From the Editor in Chief

• Author: Kathleen A. Hogan
• Pages: 2-3

from the

editor in chief

By

Kathleen A. Hogan

2 FAMILY ADVOCATE www.shopaba.org

FAMILY ADVOCATE

Editorial Board

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Kathleen A. Hogan

3773 Cherry Creek N. Drive

Suite 950

Denver, CO 80209

kah@mcguanehogan.com

ISSUE EDITORS

Gerald L. Shoemaker Jr., Norristown, PA

Debra H. Lehrmann, Austin, TX

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

Livia DeFilippis Barndollar, Westport, CT

Joy M. Feinberg, Chicago, IL

Ann M. Haralambie, Tucson, AZ

Debra H. Lehrmann, Austin, TX

Lilka B. Martinez, El Dorado Hills, CA

Michelle Piscopo, Philadelphia, PA

Gerald L. Shoemaker Jr., Norristown, PA

Gene Brentley Tanner, Raleigh, NC

Timothy B. Walker, Centennial, CO

Steven K. Yoda, Woodland Hills, CA

EDITORIAL POLICY

Family Advocate, published by the

American Bar Association Family Law

Section, oers practical, practice-oriented

articles for family lawyers, their clients,

and other professionals involved in

divorce, child custody, adoption, and

other family-law-related issues. e articles

in Family Advocate do not express the

off‌icial policy of the ABA or the Family

Law Section. ey represent the views of

thoughtful members of the bench and bar

who are interested in eective advocacy

and the American family.

MANAGING EDITOR

Lori Lyons

lori.lyons@americanbar.org

312-988-5662

DESIGN

Mary Anne Kulchawik

maryanne.kulchawik@americanbar.org

ADVERTISING

Jonathan McGraw

MCI-Group

jonathan.mcgraw@mci-group.com

410-584-1979

Divorce, child custody disputes , alimony, and child support

matters are st ressful; the associated legal fee s only add to

the stress. Mo st people begin the process wi th lots of

questions and wor ries. They can face those worries

without really under standing what choices they may have.

Fortunately, there ar e many steps that clients can take to strategi cally

weigh the pros and cons of t he many nancial choices to be made in a

family law proceeding , and mitigate the nancial burden while still

beneting from ef fective legal representati on. This manual contains an

array of proactive ste ps you can take and considerations to be mad e

during your family law case.

Clients have a right to know how th ey will be charged, and clients

should be forthri ght in asking lawyers how they charge a nd when bills

will be sent, says at torney Mark Chinn in his article, “Captur ing Legal

Costs and Cont aining the Bill.” Mark lists important que stions you should

ask when entering into a n attorney-client relationship .

When clients can’ t afford an attorney, they may choose to se lf-repre-

sent. This is a risk y move, as the judge interviewed in D ean Christoffel’s

“People Who Self- Represent—A Judicial View” ex plains. The judge offers

alternatives to self-re presentation from free legal clinic s and legal aid

programs to a relatively ne w middle road—unbundled l egal services struc-

tured like a menu with a at rate —a more affordable alternative t hat

provides serv ices a person absolutely nee ds but can still afford. Check

whether unbundle d services are offered in your s tate.

In “Choosing Your Approach to Res olution,” Rochelle Grossman lays

out the less intimidati ng, less expensive, and les s time-consuming

dispute-re solution options that are becoming inc reasingly popular

alternatives to costly li tigation in family law matters.

“Important Fina ncial Planning Considerations in Divorce” by Mar ty

Babitz illustrates h ow the right team of advisors can help give you th e

condence to make the bes t nancial decisions for yourself and yo ur

family during a divorce.

These nancial choic es include employment choices, s election of health

insurance, social se curity, retirement and alimony considerati ons, and

divorce-relate d taxes, all addressed in this han dbook. Health Insurance

KATHLEEN A. HOGAN (kah@mcguanehogan.co m) is a principal with McGuane

and Hogan, P.C., in Denver, Colorado, and Editor i n Chief of

Family Advocate

.

Published in Family Advocate, Volume 43, Number 1, Summer 2020. © 2020 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof

may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.