Practice Areas

Divorce
The divorce process can be an overwhelming unknown to most people. In addition to the pain and emotions that are usually associated with this process, parties divorcing must decide how best care for and support their children, and how to go about distributing the assets as well as liabilities that were accumulated during the marriage.  At Menar and Menar, our attorneys have extensive knowledge and experience with every part of the divorce process, from its inception to issues arising after a Judgment of Divorce, and are able to aggressively and competently represent our clients’ interests, while always being honest and making clients aware of the perceived strengths and weaknesses of each case.

Spousal Support
Spousal support, also known as alimony, is one of the many issues that may be involved in any divorce action. Our attorneys are well versed with the law and trends involving the issue of spousal support, allowing them provide effective and competent representation to clients on both sides of the issue.

Child Support
When there are children involved, either in a divorce action as well as in matters involving unmarried parents, child support, the support each parent is responsible for the child(ren), is an issue that must be resolved.  Our attorneys are well trained in the determining factors and calculation of child support, and are able to provide our clients with knowledgeable representation for both, parents seeking as well as parents responsible for paying child support.

Child Custody
When the custody of a child is in dispute, our attorneys are well experienced and versed with the many factors a Court must consider in determining this issue and are able to represent our clients by concentrating and highlighting the factors that best strengthens their position, while remaining true to the best interest of the child.

Domestic Violence
The Domestic Violence Statute provides an important and much needed protection to victims of domestic violence. At the same time, it creates the need for the rights of those accused of domestic violence be protected. Our attorneys have extensive experience in protecting the rights of clients in both sides of the domestic violence issue, and are able to provide effective and efficient representation to best do so.

Family Law
Family law encompasses and includes all issues involving family relations, from divorce, to support actions, to domestic violence, to custody determinations. Our attorneys are experienced and knowledgeable in each and every area of Family Law and are able to provide our clients with effective and aggressive representation to safeguard and champion our client’s interests. At the same time, our experience and knowledge have enables us to gauge the strength and weaknesses of each client’s case, thus, allowing us to provide our clients with a realistic assessment of their case.

Equitable Distribution
Equitable distribution is the process by which the assets and liabilities acquired during the marriage are divided at the time of the desolution of the marriage. Not all property acquired during the marriage is subject to distribution, and although the marriage ends when the Judgment of Divorce is entered, for purposes of equitable distribution, the marriage ends upon the filing of the Complaint for Divorce.

Pre-Nuptial Agreements
Pre-Nuptial Agreements are an increasingly popular device by which spouses of high net worth seek to protect their assets prior to marriage, by delinating the responsibilities and liabilities of each should the marriage fail.

Post-Judgment Issues
Often, the Judgment of Divorce does not resolve any and all issues that a divorced couple might have. There are sometimes issues that arise after the Judgment or issues that were not fully resolved due to a lack of compliance in the obligations imposed by the Judgment or agreed upon by the parties. These issues, which might range from support obligations, to distribution of assets/liabilities, to parenting time or custody, fall under the umbrella of Post-Judgment issues in which our attorneys have an extensive experience enabling them to provide our clients with effective and aggressive representation as to each and every issue.

Last Will and Testament
Through a Last Will and Testament, a person directs how he or she wishes his or her assets to be distributed upon their death. The Will is a legal document which only comes into effect upon a person’s death, and in which the Testator directs how his or her property will be distributed, thus, given the Testator the control of determining who will inherit and what.  Another very important benefit of a Last Will and Testament, is that it directs who will manage/handle property that is to be inherited by a minor thru the Will, thus, the Testator gains the ability to designate someone of trust who will assume this role. Equally important for parents of minor children, through the Will, the parent may designate who he or she wishes to have custody of their minor child in the event of their death while the children are still minors and the other parent is unable or unavailable to assume/retain custody.

Living Will
Through a Living Will, also known as a Health Care Directive, a person is able provide instructions as to his or her medical care in advance, to be followed in the event the person is unable to make those decisions at a later time. In addition, in a Living Will, the person may designate a person of trust to make decisions regarding his or her medical care and/or treatment, once the person is unable to make the same.

Estate Planning
Upon a person’s death, there are at least two types of taxes that come into play as a result of this death, Inheritance and Estate tax. Estate Planning seeks to minimize the exposure some of a person’s estate to the estate tax, which is determined by the size of the wealth upon death.  At Menar and Menar, we are experience in working with our client to determine whether Estate Planning is appropriate and in finding different options that best suit our client’s needs as well as their preferences.

Trusts
Trusts is a legal entity into which the person creating the Trust, known as the Settlor or Grantor, transfer title of property, to be managed by a person of a Trustee for the benefit of a beneficiary. There is a wide range of Trusts for a wide range of purposes, from Irrevocable to Revocable, and those in which the Grantor retains control of the assets and those in which the Grantor renounces control of the assets. Two important situations in which Trusts are used are for Estate Planning purposes, thus in an effort to minimize Estate tax liability, for Probate avoidance purposes, or to provide for a disabled child/family member while protecting the government benefits.

Probate/Estate Administration
Upon a person’s death, his or her Last Will and Testament must be filed with the Court to begin the process of distributing his or her assets in accordance with the Last Will and Testament, that process is called Probate, while Estate Administration is the process of settling the debts for which the responsible and distributing the assets as determined by the person’s Last Will and Testament or how directed by intestacy laws.

Powers of Attorney
A Power of Attorney is a legal document by which a person grants another the authority to act on his or her behalf. A Power of Attorney might be general, thus, for any and all purposes, or Limited, for one specific purpose and/or transaction.

Wills Contests Litigation
Upon a person’s passing and submission of the Last Will and Testament, there sometimes arises the need to challenge or defend said Will in Court. At Menar and Menar, we are experienced in helping our client in determining if such a challenge is warranted or in finding strategies in defending the same.

Guardianship
Guardianship is the mechanism by which a person assumes legal authority to act on behalf of another, a ward, and to care for the ward’s personal and property interests. Common examples of a Guardianship is a parent assuming legal authority over an adult-aged child, and of a child assuming legal authority over an elderly parent.