Overland Park Family Law Attorneys

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Joseph, Hollander & Craft’s team of Overland Park family law attorneys provide exceptional legal counsel and effective advocacy for individuals and families dealing with a wide variety of family law matters. Our highly skilled attorneys understand that legal matters involving the family present numerous challenges not only economically, but also emotionally. We are dedicated to helping you navigate complex decisions and provide strategic support for all of your family law issues.

Why You Want to Work with Joseph, Hollander & Craft

Every family law case presents its own unique circumstances and challenges. Joseph, Hollander & Craft’s Overland Park family law lawyers will guide you through the legal process, be your legal advocate, develop a strategic approach tailored to your needs and interests, and work towards favorably resolving your contentious disputes. We listen to you, develop a strategy focused on your family, and thoroughly prepare you for settlement or trial. The family law lawyers in Joseph, Hollander & Craft’s Overland Park office will advocate on your behalf and protect your individual and parental rights.

Gifted Negotiators and Litigators

Our skilled Overland Park family law attorneys will represent your interests in the courtroom and through alternative dispute resolution. We always seek to resolve your matter in the most efficient and cost effective manner possible. Using measures like mediation and negotiations, we can help resolve your disputes with minimal court involvement. In circumstances where mediation or negotiation are not the most effective means, our Overland Park family law litigators will make your case in the courtroom. Whatever your situation, our attorneys are dedicated to developing forward-looking solutions that will produce long-lasting results for you and your family. As your advocates, we will make sure you are well informed about your options and legal rights.

What Does an Overland Park Family Law Attorney Do?

We are known for our persuasive advocacy and superior skill in resolving even the most contested disputes. We offer counsel, advice, and support in the face of a wide variety of family law issues, including:

• Divorce, Legal Separation, and Annulments
• Paternity Matters
• Child Custody
• Child Support
• Division of Marital Assets
• Spousal Support & Alimony
• Premarital Agreements
• Adoption and Guardianship
• Grandparent Rights

Whether you need a family law attorney to review a proposed premarital agreement to ensure your rights are protected, want assistance becoming the official legal caregiver for a child you love, or are seeking representation related to a divorce or paternity action, our Overland Park divorce and family law lawyers have the skill and experience to assist you. Our attorneys are committed legal counselors dedicated to giving you exceptional legal representation and guidance in and out of the courtroom.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Collaborative Divorce Right for Me?

Collaborative divorce is an interdisciplinary approach involving two specially trained attorneys working in concert with other professionals, such as a mental health professional and a financial advisor. The objective is to mitigate the potentially combative nature of divorce by having the spouses agree at the outset to not litigate. Instead, the primary objective of collaboration is to educate the spouses so they reach an informed, mutually beneficial settlement that serves their needs and their children’s best interests.

Collaborative divorce is optimal for clients who seek creative solutions and desire direct control over the outcome of their divorce. The parties are expected and required to be transparent and forthcoming with their finances, earnings, and other matters. This saves money and time that might otherwise be devoted to attorney’s fees and extensive discovery queries. The collaborative strategy also facilitates future cooperation, which is particularly advantageous when children are involved.

Conversely, the process is not recommended for spouses whose marriages are marked by profound mistrust, domestic violence or abuse, or secrecy. Contentious marriages are usually not the prime candidates for collaborative divorce, nor is the approach advisable if either spouse approaches it with the paradigm of winning at all costs.

Can You Help Me Avoid Protracted Litigation?

We understand that your ultimate objective is to complete the divorce in a timely albeit fair manner that protects your rights and interests. For that reason, our Overland Park family law attorneys take pragmatic steps to preempt lengthy divorces by:

• Remaining objective and dispassionate advocates, even during the most emotionally taxing phases of your divorce;
• Applying our considerable experience with divorce law to the benefit of your case;
• Negotiating firmly and effectively with the adverse party’s attorney while remaining open to reasonable settlement offers;
• Taking advantage of alternative dispute resolution to settle as many issues as possible and thereby limit the court’s involvement with your divorce;
• Using the discovery process effectively to seek relevant information while objecting to frivolous requests from the opposing party; and,
• As necessary, initiating requests to compel action on your spouse’s part.

Will a Divorce Affect My Business?

Kansas is an equitable distribution state, which requires judges to fairly divide marital assets between divorcing spouses. Even if you established your closely-held business prior to marriage, the court may consider some portion of it to be marital. This may occur when, for instance, you and your spouse jointly played a role in developing the company and enhancing its profitability.

In determining how to divide the marital property, the court examines various factors such as both spouses’ financial circumstances, their individual contributions to the marital property, and the length of the marriage. The objective is to make a fair and equitable division of all marital property. How a closely-held business will factor into this division depends on the value of the business and the value of other property subject to division, among other things.

There are several options for how to handle the disposition of your business during divorce. If you wish to retain full ownership of it, you may be able to negotiate a settlement by which the business will be distributed to you in exchange for you buying out your spouse’s interest. Another option is to pay your spouse profits for a set time period during which you continue operating the business.

If you are considering these issues before marriage, you and your fiancé might consider a prenuptial agreement setting out terms for how a closely-held business will be treated in the event of divorce.

How Do I Modify a Court Order?

Certain Kansas family court orders, such as alimony (spousal maintenance payments), child support, and child custody, may be modified in some cases. As a general rule, a substantial change in circumstances must have occurred since the prior court order was entered. If you can convince the court that a significant change has taken place that warrants modification, you may be able to change the order.

There are two routes to approach modification. First, you can discuss the proposed change with your ex and determine whether they will consent to modifying the order. If they agree, you would still need to file a motion with the court to have the judge formally modify the previous order, but the process can be simplified. A judge is most likely to approve a change that is agreed by both parties, although the judge will still need to ensure the order is consistent with statutory requirements; for example, the court must always consider the best interests of a child when ordering child support or child custody.

If your ex will not agree to your proposed modification, then you will need to file a motion to modify and ask the court for a hearing. The judge will then conduct a hearing during which both parties may submit evidence and arguments for or against the desired changes. At the conclusion of this hearing, the judge will need to decide whether the evidence demonstrates a sufficient change in circumstances and which terms to include in the new order.

Whether you are proposing or objecting to a modification, our firm is ready to help.

What Kind of Adoption Cases Do You Take?

Adoption is a wonderful way to provide love and support to a child in need, and our firm is here to walk you through each step of the legal process to finalize your adoption. We handle adoptions for both single individuals and married couples, including LGBTQIA+ adoptions, grandparent adoptions, and more. We most commonly assist with step-parent adoptions and kinship adoptions.

Step-parent adoptions: When someone marries another person who already has children, the step-parent may wish to formally adopt the step-child. However, you must address additional issues involving the child’s other biological parent, either by way of consent or termination of their parental rights.

Kinship adoptions: This is one way of describing adoptions by family members other than the child’s parents, such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Also known as a relative adoption, a kinship adoption may be desirable when a party wants to keep a child within the family but the birth parents are incapable of providing suitable care.

We also help clients who are seeking to secure (or terminate) guardianship.

If My Spouse Wants to Divorce But I Do Not, Can I Stop It?

Generally, if one spouse has filed for divorce, the other spouse cannot prevent the divorce from being granted. Kansas recognizes three grounds for separation: (1) incompatibility, (2) failure to perform a marital duty, and (3) incompatibility by reason of illness or mental incapacity. The most common ground for divorce is incompatibility because it does not require any proof of fault. Instead, the party asking for the divorce must simply believe that the parties are incompatible. Under these grounds, if one person wants a divorce, it is very unlikely that the other person will be able to prevent that divorce from being granted.

What Is a Legal Separation?

Separate maintenance, commonly known as a legal separation, can be granted on the same grounds that a divorce is granted. The process is similar, but the end outcome is different. The parties are not actually divorced, so they may not legally remarry. Parties may choose this option if there is a need for one party to stay on the other’s health insurance or other similar circumstances. Joseph, Hollander & Craft’s family law attorneys in Overland Park can advise if this is an appropriate option based on your individual circumstances.

Do You Have an Overland Park Family Law Attorney Near Me?

Regardless of your family law matter, you have a trusted advocate with Joseph, Hollander & Craft. Our Overland Park office is located at 10104 W 105th St., at the corner of Mastin Street. We have plenty of on-site parking. We also maintain additional offices in Lawrence, Topeka, and Wichita, as well as Kansas City, MO, for your convenience. Our Overland Park family law attorneys help individuals and families in Johnson County, Leavenworth County, Wyandotte County, and throughout northeastern Kansas.