People often ask me who I think the best divorce lawyer in Santa Rosa, California is.  It is a fair question, and I typically respond to it with a question of my own:  ‘Why are you looking for a family law attorney in Sonoma County?’

“Well” they often reply, “I would really like to do an uncontested divorce like Go Divorce Clinic does, but I just think my spouse won’t cooperate, so I need to get a good divorce attorney to protect my rights”.

“What ‘rights’ are you concerned about?” I often inquire.

“Well I don’t know.  I’m just worried that my spouse will get a divorce lawyer to go after me”.

Sound familiar?  Of course it does, I hear it all the time.  The unfortunate revelation here is that most of the time it isn’t necessarily their spouse, their rights, or even the divorce itself that is scaring them into feeling like they need a lawyer, it is the fear that a divorce lawyer will get involved on the other side that will attack them.  Welcome to the dark reality of family law.  This ugly and unfortunate pattern plays itself out in the field of family law over and over.  People getting divorce attorneys because they are afraid of getting attacked by a divorce lawyer that their spouse might hire.  This conventional divorce scenario often becomes a dangerous, costly and all too destructive process that in my estimation never ever yields a “winner”.

In such circumstances  I encourage the individual that I am speaking with to have their spouse at least call our office to discuss their concerns with a neutral divorce facilitator at Go Divorce Clinic.  What is there to lose?  Honest information, helpful insights and genuine support are always a good thing.  Informing people that there are safe options in Sonoma County to the traditional lawyer driven ‘war of the roses’ approach is a big part of our campaign to “put an end to the ugly divorce” here in Santa Rosa and all around the north counties.  Providing insights to our clients that help them creatively sort out their estate and settle support and family planning issues is our main focus.   Supporting our clients emotional journey by honoring whatever it is they are seeing and feeling about themselves is at the heart of our process.

Divorce is a critically important life transition, don’t leave it to the wolves to promote a safe passage to the next chapter of your life.  Call us at Go Divorce Clinic today to book a fee free initial consultation to find out the better, more affordable way to dissolve your marriage that honors your dignity, preserves your resources and protects your children.  Visit us at:  www.GoDivorceClinic.com

Are Online Divorces Worth It?

Maybe the most familiar online divorce today is Legal Zoom.  Why not pay $600.00 for a an  “online divorce”? In my personal opinion this (or any other mass produced) online divorce service isn’t even ethical to market as a reasonable alternative for self-help divorces.  Why do I feel this way?  Mostly because I have seen worn out and frustrated couples walk through Go Divorce Clinic’s door with their thick stack of Legal Zoom “instructions” and cookie-cutter forms designed to try and address every possible situation a divorce could conjure.  Then they sheepishly ask me to please help them finish their divorce because they are completely lost.

Legal Gloom

The first Legal Zoom refugee couple (as I have come to call them) that walked through my door presented me with a plethora of forms and instructions that when I read through them, made even my head spin.  Consider that every state has it’s own family law code that is unique to that state.  There is no uniform federal family law code that applies to every state.  Each state has it’s own codes and statutes that address divorce.  On top of that, each jurisdiction (counties in California) have their own local rules generated by the Courts in that particular area that change and evolve routinely.     Our home office is in Sonoma County.   Now imagine an internet company like Legal Zoom marketing to every divorcing couple in the entire country, trying to create forms that must meet all 50 state’s differing form requirements, in addition to trying to anticipate and conform to each jurisdictions local rules and ever-updating procedural protocols.  Getting the picture?  It’s a shotgun approach that puts the responsibility on the consumer to learn not just what their own state and local rules are, but requires them also to read through the volume of “instructional” material that Legal Zoom sends out; information that attempts to address every legal and circumstantial possibility that each individual divorce might present – much of which will invariably not relate to your particular case – but you will have to wade through it all to get to what does relate to your case.  The feedback I get from clients that tried it here in Santa Rosa, Ca. and then came to my office, is that it is “overwhelming and confusing”.  That is why they are in my office, now willingly paying Go Divorce Clinic our affordable flat fee to process their divorce, and… wishing they had just come to us first.

Can I talk To A Human That Can Help Me Please?

Getting a packet of legal forms and an instruction manual shipped out from some distribution point somewhere in the United States to a distressed couple trying to negotiate a marriage dissolution on their own is to me just as absurd as it sounds.  At Go Divorce Clinic you get the benefit of having human beings skilled and trained in estate asset and debt allocation, spousal support issues, rights and responsibilities, child custody and support (if applicable) at your service.   We understand also the incredible value of having a neutral divorce facilitator assigned to each case to act as a general stabilizing presence to the couple through the process of divorce in addition to all the paperwork, filing and service issues.  There are so many other benefits too.  Do online divorce services suggest or offer to its consumers a Default divorce process which I use to save my clients $435.00 in filing fees?  Does any online service address the local rules in your particular California County of Jurisdiction by tailoring your marriage settlement agreement language to suit and conform to that? Do online services help you procure a fee waiver by first letting you know you may qualify, and then by filling the required forms out for you?  If your paperwork is kicked back by the family Court examiners because it does not conform, was submitted untimely, or refused as improperly prepared, who will be there to be accountable for the error?   Who can personally assist you that operates daily immersed in your particular jurisdiction to make it right?  If your online service does not, you may be stuck because the Court Clerks cannot by law tell you how to fill out your forms or correct them for you.  They can only tell you that they are not correct.  You need someone who knows the system where you live to help you directly.

Go Divorce Clinic Vision

I created Go Divorce Clinic for couples divorcing in Sonoma County because I recognized that the process of divorce requires professional assistance on many levels.   I felt that divorce lawyers were charging way too much, but also that too many family law attorneys didn’t really meet the actual and varied needs of those couples moving through this significant life transition we call divorce.  In most cases it is my observation that family law attorneys in general simply lack a broader skill set and training that would allow them to field all the needs a divorcing couple faces, including conflict resolution training, child development education, and formal mediation credentialing, just to name a few.  A divorce kit from the internet is in my estimation several steps below even lawyer assisted divorce because even though its cheaper, there is no one to be accountable except you the consumer when things don’t work out or go right.  Go Divorce Clinic is the most sensible way to divorce for many reasons, but mostly because we have become a complete resource center for divorcing couples.

Go Divorce Clinic specializes in uncontested divorce in Santa Rosa, Ca. and Sonoma County.  No one I know does it better, and we do it affordably.  Whatever you do, choose a professional person to help you and not an internet divorce kit.  I would never recommend Legal Zoom, or any online divorce kit to anyone for a divorce.  I do not even consider them viable competition in my field as I do not consider them a true “service” by my definitions. The quality and standard of service I employ to help my clients and their families is a high bar very few divorcing service providers meet.  I myself would certainly not want to try and wade through online “instruction manuals” trying to make sense of it, trying to figure out how to do my divorce while dealing with the emotional sting of my marriage ending.  No one needs that kind of frustration in the middle of such a profound life transition.  Your lives, and the significant transition of divorce you are facing merits better care than that.  Visit us today at:  www.GoDivorceClinic.com.

Many people I come across in Sonoma County have no idea that they can successfully represent their own interests in a divorce proceeding.  They feel they must have a Santa Rosa divorce lawyer to “stick up for their rights”.  They are often surprised to learn that they can have court forms drafted for them by a registered legal document assistant that would allow them to conduct their own divorce proceeding exactly the way they want.  Even in cases where their spouse has a family law attorney representing them, we have assisted many to move forward with the dissolution self-represented and in a way that they feel is exactly what they want.  Many, many times, individuals come to my office frustrated because their family law lawyers won’t “do what I am asking them to do”.    Instead they find that their divorce attorney is more like a hired gun “causing trouble” and “doing things that make my spouse really angry” – and the bills are mounting at the same time that nothing seems to be happening.

Go Divorce Clinic of Sonoma County invites you to switch gears and discover the ease and productivity of self-representation.  Stopping the “ugly divorce” is our specialty at the Go Divorce Clinic.  We feel that listening to and empowering our clients instead of telling them what they should do meets their needs much better.  We see cases that have dragged on for months and even years come to a close once those individuals discovered that, with our assistance, they could represent their own interests and actually get things done – and at a far less cost than with attorneys.  We understand that a divorcing person needs information, not antagonism.

Less expensive, more effective.  Isn’t that worth learning about?  Your hard earned money should stay in your bank account for you and your children.  Call Go Divorce Clinic in Santa Rosa today, and find out how the mediation, paralegal, conflict resolution and child advocacy background of Robert Revel has created a divorce specialist like no other that can help you or someone you know who is stuck in the middle of an unnecessary and expensive war, put an end to the ugly divorce.    www.GoDivorceClinic.com

Get your divorce moving at Go Divorce Clinic of Sonoma County

How many individuals seeking a divorce in Sonoma County have come into our office thinking they could not use our services because their spouse did not join them at the initial meeting?  They thought that if their spouse refused to cooperate, that they would have to get a lawyer.  Not true!  Everyday one party in a marriage comes to us and asks if we can help.  They say my husband or wife just won’t do anything!  They refuse to help or move the process along.  In short they just will not cooperate.  So how can Go Divorce Clinic of Santa Rosa, Ca. help when they only specialize in uncontested divorces?

There are several ways we approach such a situation.  We typically can start the divorce process, which can involve filing for divorce in Santa Rosa, Ca., and invite the wayward spouse to “get on board” and participate in the process.  We encourage these stubborn husbands and wives sitting on the sidelines to bring their voice to the table and co-create their divorce agreement so a family law judge at a divorce hearing doesn’t determine the outcome the way they decide.  So many important issues are to be determined in a divorce, and putting ones head in the sand is not advisable.  At Go Divorce Clinic of Sonoma County, we encourage and support individuals who are resisitant to the process and help them feel seen and supported so they come forward and participate.  Our success rate is very high.  So if you are facing divorce in Sonoma or Marin county, contact our office for a fee free consultation today.  We can help you get unstuck, without lawyers or court hearings!  Visit us at:  www.GoDivorceClinic.com to learn more about our services, or call us at (707) 431-2363 for a fee free consultation today.

A little over 30 years ago the State of California created a sanctioned designation of ‘Legal Document Assistant’. These were individuals with legitimate paralegal training and credentialing who could assist, without any lawyer required, self-represented people who were needing to utilize the Court system, or negotiate their way through it without having to pay a lawyer.   These L.D.A’s needed to be properly trained and registered in the County they did business out of.  They also needed to be bonded.  Today there are thousands of LDA’s across the country assisting self represented individuals move their cases through the court system without lawyers.

Of course, like any other profession, there are skilled practitioner’s and not so skilled ones.  At Go Divorce Clinic, it’s founder Robert Revel is a credentialed paralegal and mediator cum L.D.A. who’s business model specializes only in divorce.  The unique business focus allows Go Divorce Clinic to provide what many see as not only the most affordable, but also the best divorce service available, bar none.  It provides divorcing couples information and help along with competent document preparation.  “It’s fast, easy, affordable and a better process than any other divorce model out there – including lawyer assisted divorce”, says founder Robert Revel.  He recalls the existing confusion out there around paralegals and divorce:

“Many times a client will come into my office claiming that they had their previous marriage ‘done by a paralegal’.  The statement always makes me cringe a bit, as I wondered just who it was exactly that did their divorce!  You see, most everyone assumes that a ‘paralegal’ divorce is a legitimate alternative to a family law lawyer.  The fact is that by law no ‘paralegal’ can perform any legal document preparation work directly for clients unless those paralegals are working under the direct supervision of an attorney!   So either the clients that referred to divorce paralegals were confused about who they had hired, or the person who ‘assisted’ them was not legitimate and was operating illegally.  That is a scary thing to realize when you are considering something as important as when you need someone to help you with your divorce”.  Robert Revel should know, he has been in the family law trenches with his new model of self-help divorce that is taking over the bay area and northern California by storm.

While many family law attorneys seem very adept at drawing out divorces, making them drag on and on, Revel focuses on the quickest resolution possible, and he is top in his field at getting couples to a reasonable agreement.  “If I can’t get a divorce resolved in under 4 hours of mediation, I’d say it can’t be resolved outside of the courtroom”, he testifies.

Before founding Go Divorce Clinic, his successful mediation practiced evolved to retain quite a celebrated reputation.  His secret?  “I credit Dr. Marshal Rosenberg’s Non Violent Communication model a lot.  I also never caucused (isolated talk with either party away from earshot of the other party) in my mediations, even though they taught that at the University, because I saw it bred distrust and suspicion at the conference table.  I could see caucusing was utilized by mediators who could not handle high conflict clients, but there was always a price to pay for using it”.

Revel’s most radical mediation technique was one that led him to found the Go Divorce Clinic – he keeps lawyers out of the mediation chamber.  He cites two important reasons:  “First of all I could see that the attorney presence was more often than not toxic.  They poisoned the pool every time I managed to get goodwill to build momentum between the disputing parties.  It was almost as if the lawyers were uncomfortable with the Parties shedding the adversarial posturing.   Second I knew to make progress I needed to be the only authority in the room because unlike the lawyers, I was truly neutral and truly safe.  The lawyers wanted to run the show, and too many chiefs, as the saying goes… is not a good thing”.

Today Revel continues his razing of divorce protocols in family law.

“I’m an innovator at heart.  There are personal reasons why I chose to target family law for for a major overhaul.  But one thing I know, the field is changing not merely because Go Divorce Clinic is providing a healthier way to take care of divorcing couples, but because so many people are affirming our business model now.  Our market share is so much now that the family law lawyers have to stop and look at what we are doing right, and hopefully they will begin adopting some of our protocols.  I see it as a dance between client and service provider that is nodding to the most basic tenants of supply and demand.  Meet the actual needs of the client, perform ethically, and you will eventually dominate your market niche.  In this case dominating means we get to reach more families who can ill afford the typical bitterness, resource depletion, and utter exhaustion that accompanies traditional contested divorce with lawyers”.

If you would like to learn more about Robert Revel and the Go Divorce Clinic you can visit:  www.GoDivorceClinic.com