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94 Search Results for "Family Court"

July 23, 2020

The West Virginia Family Court Restraining Order Statute – Chap. 51-2A-2a

Burton Hunter, co-author of the “WV Family Law Restraining Order Statute” with fellow WV lawyer and friend, Thomas O’Neill, WV Code 51-2A-2a, reports on the creation, effect, and method associated with obtaining one of these critically important orders. These orders prevent domestic violence because they can be entered before the behavior rises to the level of domestic violence. There are no statistics on how many orders have issued, many thousan...

June 25, 2018

Tying It All Together: Mediation, Unbundling, Collaboration, and a New Paradigm

...adversarial “attitudes are not easy to change. With something like 70% of family court litigants coming to court unrepresented, and with our country reeling from “accelerating change”, change will come regardless of these attitudes. The question is can well-intentioned, thoughtful, and intelligent lawyers and judges and legislators help guide these changes in a positive direction? I think we can and intend to keep trying. I recommend we revise th...

October 5, 2011

Divorce 101 Handout (October 5, 2011)

...ed affidavit is compelling, and the risk of irreparable harm apparent, the family court may grant some relief without a hearing. Examples are an order prohibiting taking the child out of state, restraining order, or even temporary custody. More often, the court will deny the immediate relief and set an emergency hearing; and, b. A motion for expedited relief, where the party gets no immediate relief but asks for an early hearing, which most courts...

June 28, 2015

WV FAMILIES DODGE A METAPHORICAL BULLET

...s would have soared because it is the only tool the Supreme Court gave the Family Courts. This is an instant where the legislature was much wiser and pragmatic than our Court. And, it is an example that sometimes the people “in the trenches” have better insight than the ones looking down from a lofty perch. The result? Now family courts may, on motion of a party, on its own motion, and when there is an agreement of parties, even in a domestic viol...

March 15, 2014

FAQ

...e the true winners are your children. Burton Hunter is a trained civil and family court mediator, and he has represented hundreds of people in successful mediations. Family Law Custody and How It Has Evolved “Custody” is a term that has evolved over the years. At one time it meant virtual ownership of a child; in fact, the husband nearly owned the wife too! For many decades, however, there was a presumption that a young child should reside with it...

September 24, 2015

Suggestions for Operating and Marketing A Small Firm Efficiently and on a Budget

...trict contact between parties”, just as our Supreme Court was emasculating Family Courts from restraining all bad behavior except domestic violence. It has attracted very little attention, but I think it gives Courts an essential tool to moderate behavior that hurts parties, families, and children. It passed on the very day that the Supreme Court was taking to task small firm lawyer Jerry Blair of Clarksburg. I agreed with Mr. Blair. The Court did...

February 23, 2021

A Pending WV Family Law Catastrophe

...ht suicides and four homicides that touched my practice, and many threats. Family courts and Family Court litigators and Family Court litigants are being crushed by the drug crisis and the pandemic. Good lawyers are “dropping like flies”. One solace is the option of family law mediation, where parents can negotiate parenting plans and property settlement agreements based on the concept of “best interests of the child”. I represent an equal number...

January 27, 2020

Mediation: Slipping Away?

...aking on more parenting duties. I am told that there is a large faction of family court judges, probably from ignorance, or because they want to “maintain control”, who don’t believe much in mediation. They may not have mediation as a tradition in their jurisdiction or not enough good mediators. I have written on the history of the development of family court mediation. Mediation in WV is far from perfect, as some of the best mediators simply can’...

October 1, 2021

Child Custody in WV: an Update of “The Maze”

...ce cases and juvenile cases begin in Magistrate Court but are heard by the Family Court and Circuit Court respectively. Matters pertaining to guardianship of children are largely in Circuit Court, but can be sent to family court, and may be heard by a commissioner. These are often “Grandparents Petitions”. The child in such cases may also have a guardian ad litem. There is a “Grandparents Visitation” statute. Such cases are heard by Family Court....

January 7, 2013

The Education of the Perfect Paralegal

...to know the rather complex rules that determine procedures for practice in family court. d. Appellate Rules. We appeal cases, from family court, to circuit court, and to the WV Supreme Court of Appeals. Magistrate Appeals also go to the Circuit court. Missing a deadline by a day can be fatal. Paralegals must understand the sources of law in WV: a. Until 1863, the law in Buckhannon was the same as the law in Richmond. They were both in Virginia! b....