Argentina Divorce and Family Law Attorneys

Family Law, Matrimonial Law, And Divorce Attorney in Argentina
The title of this practice area reflects three commonly used terms with the same meaning – the end of a marriage. We are skilled in working with people who are going through one of the most difficult and stressful periods of their lives. Not only sensitive to clients’ needs, our lawyers are effective in achieving results for our clients through a variety of techniques.

Litigation In Trial Courts
We have lawyers that are particularly skilled in the preparation and prosecution to trial of complex financial and custody matters. Although we do not promote litigation for litigation’s sake, trial skill is an important talent to have if efforts at settlement fail. In many instances our clients achieve favorable settlements because the opposition knows of our trial court abilities.

Negotiated Settlements
The best result in any family law matter is a negotiated settlement. Divorce is an adversarial proceeding where often the parties must deal with each other for many years following the dissolution of their marriage, especially if they have children. A well done negotiated settlement provides a foundation for the parties to move forward and interact in a mutually respectful manner. We are experienced and skilled in achieving a reasonable negotiated settlement while dealing with the emotions of the parties with understanding as they resolve issues involving children, complex property division, and support.

Marital Settlement Agreements And Separation Agreements
Marital Settlement Agreements are agreements incident to a dissolving of the marriage. A Separation Agreement is an agreement between parties who remain married but are no longer going to live together and who want to define their legal obligations and responsibilities to each other and to their children. These agreements provide the roadmap for the parties’ financial future and their relationship with their children. They must be thoroughly and carefully done by lawyers with experience in negotiating and drafting such agreements.

Collaborative Law
Can serious marital conflict be resolved without the time and expense of litigation? Yes—divorce need not be a battleground. The end of a marriage or resolution of family conflict is painful enough. Collaborative law offers parties a new alternative to resolve disputes or the end of a marriage with privacy and respect and with minimal court involvement, while taking into account the highest priorities of their entire family. A team of specially trained interdisciplinary professionals guide and support parties in a problem solving process, not as adversaries.

Mediation
Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution. We have trained lawyer mediators as well as former judges in the firm who act as a neutral to aid parties and their attorneys in settling their disputes without the need for court intervention. Mediation saves the parties the cost of litigation as well as the time delays that the formal court process usually causes. The firm’s lawyers not only act as mediators, but also represent parties in mediations.

Custody And Visitation
Because children are the most precious product of a marriage, custody and visitation are two of the most emotionally draining issues that arise when marriages or other relationships fail. Problems also arise when one party wishes to move to another state with a child. There are instances, called “Hague Convention” cases, when a child is taken out of Argentina or brought into Argentina by a parent over the objection of the other parent. We are well experienced and skillful in dealing with all of these very difficult types of issues.

Property Division
Dividing property in a divorce is more complex than it may seem. First, careful study and research is necessary to be sure that all property is accounted for. Second, the property needs to be categorized as either marital or non-marital. Finally, the property must be valued and then divided. Dividing property does not necessarily mean an equal division. Argentina law provides a number of criteria for people and courts to consider to determine what division of property is equitable. We regularly deal with complex financial cases and are well trained to find, categorize, value and achieve satisfactory divisions of the property for clients.

Maintenance / Alimony
Maintenance is a payment that one spouse makes for the support of the other after the marriage ends. Where one spouse is not self-supporting after a dissolution of marriage while the other spouse is both self-supporting and able to contribute to the other spouse’s support, maintenance is generally ordered. The amount and duration of maintenance vary depending on a number of criteria provided for by statute. Argentina law provides no formula by which to calculate the right amount for maintenance. We have both prosecuted and defended many cases in which maintenance is a key issue. They are well trained and experienced in developing and presenting evidence for trial or settlement negotiations that take into account the parties’ needs and ability to pay, as well as the tax impact of maintenance payments.

Child Support
Child support is usually a monthly payment made to the parent with whom children under 18 primarily reside and is intended for their support and maintenance. Argentina law provides guidelines for determining a percentage of income that one parent should pay for child support to the parent with whom the child primarily resides. However, courts or parties—with court approval—may set child support above or below the guidelines considering a variety of factors. We have handled countless matters involving child support and are well-experienced not only in determining guideline computations as well as the actual needs of the child and the party’s actual ability to pay, but also in presenting evidence supporting a variance from the statutory guidelines.

Parentage / Paternity Cases
In our society many children are born to couples living together without the benefit of marriage, or to single women who have sexual intercourse during a dating relationship and who later claim that their child resulted from those sexual relations. In some cases, the sexual partner claims to be the father of the child. In all these cases, the relationship has produced a child needing support. We are experienced in determining the legitimacy of parentage claims and, if the claims are legitimate, in prosecuting or defending the determination of reasonable child support. Although the amount of child support is defined by statute, which specifies guideline percentages based on the non-custodial parent’s income, the parties and the court may vary from the guidelines if there is a proper basis to do so. We have both settled and tried many child support cases and know how to achieve a reasonable resolution of that issue for clients.

Domestic Violence And Orders Of Protection
Argentina has a Domestic Violence Act that seeks to prevent repeated physical abuse and harassment among family and household members These are emergency matters that need immediate attention and a good understanding of the system to achieve needed protection. Other cases involve a party who is wrongly accused of abuse and harassment and who needs representation to defend against a false claim. Our lawyers are experienced in litigating domestic violence matters and resolving them favorably for our clients.

Post Divorce Disputes
Post divorce disputes, commonly referred to as post-judgment or post-decree matters, include enforcement of divorce judgments and orders, as well as modifications of those judgments. Modifications of support may become necessary if a party’s income changes or the needs of the other party or the children increase. Other changes in circumstance that are addressed in post-judgment litigation are those situations in which a parent desires to change visitation or custody or to move with a child to another state. Kier Joffe attorneys are experienced and effective in dealing with post-divorce disputes.

Appeals
No matter how thorough the trial preparation and how skilled the Kier Joffe attorneys, at times a party in a high stakes case is dissatisfied with the result and wants to appeal. Trial judges are not perfect and can make mistakes. Kier Joffe has attorneys whose primary focus on a daily basis is handling the prosecution and defense of appeals, not only in cases for which the firm was trial counsel, but also in cases brought to us that have been tried by lawyers outside our firm. Our appellate lawyers are well versed in the Court’s operations as well as in developing creative and convincing legal arguments that maximize the client’s chances for a favorable result in the appeal.