What types of services can you provide?
Every Attorney you meet with will be a licensed, experienced, Arizona attorney. We can provide every service that a traditional attorney can provide. We can draft documents, help you conduct discovery, provide mediation services, provide coaching, legal research, draft your pre-trial memorandum, help you prepare for trial and more.
What are your rates?
Our rates are customized to each client and situation. Generally, you can expect to our attorneys to charge between $200-$300 per hour. Our intake specialist would love to discuss your personal situation.
What are “limited scope” legal services?
Limited Scope means that we handle either specific issues or specific tasks of your legal case. You become part of the legal team on your case, you can have an attorney involved as much or as little as you need. By doing all the tasks that you are capable of doing, with coaching by your attorney, you maximize your resources to save you money.
Can you accept payment plans?
Yes. With our services you are not required to deposit a retainer. You can pay as you go for limited scope services. For limited scope services, you must pay up front for the services you need.
Do you provide Arizona Divorce Attorneys?
Yes, our Arizona divorce attorneys help with all aspects of divorce, including child custody, property division, business valuation and division, mediation, adoptions, and spousal maintenance. Our Arizona Divorce Attorneys are happy to meet with you and help you meet your objectives.
Do you provide other Family Law Attorneys?
Yes. In addition to our divorce attorneys, we provide clients assistance with establishing custody or paternity, child support and parenting time. We also help client to enforce their existing orders or modify an order due to a change in circumstance.
Will I have access to my attorney via the phone or online?
Will I have access to my attorney via the phone or online?A. Once you have been in for an initial consultation, you and your attorney will define what each of you are working on. If you wish to ask questions via phone about your portion or what the attorney is working on for you, you will call our receptionist and an appointment time will be scheduled for your attorney to call you back. If you wish your attorney to expand beyond the scope of your initial agreement, you must come in and sign either a full scope advanced fee agreement or another agreement for the provision of legal services.
How is Modern Law different from Pre-Paid legal services?
Pre-paid legal services is legal insurance. You pay monthly premiums whether or not you need legal assistance. With Modern Law you pay only when you need legal assistance and only for the time you need.
How is this different from a document prep company?
At Modern Law, REAL ATTORNEYS will see you. We provide legal advice by attorneys specific to your case. All of our work will be tailored to your specific needs, as opposed to simply filing out a form. We have developed a sister company and software, Access Legal, that IS a certified legal document preparer. That company can provide you with legal documents at a fraction of the cost of using an attorney. We recommend you meet with an attorney first to determine all of your options. If you choose to use Access Legal, you will not be receiving legal advice. If at any point in time you do need legal advice, we would welcome you back to Modern Law!
Q. What are the types of Orders protect against Domestic Violence?
Emergency Orders of Protection may be requested by a peace officer on an emergency basis when a person’s like or health is in imminent danger.
Injunctions Against Harassment can be granted to prevent a person from committing acts of harassment. There is no required relationship.
Injunctions Against Workplace Harassment authorizes an employer to seek a court order preventing an employee from coming to the premises and harassing other employees or patrons.
Order of Protection can be granted to prevent specific activity or acts and is limited to people who have specific relationships with the defendant.
Q. Where can I get a Protective Order to Protect Against Domestic Violence?
You can get a protective order at any courthouse. You can go to a municipal court, justice court or superior court to fill out the paperwork and request a protective order.
Q. Is there is filing fee for an Order of Protection?
No. You will not be charged a fee. If you hire an attorney, they will likely charge you a fee, however fee’s may be assessed against the opposing party, so you may be able to recover your attorneys fees.
Q. Can a child get an Order of Protection against a Parent?
Yes. A minor can apply for an order of protection against a violent parent or a parent can apply for an order of protection on behalf of their child against a violent parent if there is reasonable cause to believe that physical harm has resulted or may result to the child or specific alleged acts of domestic violence involved the child.
If a child has an order of protection preventing contact by a parent, can a family court judge still order parenting time?
Yes. A superior court/family court judge has the ability to modify the terms of the order of protection and allow for parenting time. The order of protection can be used as evidence as to why parenting time shouldn’t be ordered or why certain protections should be put into place prior to ordering parenting time.
How do I serve a Protective Order?
A process server or peace officer must serve a Protective Order. It becomes effective once it is served. It must be served within one year or is expires.
What do I do after the Protective Order is served?
Consider keeping a copy of the Order with you at all times. Consider providing your children’s school, work, apartment managers, and others with a copy in order to ensure maximum safety. After the Order is served, register the order with the local sheriff’s department. ANY VIOLATION SHOULD BE REPORTED TO THE POLICE IMMEDIATELY. Many times there seems to be passive violations of the protective order. For instance, friendly text massages are a violation of a no contact order. It is not ok and should be reported.
What else should I know before going to an Order of Protection hearing?
In Arizona, there is a special set of procedural rules that govern protective order proceedings. The rules are fairly brief and you should read them prior to your hearing. Here is a link to the rules: http://www.law.arizona.edu/clinics/child_and_family_law_clinic/Materials/ARPOP.pdf
What is “Legal Decision Making”
Legal Decision Making was formerly known as “Legal Custody”. (In most states it is still known as legal custody. If you move here with an out of state order giving you “sole legal custody” you by default have “sole legal decision making” in Arizona.) Legal Decision Making refers to major life decisions only, such as medical decisions, schooling, religion and personal care (ear piercing?). Most often, Arizona courts prefer to award joint legal decision making unless there is a very compelling reason not to do so.
What needs to go in my parenting plan?
According to Arizona law, your parenting plan must include an explanation of whether legal decision making is sole or joint, including the rights and duties of both parents with regards to medical, religious, educational and personal decisions. Additionally, you will need a concrete, specific parenting time schedule, which includes provisions for transportation and exchanges. The parenting plan also needs a vacation and holiday schedule which trumps the normal schedule.
Other items that are sometimes included: plan for mediation when parents can’t agree, scheduled communications with the kiddos, a scheduled review of the plan, and statements of non-disparagement.
Do I need a fee agreement for basic, simple questions?
In order for us to provide any legal advice or answer legal questions specific to your case we would need to have either a full scope agreement for traditional representation or a limited scope agreement for limited scope representation. Arizona Ethical Rule 1.2 requires us to have an agreement defining the scope of our representation in writing in order to provide limited scope services. If we are operating under a limited scope agreement to draft a specific document and other questions come up, we would need to expand the scope of services in order to ethically provide legal advice.
Can I divorce my spouse and still live in the same house?
Yes you can! Although you should consider the consequences of sharing a house once your are divorced. Community Property rules will cease, so the two of you will be roommates. If the house is owned, who will reap the benefits of the equity that is accruing each month? Who will be responsible for the bills, maintenance and repairs etc. This is more a practical exercise than a legal one. It may make parenting plans interesting as well. For more information, give us a call. We would be happy to help.
