Whether it’s a divorce, child custody case, or conflict regarding support, the family law practice tends to involve unhappy times for people whose lives are going through a significant change.  I can’t say that there is ever a “win” even when the court does grant my client everything that he/she sought.  However, winning cases in child support enforcement cases against deadbeat dads (or moms!) has given me some satisfaction, and my client a lot of happiness.

I recall one case in particular.  The dad, in this case, had failed to pay the court ordered amount of child support for the last 6 years or so of the child’s minority.  He just paid what he wanted – which was sometimes nothing at all.  Mom had never agreed that he could modify support, and pleaded with him to pay.  Not having enough money to afford an attorney, she felt she had no choice but take whatever she could get.  Once her child turned 18 and went to college, Mom decided it was about time to make Dad fulfill his child support duty to his daughter.

Mom initially tried to collect the back support on her own.  Finding the legal process a bit too complicated, she came to me.  Good thing she did, because she didn’t realize she could also ask for interest that had accrued on all of the unpaid child support.  That nearly doubled the amount of child support due her – it increased from about $38,000 to just over $70,000!  I filed the proper paperwork, made the correct request, and came prepared to court with the facts and the law.  The Judge agreed, and awarded my client every single penny we had asked for.  Dad was dumbfounded, and Mom was elated.  The circumstances of having to be in court are upsetting, but it certainly felt good to help a Mom stand up for herself and get her and her daughter even more money than she had sought in the first place!

-Jennifer Weiss

A family law practice does not typically involve happy stories. People come to us, understandably, when their lives are turned upside down. My role is to advocate for my client, looking to the current situation but with an eye towards the future. However, I seldom know what happens years after my client has walked out of the courtroom. There are exceptions.

One of my fondest recollections is that of a highly contested case in which my client sought custody of his young son. We feared the mother had issues which prevented her from providing a stable environment for the boy. The court was persuaded, and awarded my client full custody. To my delight, my now former client has updated me annually with pictures of his son and his achievements. Recently, the boy and his father stopped in to see me. I was deeply satisfied to see what a well-adjusted and happy man that boy had become. It really made me proud to be a family law attorney.

-Tim Szabo