Premarital and postmarital agreements (prenups and postnups) are very important documents – maybe the most important contract you will ever sign. A solid, binding, personally-tailored prenup will allow you to enter into your marriage with security and peace of mind – think of it like insurance for your marriage – while a postnup can be an important tool to classify assets after you are already married to remove uncertainty about the future of those assets. At Wallerstein Law we firmly believe that prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are about love, not separation. There is no greater testament of love than making sure you enter into your new marriage with transparency, peace of mind, and the security of knowing that no matter what happens you and your future spouse will be protected.

At Wallerstein Law, we assist clients with all aspects of divorce proceedings to terminate a marriage or domestic partnership and establish agreements and orders allowing former spouses or domestic partners to move forward as single people.

Six months after the filing and service of the Petition for Dissolution (the “cooling off” period), the court may terminate marital status, returning both parties to single individuals, upon an application by one party. We work diligently and strategically with our clients to resolve their cases in a preferably efficient and cost-effective manner, allowing them to transition as quickly as possible through the proceeding. However, it oftentimes takes much longer to resolve the property, support and custodial issues such that the “six-month rule” should be taken as a minimum waiting period for eligibility for divorce. It is critically important that you obtain expert legal advice (and if a dispute arises, skilled advocacy) to protect your rights and interests in a dissolution.

Child Support.

Child support is ordinarily ordered by the court when minor children are involved in a marital dissolution or paternity action. Child support is based largely on the physical custody structure, as well as the allocation of taxable and non-taxable income between the parents, with certain other relevant factors.

Spousal Support.

Spousal support, on the other hand, is applicable whether or not there are minor children, and can be based on the income of the parties and length of the marriage in the “short run.” A more nuanced, multi-factorial analysis is required for long term spousal support. We also assist clients with cases involving post-judgment support modifications due to a change in circumstances, such as the influx of royalty income, vesting of stock options, or inheritance.

Name  Change is often used to start a new life, rehabilitate one’s image, honor a relationship, advance in business, or simply to reclaim a maiden name. Whatever your reason is Wallerstein Law is here to help.

We file the Petition for Name Change* – Some courts require a criminal history assessment form

We perform the required publication**

We obtain a Court Date

We prepare you for the court date & appear with you in court

We offer family law consulting services to clients in mediation or those who are attempting to achieve a resolution outside of court by negotiating directly with each other in an amicable dissolution, custody paternity, or post-judgment matter. We also consult with clients in the pre-separation stages where it may be too early to file a proceeding, but the appropriate time to define marital and/or custodial rights.

Additionally, we offer limited-scope representation in appropriate cases where clients are in need of legal counsel for a certain one-time matter such as a court hearing, deposition or mediation.