James Ferrell honored in Memphis Magazine as a “Five Star Attorney”
June 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
We are pleased to announce that our firms principal attorney, James Ferrell, has been selected as a Five Star: Best in Client Satisfaction Wealth Manager in the Attorney Section.
This is a great honor for the firm and for Mr. Ferrell and he would like to thank all of his clients and Memphis Magazine for this great honor.
The full list of selected advisors will be published in an upcoming fall issue of Memphis Magazine. Look for Mr. Ferrell’s listings under the Lawyer/Attorney section.
James Ferrell featured in the Memphis Daily News
April 29, 2008 | 2 Comments
Just last week I was interviewed and featured in the Memphis Daily News. The article addressed how we are changing the way legal fees are handled in the Memphis community by family, estate and probate lawyers.
At our firm we handle almost all of our cases on a fixed fee basis. This is quite different than most other attorneys here in the Memphis area. The Daily News found this interesting and decided to feature us in their April 17th edition. If you are a subscriber to the Daily News you can go to their website here to read the feature.
Memphis Divorce - The Tennesse
January 23, 2008 | 1 Comment
Memphis Divorce Lawyers - The Tennessee Parenting Plan
When a divorcing couple in Tennessee have children they must submit a parenting plan. The parenting plan is a formal document that the couple creates stating all the agreements concerning custody, visitation, and decision making.
Here are some of the more common items that are found in a Tennessee Parenting Plan.
- Residential Schedule
When going through your Memphis divorce with children one of the most important parts of your Tennessee Parenting Plan will be the residential schedule. The residential schedule details who the children will live with during the school year, vacations, holidays and special occasions. It also states if there are any limitations when visiting with a parent. The Tennessee Parenting Plan can award holidays, for example Halloween, to the father every even year and to the mother every odd year. But the parents can agree that there may be some holidays that will be given to one parent every year. Usually a plan will define what time a holiday begins and what time it ends. It is important to have a detailed plan to prevent problems with interpretation later.
- Decision Making
The next step in a plan is to assign decision making between the parents. Major decisions such as which school to attend or what religion the child will be raised as can be assigned to one parent or jointly. However, day-to-day decision making is generally given to the parent that the child is residing with at the time the decision needs to be made. If certain decisions are particularly important to a parent, this is the time to make that known and reach an agreement.
- Child Support
Of particular concern to most parents is child support. This area of the Tennessee Parenting Plan states which parent will pay child support and in what amount. In Memphis Child support is calculated using state guidelines which are based on the income shares model. This section of the parenting plan will also explain which parent is responsible for maintaining health insurance on the child. And if a parent is required to have life insurance during the child’s minority, it will also be listed here.
- Dispute Resolution
A provision discussing dispute resolution is generally included in a parenting plan. Many plans provide for disputes between the parties to go through a mediator before going back to court. This provision should also state who is responsible for costs of mediation or arbitration.
This is not a complete list of all the concerns that are covered in the Tennessee Parenting Plan, but rather a list of the most commonly found sections. If you have detailed questions concerning your Memphis divorce and Tennessee Parenting Plan please contact a competent Memphis Family Attorney or Memphis Divorce Attorney, or you may call the office of the Ferrell Law Firm at 901-754-1340.
5 Ways Children of Divorce Suffer
December 18, 2007 | Leave a Comment
While not specific to either Memphis family law or Mississippi family law, I recently came across a post on the Oklahoma Family Law Blog, which is written by family lawyer Dan Nunely, that brought up several points that all parents in Memphis and the surrounding areas should consider if they are going through a divorce.
The blog referenced an article written by Trish Berg that discussed the losses that children suffer when divorce occurs. The following is her list of the five main losses children experience during divorce:
1. Loss of Dad - When parents divorce, typically the dad leaves the home, and may not be present much in the lives of the children. This causes an emotional vacuum for the children, and they may feel rejected, alone, and unloved, no matter how much the single parent loves them.
2. Loss of Money - When dad leaves, so does a lot of the money. Economic resource are, at best, cut in half, at worst, single parent families live in poverty.
3. Loss of Security - Kids of divorce often move to a new, smaller home, in a new town, with a new school. They now have to visit their dad. If mom and dad then begin dating, an entirely new stress is added to their lives. Their sense of stability and security is shaken as their world has forever changed.
4. Loss of Harmony - Many kids whose parents divorce feel caught in the middle. The fighting may have stopped, but now Mom may talk negatively about dad, and dad may gripe about mom, all in front of the kids. Parents may play games with visitation, and hold the children as emotional ransom. This loss of harmony causes tremendous chaos and stress for them.
5. Loss of Simplicity - Life for children of divorce can get very complicated. They have to schedule everything they do, and remember what weekends they are visiting dad so they don’t play in a soccer league with games then. They have to split heir holiday time - Christmas Eve with dad, Christmas morning with mom. And when life events hit, they have to worry about mom and dad being in the same place. Who will come to my eighth grade graduation? Will they see each other? Will they fight? Family life is now complex and chaotic, and that will last for the rest of their lives.
What can you do to help your children? Explain to them the process that you are going through. Make sure that they understand that nothing they haven’t done anything to cause the divorce. Never argue in front of them or use them as pawns between your spouse. And try to keep things as constant and familiar as you can. The more things remain the same the more secure your children will feel.
