Geographical Area
Geographically speaking, my main practice areas are in the following counties: Lancaster, York, Seward and Saunders. I occasionally handle cases in Cass, Otoe, Saline, Johnson, Butler and Gage counties, and I am open to traveling to most other counties in Nebraska, but I charge for my time and mileage, so traveling more than a couple of hours to court can often be cost prohibitive for the client. Now that we can appear by Zoom, that does reduce the travel. I do not handle cases in Douglas or Sarpy counties. I find that attorneys from Douglas and Sarpy County are more effective at handling cases in those counties.
Divorce and Separation
The majority of my practice focuses on handling divorces (dissolution of marriage cases). In its very simplest form, this is simply dissolving the marriage so parties are free to remarry and so they can limit their obligations to each other. Some of the divorces I handle are high asset cases and farm divorces, where the focus is primarily on dividing the debts and assets. Some of these cases are relatively low income and low asset cases, where the parties are primarily concerned with custody and parenting time issues. Sometimes both custody issues and financial are very important to the parties. Every divorce is unique. In a divorce, we also frequently tackle child support and spousal support. If there are children involved, child support must be resolved, but not all cases involve spousal support issues. Attorney fees are another issue in divorce cases. We usually ask for it in the Complaint, but it is not always something we fight about until the end. You can have a former or maiden name restored in a divorce as well, but that’s not usually a fighting issue, so to speak.
Separation is similar to divorce, and the court has authority to tackle most of the things that are handled in a divorce, but the court does not dissolve the marriage. The court orders you to live apart and it addresses your financial obligations towards each other. If you have minor children, the court can order that you follow a specific parenting plan. If you file the case as a separation case, you can later amend it to be a dissolution of marriage case. Most of the time, they are later amended to be dissolution of marriage cases.
Paternity
If you have children together and you were not married, then your custody case will be brought as a paternity case. Sometimes when a mother receives state benefits, including Medicaid, the State of Nebraska will file a case on behalf of the minor child against the father (sometimes the mother, but usually the father) to establish child support. The State does not address custody issues, only support. If you’re the mother, you can intervene as a party in the case to address the custody issues. If you’re the dad, you can add the mother as a third-party defendant to the case to address the custody issues. If you want to do that, come see me sooner rather than later. It is much easier to do that within the first thirty days of the time you are served with the Complaint.
Child Custody
These cases usually arise in the context of a divorce or paternity action. Sometimes they are brought as a modification action. Often, a support order will have been entered in a case brought by the State, but no one addressed custody, and we will have to file a modification case years later to establish custody and/or parenting time.
Child Support
These cases can be part of paternity or divorce cases. They can be private cases, or cases in which the State of Nebraska is a party. If the State of Nebraska brings a child support case against you, and you do not want custody or court-ordered parenting time, you may still want an attorney to review the child support calculation and ensure the State is relying on correct information. Most of the time, at least in Lancaster County, the State’s attorneys do a good job, and they have direct access to information that I cannot even get as a private attorney. They have a high case load but are still efficient.
Modifications
These are cases where there is already an existing order, but one or both parties need to change something. For example, if the parties divorce in 2022, and the mother was granted full custody, but the parties agreed in 2024 that the oldest child could go live with dad in another state, and they now want to modify the Order to reflect the agreement, this is a modification case. In order to bring a modification, there has to be a material change in circumstances. The Nebraska Child Support guidelines discuss what a material change of circumstances looks like in the context of child support. In the context of custody, it needs to be something so significant that had the court known about it at the time of the original order, the court would have ruled differently. This isn’t impossible to show, but neither is it easy. We don’t file these frivolously, and some jurisdictions, including Lancaster County, require the parties to attend mediation and attempt to work it out before they are even allowed to file a Complaint for Modification. I have seen Complaints for Modification dismissed when this requirement was not met. With very rare exceptions, we do not modify property issues that were decided in a divorce. Spousal support can be modified so long as there is an active order, but again, there must be a material change in circumstances.
Contempt/Enforcement Proceedings
Parties must follow the court’s orders. If a party does not, one of the most effective means to show the party that they need to follow the order is to file an Application for an Order to Show Cause (a contempt proceeding). You specify the provision of the order at issue, and the conduct (or failure) on the part of the other party that violated the order. The court issues an Order to Show Cause, which is served on the other party, which instructs the other party to show up and explain why they did not follow the court’s order. The judge will explain the party’s rights, allow them an opportunity to admit or deny the allegations, and may appoint an attorney for them. Then, there is a live, evidentiary hearing where the person accusing the other party of contempt must show by clear and convincing evidence that the other party is in contempt. If the other party is found in contempt, the court will usually issue a purge plan requiring compliance with the court’s order for a period of time if the party wishes to avoid going to jail.
Sometimes, rather than holding the party in contempt, it is easier just to garnish the party’s wages or accounts if it is a monetary issue. I do this for my family law clients, but I do not do collection work, or collection defense, as a stand-alone practice. (I used to do it for insurance companies before specializing in family law.)
Child support enforcement is a little different. While I can do that – either as a contempt or a garnishment case – it’s best to start by asking the State for help, if the State will do it. This is because the State has tools I do not have. The State can suspend driver’s licenses (and other licenses) and intercept tax returns, which I cannot do as a private attorney. The State can also garnish wages and hold a person in contempt, just like I can. The State’s attorneys do not charge you attorney fees like private attorneys do. Technically, they are not entirely free, because a portion of what is collected in child support goes to enforcement, but they do not directly bill the party.
Appellate Advocacy
Prior to becoming a family law attorney, I prepared many appellate court briefs. I have argued cases before the Nebraska Court of Appeals, Nebraska Supreme Court, and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Now, I generally only take these cases for my existing family law clients because the attorney who handled your underlying case will usually do a better job for you on appeal (because they are familiar with the case). However, I occasionally handle these when the prior attorney cannot or will not handle the appeal.
Amicable Divorce
If you and your spouse agree on how your parenting time, debts and assets should be divided, and alimony is not a contested issue, then I can meet with both of you to prepare the documents you need, so long as your spouse is not represented. (The ethical rules forbid me from talking directly to a represented party.) I can only represent one of you, but I can draft all of the necessary documents to get a divorce filed, settled, and done. By agreeing on the issues, your divorce can be resolved for less money, less headache, less heartache, and less emotional trauma to your family. An amicable divorce allows you to be in charge and make agreements that are in the best interest of your family and in line with Nebraska divorce law. When you participate in an amicable divorce process, the entire process is much more comfortable and satisfying than an expensive court battle.
Family Law Mediation
I provide family law mediation services in an effort to help families find resolutions to critical issues of divorce, including: child support, spousal support, property division, alimony, paternity, custody, and parenting plans. Your agreements will be drafted into legal documents. It is up to each party whether to hire an attorney or represent themself. I can also help mediate parenting plans and financial plans in paternity and modification cases.
I am not yet however, qualified to do the SADR mediation, which is necessary to mediate parenting plans when there are issues with domestic violence. That training is offered infrequently, and I will take the training as soon as it becomes available. I have not yet been able to register for the class or complete the additional requirements as of the date that I am updating my website (September of 2026).
Miscellaneous
Family law involves more than just the broad categories of cases described above, and I may take other cases such as an occasional name change or grandparents’ rights case. I rarely take grandparents’ rights cases for personal reasons. I used to do guardianships and conservatorships, but I do them so rarely now that I prefer to refer those to attorneys who practice more in county court. I do not do criminal cases, adoption cases or cases filed in juvenile court. I can refer you to attorneys who are competent in those practice areas.