PRACTICE AREAS:

The law firm of McKELL GRAFF, PLLC provides attorney representation, mediation1 and collaboration2 in the following areas of law:

FAMILY LAW:

Open Adoption Agreements

Step-parent Adoptions

Paternity (unmarried parents)

Family Law Contracts

- Pre- and Post-Nuptial Agreements

- Community and Separate Property Agreements

- Partnership Agreements (same-gender couples)

Dissolution and Legal Separation

Qualified Domestic Relations Orders

Modification of Parenting Plans and/or Child Support

Emancipation

ESTATE PLANNING:

Last Will and Testament

Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts

- Special Needs Trust

- Educational Trust

Durable Power of Attorney (medical and/or financial)

- Immediate

- Deferred until Incapacity

Medical Directive (“Living Wills”)

Guardianships and/or Conservatorships

Ethical Wills3

MEDIATION:

Mediation/Negotiation of Legal Disputes:

- Family Issues

- Elder/Estate Issues

COLLABORATION:

Family Issues

Elder/Estate Issues

1 Mediation: the process involving a third-party neutral who facilitates the communication between or among disputants, while exploring interests and possibilities for resolution of the disputed issues, leading to a signed final agreement. The preparation of legal documents may or may not be part of the attorney mediator’s role after agreement.

The use of mediation in divorce can result in a less expensive divorce than a traditional contested divorce, in terms of dollars, as well as in the emotional costs to the family.

2 Collaboration: the process in which trained collaborative attorneys, who each represent a party, and who, with the parties, have signed an agreement not to litigate the legal matter, work together in a series of meetings to resolve all the issues of the legal matter, leading to the preparation of agreed legal documents that the parties sign and which are filed and entered by the court.

Collaborative Divorce© can include divorce coaches (mental health professionals who assist the parties with emotional issues), Certified Divorce Planners (financial planners trained to assist with financial issues of divorce), child custody evaluators, real and personal property appraisers, pension valuators, and other experts hired by the parties to provide information and expertise to enable the parties to make their agreements.

This process is not only less financially expensive than a contested court-focused traditional divorce but it can be much less emotionally expensive than the traditional process, as well as preserve the co-parenting relationship for parties with minor children after the divorce.

3 Ethical Wills: a letter or document a person writes that describes his or her personal values, beliefs, and other insights for his or her descendants. An ethical will can communicate a parent's hopes and wishes, as well as regrets and apologies, to his or her children and grandchildren.

These can be letters, personal histories, or stories that are passed down from one generation to the next that preserve life lessons learned and values cherished during a person's lifetime.