Denver Divorce and Real Estate Lawyer Blog. (Vol 1.49)  December 17, 2014

By Craig Franklin Chambers Esq. 7851 S. Elati Street #204, Littleton,  CO 80120

The Littleton Lawyer.

As we approach the Holidays, I hope to have time to reflect every once and a while. As a Metro Denver attorney practicing family law, custody, divorce and real estate law in the Denver area, including Highlands Ranch, Littleton  (including Ken Caryl, The Valley and the North Ranch),  and Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson County,  I am often asked:  Why do I practice family law?

The days of a lawyer practicing all types of law is long gone. There are simply too many nuances in each field of law to allow an attorney to experiment or practice on a client. Over the past 17 years, I have narrowed my practice to family law, and, because I am also a real estate broker, to real estate law and civil litigation.

Domestic or divorce law is likely the most highly-contested  field of law. It is highly-explosive emotionally for the parties.  It is the field of law that results in the most stress. And the field most judges, if they had a choice, would gladly avoid. But some of us actually like practicing family law.

As a family law attorney, I practice all aspects of domestic  law, divorce law,  marital law, both pre-decree and post-decree. That includes child support, child custody, temporary orders and permanent orders, allocation of parental responsibilities, grandparent's rights, order modification, and contempt citations.

Family or Domestic law is governed by a handful of statutes and their relevant case law.  Domestic cases are equitable proceedings and the over-whelming public policy is to encourage parenting time and to act in the "Best Interest of the Child."

What are the best interests of the child? Not necessarily what the parents want. A parent may -- and often does -- act selfishly, hurtfully, and irrationally. What's best for the child is basically what the judge decides it is, based on factors set forth in the statute.  For this reason,  family law cases are fact intensive, and the cases really depend a lot on perceptions and appearances and how you present your set of facts to the Court.

I like practicing family law because I have four children of my own, and I understand the practical problems of parenting and the effects of a high conflict divorce can have on the parties and on the children. More than other types of cases, the results in a domestic case depend not on the law but on the court's discretion in applying the law to the facts of the case, and the personal perspective and experience of the particular judge.

In sum, I like practicing family because I believe I can make a difference in the outcome, and I find that possibility personally invaluable.