If you select our office to represent you, at that point we will take over all of the legal process so you can focus on the rest of your life. We understand that divorce can take a toll on a person, and as your legal counsel we will do our best to walk you through the process and address your long term concerns as they relate to your divorce. We do not provide boilerplate divorces; we provide bespoke divorces, tailored to each client and his or her specific needs.

Divorce in Oregon follows a set process. Typically, one party initiates the divorce and drafts what is known as a petition for dissolution of marriage. The petition specifies all of the filing party’s requests, and is served upon the responding party. The responding party has thirty (30) days to respond to the petition. If there is a response the two parties will typically attempt to reach resolution and address all of the concerns of both parties then file that joint document with the Court. Additionally, if children are involved there will be a required mediation to attempt to resolve any concerns related to custody. Unfortunately, conflict can arise during the negotiations at which point the Court will then review information from both parties and make the final decision as to assets, debts, and if children are involved custody.

Our office works with each client to address his or her future concerns and current needs. If our client needs financial support, during the separation before an economic award has been determined by the Court, we take the necessary steps to have the Court rule on temporary economic support.

Once again, our office provides tailored services for each client. We do what we can to address the needs that arise through the divorce process and work with each client to thoroughly address the needs that may arise in the future.

The standard form can be found at: http://public.health.oregon.gov/BirthDeathCertificates/GetVitalRecords/Documents/45-6.pdf. Once a Domestic Partnership has been filed if the partnership ends a Dissolution of Domestic Partnership must be filed as well. The Dissolution will follow the same path as a divorce proceeding and will likely require a Court hearing. As discussed below same-sex partners face issues that opposite-sex partners do not, many of the issues that can arise with same-sex partnerships can be contracted for in the original Domestic Partnership agreement.

Oregon Domestic Partnerships are not Federally recognized and Partners in a Domestic Partnership should be aware that once they leave the state of Oregon they will not be protected equally under other state laws. If the terms of the Domestic Partnership Agreement contract for specifics rights, those terms will be treated as a contract and recognized by other states.

If Partners have children they will want to go through the process of adoption to protect parental rights. Adoption concerns can be addressed in the initial Domestic Partnership Agreement. Lesbian couples that have biological children after they have registered as Domestic Partners can both be on the birth certificate if that child is born in the state of Oregon. However, male gay couples do not have that option, even if one of the men is the biological father, adoption is the only option to protect parental rights for both Partners. Once again, these concerns can be addressed in the initial Domestic Partnership agreement.

Domestic Partners will want to make sure to list each other as beneficiaries for any employee-related benefits if they so desire to have each other receive benefits. Though the Federal government is no longer defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) the act remains effective. Federal benefits are not paid to state-recognized same-sex partners. To ensure Partners receive any benefits upon death a will should be drafted for each Partner designating the beneficiary of his or her estate. Once again, the Federal government does not recognize same-sex partners and therefor Federal estate taxes will be levied upon the surviving Partner. There is at this time no way to contract around this tax disparity.

The reality of the duel system for same-sex and opposite-sex couples is that there are gapping holes left for same-sex couples and if Partners want to protect joint assets, interests, and children additional contracts will be necessary if they are not included in the initial Domestic Partnership Agreement.

A Domestic Partnership Agreement can be used as a tool to contract for everything from medical directives to property rights as your rights in Oregon cease to exist once you have left the state, however, the terms of your Agreement could be used in other states to prove your contracted for rights. Additionally, it is important for your Domestic Partnership Agreement to include a power of attorney and medical directives. Your Domestic Partnership Agreement should document who you do not want making decisions about your health and assets. In states that do not recognize your Domestic Partnership if something were to occur and leave you incapacitated and you do not have a medical directive or power of attorney for your Partner all decisions pertaining to your health and assets will be assigned to your next of kin (a living parent, if no living parent then a sibling, if no sibling closest blood relative). The more thorough your Domestic Partnership Agreement is the more protected your rights will be when you leave the state of Oregon.

If you are planning on entering into a Domestic Partnership Agreement, you should meet with an attorney to protect your rights and interests.

For many people entering into the divorce process, child custody is a primary concern. Here we explain the child custody determination process, and the role of the Court in the custody process.  Ideally, both parties agree on a parenting plan, and the Court adopts the parenting plan created and agreed to by the parties. If the parties cannot reach an agreement the Court will determine the custody arrangement. Regardless, when determining custody of the children at issue the Court will look to the factors set out in ORS. 107.137.

For custody matters the Court focuses on the best interests and welfare of the child. The Court balances the factors of ORS 107.137 to determine the best interests and welfare of the child. The factors balanced by the Court are:
(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.

There is no one factor weighed more significantly than any other factor, however, there is a rebuttable presumption a parent is unfit for joint or sole custody if they have been convicted of rape.  There are no preferences given to either parent for simply being the parent of the child. All factors will be reviewed and the Court will then determine what the Court feels is in the best interests and welfare of the child.

Once custody has been determined the court will rule on child support as well. Child support determinations are controlled by Oregon’s Uniform Child Support Guidelines. The Guideline’s look to the incomes of both parents, the amount of time allocated to each parent, the parenting plan, childcare costs, medical costs, benefits each parent receives, any additional income for either parent, and other factors. The calculator the Court will use can be found at https://justice.oregon.gov/guidelines/.

The calculator will determine the amount the Court will award for child support, unless other factors are present. The additional factors are available in the guidelines and are related to additional income and resources, as well as aid available to the child.  The standard is the parent that has the majority of nights with the child will receive the child support award, however, if incomes are disproportionate the standard may not apply.

Depending on your economic status you may be able to receive free services from the Oregon Child Support Program to assist in filing for child support. An application for Oregon Child Support Program services can be found here http://www.oregonchildsupport.gov/forms/csf030574.pdf, and timeline of their process can be found at http://www.oregonchildsupport.gov/resources/timelines.shtml.

A guardianship gives a fiduciary control over a protected person’s healthcare decisions (with a few exceptions), while a conservatorship gives a fiduciary control over a protected person’s property and financial decisions.  An individual applying to be someone’s conservator or guardian is known as a “petitioner,” until they are appointed, at which point they are known as the person’s conservator or guardian.  The individual in need of assistance is referred to as the “Respondent,” until someone has been appointed as their guardian/conservator, at which point they are referred to as the “protected person.”

A person may only need a guardian or only a conservator, depending on their issues and financial estate.  Additionally, the conservator and the guardian can be the same person.  Guardianships and conservatorships restrict the rights of the protected person and their authority to make numerous important decisions.  These powers and authority is invested into the guardian/conservator, who must act on the protected person’s behalf.  As a result of this divesture of rights, Courts are reluctant to appoint a guardian/conservator absent compelling evidence and prefer other means of providing for the care of people in need of assistance.

Before a Court will appoint a guardian for an adult protected person, they will appoint a “visitor” to investigate the situation.  After the visitor completes its investigation, he/she will create a report, which is then submitted to the Court.  The visitor will generally meet with the individual who needs a guardianship/conservatorship, and interview other individuals who are interested in the protected person’s health and welfare, including friends and family, as well as the protected person’s medical providers.  Sometimes a Hearing is required as well before a Court will move forward with an appointment.

Once a guardian or a conservator is appointed, they are required to make annual reports concerning the health and welfare of the “protected person” for a guardianship, and an accounting of the protected person’s financial resources for a conservatorship.

Some alternatives to conservatorship are hiring a bookkeeper or an accountant to assist the individual with their financial decisions.  Joint bank accounts can also be used by the concerned party to help assist in making financial decisions.  Likewise, hiring a housekeeper or a personal aide can be an alternative for guardianship.  Additional powers can be granted by having the elderly or disabled person grant a durable power of attorney to their caretaker, to give them greater powers of control over financial decisions.

Power of Attorney

Power of attorney gives someone, called the agent, the right to make financial or health care decisions on another’s behalf, usually called the “principal.”  Specific power of attorney means this power has been limited to only some financial or health care decisions; on the other hand, if it the powers are not limited, it is known as a general power of attorney.  Another main distinction for power of attorney is between a temporary power of attorney, which is limited to a set period of time, and durable power of attorney, which is not limited in time and is therefore indefinite.  Because a power of attorney circumvents the need for a visitor, investigation, court filing, accounting, annual reporting requirements, and other fees, it is generally much less costly than a conservatorship or guardianship.  The major difference between power of attorney and conservatorship/guardianship, besides the difficulty involved in acquiring the legal status are:

1. The protected person does not lose the power to also manage their own finances and affairs under power of attorney, and it can be revoked by the principal unilaterally later as well.
2. And, most importantly, the principal must be competent to sign for power of attorney; this is not the case for conservatorship or guardianship, which is why these options are often chosen.

The paperwork involved in setting up powers of attorney for an agent are available from many settings, such as banks or stationary stores.  However, an agent has the power to act only in the ways specified by the document creating the power of attorney; furthermore they are granted all powers by that document as well.  It is very possible for misunderstandings to cause power of attorney to be either abused or ineffective for the goals of the parties involved.  This is why it is often imperative to contact a skilled attorney to help make sure the power of attorney performs as the parties’ desire, and their rights and obligations are well understood.