Santa Rosa Family Law Attorney
Family Law Attorneys In Santa Rosa, CA
Serving All of Sonoma County
We represent clients in Sonoma County and the surrounding area. We pride ourselves in our exceptional negotiating skills and strive to keep our clients cost down, but we are not afraid to litigate when necessary. If your case goes to trial, rest assured, you are in good hands; our attorneys are excellent litigators with a diverse background in law.
Why Choose Us?
There isn’t another type of legal matter that is more important or personal than a family law situation. No matter the type of family matter you’re facing, your family’s well-being is understandably your first priority. We realize that nothing is more important, that there is a sacred nature to such an ordeal. Because of this, when you reach out to a Santa Rosa Divorce Lawyer at Vandyk Law, PC, you will be seeking the most advantageous outcome, with your family’s welfare as the underlying motivator.
The types of Family Law that the attorneys at Vandyk Law handle:
- Starting a Dissolution of Marriage or Registered Domestic Partnership
- Annulments
- Establishing Parentage, Adoption
- Determining Child Custody and Visitation
- Establishing or Enforcing Child and Spousal Support
- Dealing with Domestic Violence or Elder Abuse Issues
In Family Law Matters, Experience Really Does Count
Many family law attorneys look at your family’s legal needs as a money-making opportunity and will take the slow approach - unnecessarily delaying the case and causing tensions between the involved parties. This is all done in the hopes that there will be more litigation and higher attorney fees.
The attorneys at Vandyk Law, PC understand that terminating a marriage or getting an annulment can be one of life's toughest decisions, and does not come without stress. The custody and spousal issues that a divorce involves have the ability to completely change the trajectory of a one's life. These are matters that are not to be manipulated and should be handled with the utmost compassion and timeliness.
Our attorneys realize that what happens during these legal processes will dramatically affect the rest of a person’s life. And we always advocate for our clients with these high stakes in mind. We tirelessly work to achieve the best outcome for our clients in the most efficient amount of time possible.
Our creative and accomplished negotiation skills will be used to fiercely advocate on our client’s behalf. We work with the other side as if we’re fighting for our own quality of life. There are a few methods of negotiation at your disposal when facing a family law matter:
- Informal Negotiation includes the exchange of letters or other communications between each party’s lawyers. Actual meetings where both clients and their attorneys attend, called 4-way Meetings, are also an option.
- Mediation involves a neutral or impartial mediator who specializes in hearing both sides of an argument and coming to an amicable conclusion. The attorneys for each side will help explain the legal ramifications that are pertinent and will advise their clients throughout the process. It’s often less time consuming and costly than litigation.
- Arbitration is where both parties acknowledge that they are opting out of the court process and looking to this form of dispute resolution to conclude their case. A binding contract is signed where both parties agree to accept the determination of the arbitrator. The arbitrator is a third-party mediator who acts as a Judge. The arbitrator’s decision is final and subject to a very narrow right of appeal that is set out in the initial agreement.
At Vandyk Law, PC, we will make every attempt possible to successfully settle your family law case outside of court, through mediation or another method. But we will not relent based on the need to go to court. We are well-versed and experienced in trying family law matters and will go in that direction, should it be necessary.
Carolyn Vandyk has won the esteemed “2021 Best Attorney - Divorce” as part of the local Sonoma County “Bohemian” Magazine in their “Best of the North Bay” edition.