“Don’t Know Where to Begin?” is provided by Schoonover, Rosenthal Thurman & Daray to be your first step in gaining information in the area of divorce law. Schoonover, Rosenthal Thurman & Daray represents many people who have never been married to the parent of their child. The same basic principles apply in all child custody and child support cases, however there are differences in law between Juvenile Court (where unmarried parents litigate the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities) and Domestic Relations Court (where married couples litigate the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities). Please look at the individual topics to assist you on custody and other family law matters.

Whether you are contemplating divorce or your spouse has just approached you indicating their desire to terminate your marriage, it is nothing short of life altering. Your thoughts might be racing around in your head so fast it seems that you can’t get a handle on the whole picture. Relax. Take the time to educate yourself.

The first purpose of this website is to give you direction. Sometimes that step means utilizing our services, and other times it means first exploring different avenues. This website does not contain all of the answers; but it will assist to jumpstart the process for you. First, you need to identify the issues that apply to your situation. The website will assist in identifying the issues particular to your situation, so that you know the right questions to be asking a lawyer, your spouse, and yourself about this process. Qualified lawyers (like us) can provide different scenarios of what could happen, but please remember that we are attorneys, not fortune tellers.

By taking the time now and doing the research, it will provide you the knowledge necessary to make the right decision for you and for your family. There are many legitimate reasons why people no longer believe they should be married to their spouse. Consequences, both financial and emotional come with ending a marriage, but the ultimate goal is to find a level of happiness that they did not have previously. Having worked on thousands of family law matters, the experience of the attorneys at Schoonover, Rosenthal Thurman & Daray demonstrate that this does not happen overnight or in the blink of an eye. It just may take time to get there but we can assist you in getting there.

You need to first become familiar with and learn about the process of terminating a marriage (or establishing parental rights if not married). Look at the two theoretical approaches of how to terminate a marriage. Litigation is when you need a court to resolve your differences and Collaboration is when you don’t need a court to resolve your differences. Read those sections first. There are an extraordinary amount of different facets of an individual’s makeup, and each will influence the approach will work best for you. It is different for everybody.

The next step should be to look over the list of individual topic points and see which ones apply to you and your situation. Once you have decided that legal help is needed, please contact us via email or telephone. If you know your course of action, then we can discuss representation with one of our qualified attorneys. If you still don’t know, please contact Schoonover, Rosenthal Thurman & Daray for a consultation. We can lay out the different options of how to proceed.

The hope is that this website helps you as you begin this emotional and difficult process. At Schoonover, Rosenthal Thurman & Daray we focus our practice on helping clients through this legal jungle.