Divorce Law Firm in Hawaii
Our Approach to Family Law Combines Experience with a Family Focus
At the Law Practice of Jackie Kong, our attorneys help clients one-on-one through what can be a difficult time. Our priority is to provide skilled legal counsel with understanding and compassion. We favor a settlement-oriented approach that tends to be kinder, less adversarial, and an alternative to courtroom litigation and the negativity that can arise.
Our divorce lawyers in Hawaii appreciates the complexity of family law practice. In the context of one case, a divorce attorney can be dealing with issues of parenting, time-sharing plans that take into account children’s developmental stages, personality disorders in parents, valuation of business entities, valuation of real properties, determination of business owners’ and professionals’ incomes, and division of various types of retirement benefits. No matter how complex or challenging your case may be, our attorneys are highly experienced advocates and skilled negotiators and litigators.
Advantages of a Settlement-Oriented Approach
From initial consultation to final resolution, our law firm’s approach to cases is settlement-oriented. If, in fact, you feel that your issues can be settled out of court from the very beginning, our attorneys encourage you to address the matters at issue in a constructive, non-confrontational way. We feel that by keeping the lines of communication open and civil, and focusing on cooperation between all parties involved, we can resolve your case quickly and cost-effectively. In most cases, we may never need to go to court.
Our firm’s settlement-oriented approach is uniquely child-focused. Our child custody attorneys in Hawaii work with you to negotiate agreements with your former spouse that promote the best interests of the child. This approach has the added benefit of reducing emotional distress to both the children and their parents.
When our attorneys are hired to handle a case, we send documents to the unrepresented party in the hopes that this will cause them to get their own attorney. If the other party is represented, our Hawaii divorce law firm immediately begins to gather the documents and information we need to begin settlement negotiations. Our goal is to achieve a swift settlement that addresses your immediate concerns — specifically, what will happen to you, your children, your assets, your debts, your income, and your expenses.
To prepare for negotiations, our divorce attorneys in Hawaii enlist your participation in gathering information and drafting documents. We put together a comprehensive package of your financial records, including financial institution documents, payroll documents, and more. We then contact the other party’s attorney and offer mutually to exchange these documents. This approach avoids the time delays and expenses related to formal discovery, such as the costs associated with subpoenaing records, production of documents, answers to interrogatories, and oral depositions.
Finally, when settlement negotiations begin, our law firm’s goal is to work with the other party’s attorney to negotiate an equitable settlement. We are in frequent telephone communication with our clients. Sometimes a court appearance such as a hearing on temporary relief issues is necessary to get the case into settlement mode. Ideally, once the temporary hearing is concluded, the case settles without the necessity of a final trial, but this does not always happen.
You should know that if you choose not to settle and to take your case to court, you will be subject to the judge’s decision and lose all control of your future. Our skilled negotiators proceed to courtroom trial only when it is absolutely necessary.
Our Fees
Our rates range from $230 to $280 an hour for attorneys, and $80 an hour for paralegals. We also charge you for out-of-pocket costs like messenger delivery, filing fees, process server, and court reporter fees. When clients come to our law firm for an initial consultation, we charge our standard hourly rate because we are able to receive background information and review completed financial statements brought in by prospective clients, and advise prospective clients as to the legal parameters of how the court might rule on their issues, as well as recommend a game plan for resolving their cases.
