Practice Areas

DIVORCE SETTLEMENTS & LITIGATION

At Petitti PLLC, we have extensive experience in a vast area of issues that may arise during a matrimonial action. These include the more prominent issues in a divorce, such as custody, visitation, child support, spousal maintenance and distribution of assets, but also include more complex issues such as domestic violence, annulments, relocation of children, high-net-worth cases and valuation of business interests.

While many have heard a horror story (or two) about someone who went through a divorce or custody trial, most divorces are settled by an agreement of the parties.

This being said, settlement is not always possible. Sometimes the other side has bad intentions or is so unreasonable that an agreement cannot be reached. In other instances, you and your spouse may find yourselves so entrenched in your respective positions that you cannot agree on a solution and, despite the downsides to trial, instead decide to put the issue to a Judge.

As no attorney can foresee which path any legal proceeding will take from inception, we are careful to strategize and prepare your case every step of the way so that if we do need to conduct a trial, we are ready.

While we will never stop trying to find solutions to your dispute, if your case requires a trial, we will provide skilled, experienced and efficient advocacy.

PRENUPTIAL, SEPARATION & POSTNUPTIAL AGREEMENTS

A prenuptial agreement is a voluntary contract entered into before marriage.

One of the benefits of entering a prenuptial agreement is that it compels a couple to discuss their finances, and feelings towards money, in advance of marriage.

While this point may seem obvious, many couples do not discuss these issues until they are married, only to find their attitudes about money become a sore source of tension (which is a common theme of unhappy marriages during a divorce).

While entering a prenuptial agreement certainly cannot guarantee alignment on finances during your marriage, it can provide limitations or waivers of one or both parties’ right to seek spousal maintenance and can also seek to protect property and assets of one or both parties. This may include property one party owned prior to the marriage or would otherwise be considered the separate property of that party. It may also include deviations from the law with regard to distribution of property and assets acquired during a marriage. The goal of many entering a prenuptial agreement is to avoid extensive litigation in the event of a divorce. While a prenuptial agreement may not seem the most romantic proposition, the intention often comes from a practical place.

We also handle postnuptial agreements, a voluntary agreement entered into by two spouses after marriage, and separation agreements, a voluntary agreement entered into by two spouses that wish to separate, but who do not yet wish to proceed to a divorce.

ENFORCEMENT OR MODIFICATION PROCEEDINGS

The litigation process does not necessarily permanently end when your initial divorce or family court proceeding concludes. This is especially true when children are involved.

Circumstances can change such that requests to modify past orders of a Court may become appropriate. For example, one party feels visitation or child support should be increased or decreased.

In other instances, one party may have failed to comply with their obligations under an agreement or final order or may be infringing upon rights of the other party as set forth in an agreement or final order. By example, a party has stopped paying child support or has started to deprive the other of clear custodial or visitation rights.

In these situations, a proceeding may be brought back to a court who will address allegations that one party has failed to comply or will decide if the prior order should be changed in any fashion.

FAMILY COURT ACTIONS

We have extensive experience handling and litigating various Family Court actions, including but not limited to proceedings involving child custody, visitation, and support, in addition to relocation, paternity, family offense and/or orders of protection and grandparent custody and/or visitation.