You are getting divorced, and have children with your spouse that are under the age of 18.

You are getting divorced, and do not have children with your spouse that are under the age of 18.

You are not married to the other parent, and need to establish formal possession and access over a child.

You already have a court order about your child and one parent wants to change it.

You already have a court order about your child and one parent has violated it.

There are only one or two simple issues in your case (e.g. child support, visitation time, a possessions schedule, or the division of small assets during divorce). These are considered “standard” cases, those without any complicating or unique factors.

There are one or two substantial issues in your case (e.g. which parent the child should live with, which school they should attend, allegations of family violence, or the division of large or numerous assets). 

There are several substantial issues in your case (evasive parties, an estate of greater than 2 million dollars, parental alienation, mental health concerns, business valuation, jurisdiction issues, separate property claims, related criminal matters).

Four or more substantial issues are present in your case (evasive parties, an estate of greater than 2 million dollars, parental alienation, mental health concerns, business valuation, jurisdiction issues, separate property claims, related criminal matters).

You and the other party agree on all but one or two small issues, (e.g. child support or visitation time).You anticipate settling, and do not anticipate a full bench or jury trial. You strongly suspect that both parties can come to an agreement.

You anticipate possibly reaching an agreement in the future, but expect that a judge may need to rule on certain issues. One or two issues in your case are “essential,” and you are willing to fight for a certain outcome at trial if necessary. 

You and the opposing party are firms divided on several essential issues, and are committed to advocating for specific outcomes at trial.

You and the opposing party are divided on every relevant issue. One or both parties is vindictive and committed to exacerbating legal proceedings.