All consultations personally handled by experienced family law attorney Lori Barkus
Our goal is to set you up for a successful divorce. That starts with a consultation. We gather a lot of information and ask questions so that we can get to know you and understand your unique concerns and challenges. Lori Barkus spends time reviewing that information and your court file before your meeting. This allows us to create a plan for your successful divorce.
We provide you with additional resources for parenting and communicating with your soon to be ex, decision making about keeping or selling the marital home and other unique needs you may have during this process. We have a vast network of trusted providers and are happy to share their expertise with you.
At the end of your consultation, you will understand your rights, responsibilities and the next steps for you to take.
We Offer 2 Types of Consultations:
And, because we believe in transparent pricing, we are also sharing the costs of these services with you.
GENERAL CONSULTATION:
This is recommended for marital estates of less than $2 million of gross income under $500,000.
After a detailed intake and thorough review, we spend 45-60 minutes discussing your situation with you. We will tell you:
- The strengths and weaknesses of your case.
- Whether a case should be filed, and what type of case to file.
- What the process should look like.
- Some resources to help answer questions about whether you should keep or sell a home, figuring out your monthly budget and other financial questions.
- Resources to help you with parenting and therapeutic resources to help you through this process.
- Likelihood of settlement or trial.
- What the next steps should be for you.
Cost of Service = $495 – This fee is credited towards our Silver Service Package if package is purchased within 7 days from the date of the consultation.
EXTENDED CONSULTATION & STRATEGY SESSION:
Recommended for marital estates of more than $2 million and annual gross household income of more than $500,000
This is a more in depth consultation designed to address the intricacies of a high net worth family. The consultation lasts 90 minutes so we can address all of the above as well as:
- Business valuations- if any are needed- and what it means for a business to have value.
- Whether we need a forensic accountant, what the accountant’s role is the value they provide.
- How to calculate support obligations when income is above the recommended guidelines.
- Review of business income and discussion about how to determine business income in divorce.
- How closely held businesses are treated in divorce.
- Whether private school, college and other post secondary expenses should be included as part of a divorce.
- Special needs trust for disabled children.
AFTER THE SESSION:
- A written summary of what was discussed (so you do not have to worry about writing down or processing all information given during the session)
- Copies of our Client Keys to Success and Communication Do’s and Don’ts.
- A detailed process map showing the steps of divorce and how to be prepared for each one.
- Specific resources for clients dealing with high conflict personalities provided by a high conflict divorce coach.
- A 15 minute follow up call with Lori Barkus to clear up any questions from the initial session.
Cost of Service = $995
What is the value provided in our consultations:
Divorce is one of the biggest financial investments of your life. A successful divorce starts with planning. You also need to have the right team supporting you.
Here are some of the costs of making the wrong decision:
- Hiring the wrong lawyer – $5,000-$10,000 in a retainer, plus the rest of your fees (Most divorces do not end with just one retainer payment).
- The average divorce costs around $30,000. Hiring the wrong lawyer can cost you even more. $50,000 or more in wasted attorney’s fees going to Court when you don’t need to or on a subpar agreement reached after being financially and emotionally drained by going through a long drawn out unsupported process.
- Lost productivity and revenue from work caused by over-litigating your divorce.
Here are some of the benefits from hiring Sustainable Family Solutions:
- We help you have a successful divorce by partnering with you during the process. You will not be alone and you wll always know the next step.
- We help you protect your children from being harmed in the process. The emotional and health related toll a prolonged divorce takes on you and your kids can be extreme and even devastating.
- We create a plan and strategy for moving forward. Our goal is to bring this to a fair and successful conclusion.