Moore Family Law and Family

FAMILY LAW, TRUSTS AND ESTATES and… FAMILY

One of the best things about working in a small firm like Moore Family Law is that the firm itself feels like a second family to me. The firm doesn’t follow a traditional hierarchy typically found in a large law firm; rather, Moore Family Law has an organization similar to the equilateral roles of a family, with complementary roles for each family member.

JENNIFER MOORE and LITIGATION

Jennifer’s role is as the head of the family. She talks to the family about what our goals are, and then makes choices for the firm about how to get there. In our legal work, Jennifer is the litigation-focused one. She loves going to court and arguing our side of the case to a judge.

 

EMILY MATSON and THE SETTLEMENT TRACK

My role is as supporting partner to Jennifer. I help Jennifer accomplish the goals the firm has set, and I follow through on the tasks delegated to me. I’m also the settlement-focused one in the group. I like to solve the child custody or Divorce attorney Minnesota issues with the other side, to try to keep us out of court. However, when it’s clear a settlement isn’t going to be in our client’s best interest, Jennifer usually takes over in the courtroom.

TOM MOORE and BARB HAGBERG

Our family includes good supporting members as well. We have Tom, who makes sure the house (office) is maintained and that we have the resources we need to function to the best of our ability for our clients. We also have a new member of the family, our paralegal Barb, who can also take on some of the supporting tasks, and who can be a convenient contact for our clients.

TRUSTS AND ESTATES and FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY MINNESOTA — IT’S MORE THAN A JOB

Most people are lucky to have a job at all these days, and I count my blessings that not only do I have employment, but that I get to work with people who are like a second family to me.

About Author

Jennifer graduated from the University of Minnesota cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications. In 2006, Jennifer achieved her life’s dream; owning her own family law practice. She practices every day as Divorce lawyers Minnesota with the intention of representing her clients’ future.

Happy Holidays and Family Law

I’m Jennifer Moore of Moore Family Law in Plymouth, Minnesota. Our legal practice encompasses trusts, estate law and probate as well as family law. But the holidays present a special challenge for families that are going through a divorce, a process which often brings with it disputes over emotional hurts, property, child support and alimony, custody and visitation, Spousal Support lawyer MN.

DIVORCE AND HOLIDAYS DO NOT MIX

I advise my clients to try to put matters involving family law “on hold” during the peak of the holidays. It’s not just that the children need to be protected from the divorce during the holidays. The parents do, as well.

 

During a divorce, you may find yourself more emotional, clumsy or forgetful, and not quite yourself. The holidays bring the stress of a heavy social calendar, added expenses, and interactions with helpful family and friends. Nothing good can come from adding a divorce proceeding to this combination of stressors.

WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW

Divorce attorneys Minnesota routinely experiences a December slump and a January surge, especially regarding divorce matters. We’re no different here at Moore Family law attorney Minnesota, but there are steps you can take now that will get you ready for January. You can start gathering your financial documents. Make copies of tax returns. Get current pension / retirement account statements. Collect your bank statements for the last 2-3 years. Run a credit report. Open your own bank account at a bank other than the one you use for joint finances.

Schedule an appointment with a therapist, for some “fun-for-me time,” or at a spa.

Schedule a face-to-face consultation with us at our offices in Plymouth, MN, just so you know what you can expect if you do decide to act in January. Our consultations take about an hour, they are usually free of charge, and we will be glad to help you in this joyful yet difficult season.

WE WISH YOU THE BEST

Moore Family Law: Advocating Your Family’s Future

About Author

Jennifer graduated from the University of Minnesota cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications. In 2006, Jennifer achieved her life’s dream; owning her own family law practice. She practices every day as Divorce lawyers Minnesota with the intention of representing her clients’ future.

Family law Attorney Firm Located in Plymouth MN

Plymouth Minnesota Attorney Firm

Welcome to the Moore Family Law blog. I’m Tom Moore, the Office Manager here at our offices in Plymouth, MN.  I’d like to write briefly on something important for our practice of Family law Attorney Minnesota dealing with divorce, custody, alimony and support; and also to our estate planning practice dealing with wills, trusts, estates, and legacy planning.  My thanks to “Professional Legal Management Week” magazine for the articles which inspired this post.

Efficiency

You may never meet me in person, but the important result of the work I do for you is that Moore Family Law can always provide superior legal advice and that we can do so at the lowest practicable cost to you.

Family Law MN

As Office Manager, my job is to handle the business side of the firm – finances, computer systems, paying the bills. This helps ensure that our attorneys, Jennifer Moore and Emily Matson, have the time and energy to focus on what they do best – representing you and our other clients at a difficult time. Since Jennifer and Emily are not interrupted by the details of the business, they are more able to focus on the strategy, legal issues, and details of your case.

Thank you!

I plan to post weekly to the Moore Family Law blog. We hope that by providing some relevant behind-the-scenes information on the practice of family law and estate planning law, you will come to better understand how and why we do what we do the way we do. It’s all part of advocating your family’s future.

 

About Author

Jennifer graduated from the University of Minnesota cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications. In 2006, Jennifer achieved her life’s dream; owning her own family law practice. She practices every day as Divorce lawyers Minnesota with the intention of representing her clients’ future.

A Note About Attorney Client Privilege

When you meet with an attorney, everything you tell the attorney is confidential. Family law matters touch upon your most sensitive matters. You can rest assured that your divorce attorney takes its obligation to keep your private information private very seriously.

Even on this blog, the stories I tell have been altered to protect the privacy of my clients.

One of the advantages of hiring an attorney for your family law matter is that you will have a filter to help you determine what information is relevant to the Court. An attorney can also help you maintain the confidentiality of private or sensitive information while you go through a potentially public court case.

Don, a client from Wayzata, was concerned that private financial information about his closely held company would make its way into his divorce file. We were able to negotiate an agreement with his wife’s attorney to keep the information private. Ultimately, the case settled, but even if the case hadn’t settled, the confidentiality agreement would have required Don’s agreement before any documents were submitted to the Court.

Sondra, a client from Buffalo, expressed concern that her children’s medical records would make their way into the child custody file. Sondra’s concerns were valid. By and large, Special Needs Family Law MN cases that do not involve the adjudication of paternity are public. Anyone can see anything that is filed in them, except for documents that have been designated as confidential. When parties represent themselves, documents such as children’s medical records and financial account statements are frequently included as supporting documents. Court staff do their best to make sure that sensitive material is sealed, but I see private information in court files every day.

A Family Law Attorney Minnesota is your filter, protecting your private data, and protecting you from over-sharing information.

About Author

Jennifer graduated from the University of Minnesota cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications. In 2006, Jennifer achieved her life’s dream; owning her own Family law attorney Minnesota practice. She practices every day as Divorce lawyers Minnesota with the intention of representing her clients’ future.

The Affordable Care Act and Guardian Caregivers

According to the Congressional Research Office, “the primary goal of the Affordable Care Act is to increase access to affordable health insurance.”  For most of my clients the ACA has been a net positive. The non-insured spouse has the ability to obtain insurance on the open market at a price that is generally less than COBRA coverage, without worrying about the effect of pre-existing coverage. There is expanded coverage for Medicaid, which allows more children, disabled adults, and senior citizens to be insured.

Some of my clients may be affected by an odd provision in the Act that provides that it is a conflict of interest for the guardian of a disabled adult to be a paid caregiver.

Many of my clients rely on Medicaid waiver programs to fund services for their special needs Minnesota family lawyer member.  Often, these programs allow family members to be paid as caregivers. This program allows families the ability to provide care that might otherwise be provided by low-paid personal care attendants.  Personal care attendants are difficult to find, difficult to train, and difficult to retain.  The lack of available care places the special needs individual at risk of neglect.  Moreover, my clients tell me that they would rather provide the care for their family member than hire a stranger.

There are a number of fixes being proposed for this problem.  States that have accepted expanded Medicaid funding are attempting to accommodate Medicaid beneficiaries, but the proposed solutions at this point involved delegating the responsibility for creating a care plan to the State or a contracted care company.  That is problematic, since these waivered programs are designed to allow the individual and their families to decide how care will be provided. If a solution is not found to this problem, it is possible that family guardians will either have to give up the income they received from the waiver programs or be faced with the difficult and expensive process of transferring guardianship of their special needs adult to someone else.

About Author

Jennifer graduated from the University of Minnesota cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications. In 2006, Jennifer achieved her life’s dream; owning her own Family law attorney Minnesota practice. She practices every day as Divorce lawyers Minnesota with the intention of representing her clients’ future.