated in dv,divorce,custody
*that is willing to agree to a payment plan or half of the retainer fee to get things start then the other half in the middle of the case
*a lawyer that is like a "bulldog" thats doesnt take and punchs or bullshit from the opposing party

WITHOUT seeing dollar signs all the time or more like they are money hungry germlins.

Technorati Tags: best interest, bulldog, divorce custody, dollar signs, focus on the child, germlins, job, lawyer, money, quot, retainer fee

I’m about to move from Southern California to southern Washington State. My car is an older car that wouldn’t be worth much (a 1988 Toyota Corolla), but it’s in good repair. It’s registered jointly to my parents. My parents are currently in the midst of a divorce. My dad is trying to officially get sole ownership of the car, and has said he will be officially transferring the title into my name once he has. My mother has been making a point of trying to stalemate him on more or less everything he’s trying for in the divorce, though, because she’s very angry with him and wants to waste as much of his money as possible. As such, she’s likely to be uncooperative when it comes to helping re-register the car in Washington. I’m using the car with my parents’ full consent. At what point could it become a legal problem if I’m using it in Washington but it hasn’t been registered in Washington yet?
… My mother is actually somewhat on the bipolar side and has on numerous occasions very emotively expressed the belief that I am my father’s "best friend" and that she believes the two of us are constantly scheming against her. It is unlikely that I could get her to transfer the car straight to me. In fact, she’s essentially stolen it from me on numerous occasions in the past specifically to prevent me from moving. I pretty much need to move now, though. I can no longer afford Southern California.

It’s going to be a while before I have a job with a company in Washington. I’m an independent contractor and have already been doing my job almost exclusively through telecommuting. The main guy I’ve been getting work from has already confirmed that he doesn’t see any reason why my moving should change our working relationship.

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The US Census Reports and US National Divorce Statistics at present show that Christians in particular the evangelical and southern baptist sects have the highest rate. It is even HIGHER than couples professiing no relgious affiliation or to be atheist. Even more surprising its the conservative RED state- Texas and not California, New York or even Nevada that is the LEADING divorce state in the USA. How come?

This is my theory….
(1) The "no sex before marriage" thing is making young people marry too soon and too young to the first person they fall in love with. They cannot date around nor discover if they are sexually compatible first.
(2) Today when folks discover the marriage was a mistake, they are NOT going to stick it out like our grand parents used to. My grandmother stayed with a TERRIBLE abusive husband for 50 years until she died of cancer. Women today expect more out of life.
(3) So called "ex-gay" Christians can’t stick it out either.
What’s your theories folks?

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I would like one that comes well recommended, but have no one that I know that can provide a personal recommendation. I want to make sure that I have one with a good reputation & that will get things done right & professionally & that gets things done- I don’t want this dragging out forever. Looking in the yellow pages, there are SO many. I’ve heard divorce lawyer horror stories & don’t know where to start.
Is there a particular website I should go to look?
And I don’t know anything about ‘legal aid’.
Please expand on your answers, I really am starting from square one, & know nothing about this at all & need all the help I can get.
And, please let me stress again the fact that I know no one that can give me a personal recommendation – I’ve already checked with the people that I trust that are divorced (and there aren’t that many of them, believe it or not) or that knew of someone who was recently divorced, & they didn’t like their lawyers & did not recommend them. I’m not looking for a lawyer that is going to try to take my ex for everything. And I know my ex is going to try to take me for everything. I just want it done simply, & peaceably, & quickly- the least trouble possible, so that we can move on from this.
Sorry, I need to clarify on the additional details directly above. What i meant to say is that I am not looking to take my ex for everything, and I know that he is also NOT going to try to take me for everything. (Made a typo in the one prior, sorry)
For all those that took the time to read my whole question & details & input real answers, thanks so much. I know I’ll be able to use a lot of the advice. And this is my first question here on these matters, so, again, I really appreciate your assistance.
Directly for FEYSUNNY- As all others that answered already realized, a general question such as ‘How to find a good divorce lawyer" does not require a state-specific answer. I didn’t ask about divorce LAWS, which would require such details. Next time you may want to take the time to pay attention BEFORE you challenge someone else’s IQ, lol. Have a great day!

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I have looked online, and gotten nowhere. My credit score is too low for prosper.com due to a recent bankruptcy (divorce!) and my current AmEx debt (keep reading). I don’t have a co-signer. I do have a great job, and the only reason I need this loan is because I was living in an area with an extremely high cost of living (Orange County, CA) and used my corporate AmEx for personal reasons and now have to pay it off or risk losing my job (I have been placed on probation, and get emails about this a couple of times a week). I have since moved (they allowed me to transfer) to Portland, OR, and kept my same CA salary. So, technically I could pay a few hundred a month to pay down the card, but my company wants it completely paid off within the next 60 days. Can anyone help? And, no, I will not fall for the "you send me $ then I send you $" scam.

Technorati Tags: amex, bankruptcy, co signer, credit score, divorce, job, orange county ca, personal reasons, probation, quot, salary

I’m talking about the laws which existed before the "no-fault" divorce laws came in.

I wasn’t around at the time, but whenever I read or hear about them, they seem pretty sensible.

What was so wrong with them that they needed changing?

Technorati Tags: divorce laws, quot