When we were kids we made agreements with friends and family with few consequences. One fall I agreed to trade my Shetland pony in exchange for my sister’s collection of miniature, ceramic Breyer horses. She started riding the pony, but I never received the Breyer horses. Although my heart was broken, there were no legal ramifications.

At some point in our lives most of us agree to help our family and friends. Examples of these agreements are parents guaranteeing their college-aged children’s student loans, an aunt co-signing for a first vehicle, friends entering into a partnership, a brother borrowing money from his sister for a down payment on a house, or neighbors swapping power tools. As adults, these agreements have legal consequences.

Agreements with family and friends usually appear to be no-lose situations and we rarely reduce them into writing. We trust the people we lend a hand to and those from whom we accept assistance. Despite that, the possibility exists that the business venture will not go as planned or bad blood will develop between siblings. The result of this is usually one party not honoring their portion of the agreement.

As an attorney, I have encountered parties who have entered into verbal agreements that did not go as planned. The individuals find themselves seeking legal advice as the last option to compel the friend or family member to honor the agreement. Although Louisiana law generally recognizes verbal agreements, they are difficult to substantiate in a court of law.

There are numerous reasons to memorialize an agreement in writing. First, by getting all parties to sign it, everyone can review the terms they are agreeing to. Secondly, by requiring a signature, both parties tend to take the agreement more seriously and honor it. Third by ensuring the agreement is in writing, there is less likelihood that one party will deny its existence. Lastly, having a written contract decreases the chances of a “he said she said” battle in court, potentially turning on the believability of the individuals testifying.

Taking the time to memorialize agreements with family members and friends will not only protect financial interests in the future, but also relationships with the people involved.

Author: Rhea Loney Rhea Loney is an attorney at Magee & Associates, Attorneys. Her office is located at 207 East Gibson St. in Covington. Rhea can be contacted at 985-893-7550 or via email at rhea@wmageelaw.com.

Yet, often people have a misunderstanding of just what mediation entails. It is when two parties use a neutral third party to resolve their differences. The process is voluntary and non-binding. So, if the parties do not agree, no one is bound to accept the other parties offer. Once parties decide to mediate, they select a mediator and a date. The parties then submit to the mediator a confidential letter setting forth their positions and what they are willing to accept or offer to settle.

Initially, during the mediation, the mediator meets with all the parties and discusses what the goals are. Then, the parties break apart and the mediator goes between both isolated parties exploring the demands and offers of each party and what evidence they have to support their positions. The mediator strives to bring the parties closer to resolution at each meeting.

Mediation can occur at different stages of a dispute. Parties can mediate their differences prior to filing a lawsuit and avoid litigation completely. After filing a lawsuit, they can suggest mediation at any point before the judge makes a final ruling, or even after a judge has ruled and an appeal is pending.

Mediation also provides non-legal benefits that a courtroom does not. For instance, the parties have more opportunity to express their grievances without the pressure of a robed judge, a witness stand, an attorney’s constant objection and difficult-to-interpret legalese.

Even if a resolution is not reached during mediation, the party is well equipped to proceed to trial after mediation preparation.
Mediation provides an avenue to get a feel for what the other party is seeking and to see what issues and facts the other party considers important. Mediation narrows the trial issues. Mediation allows the parties to participate and design their own settlement. It does require the parties to be open and to compromise. Compromise requires each party to give up something for the greater objective—resolution.

Author: Zara Zeringue Zara Zeringue is an attorney specializing in family law at Magee & Associates, Attorneys. Her office is located at 207 East Gibson St. in Covington. Zara can be contacted at 985-893-7550 or via email at zara@wmageelaw.com.

WRITTEN BY JILL WILLIE PHOTOGRAPH BY TOM BALLANTINE

Featured in September 2010, Sophisticated Woman Magazine – THREE STRONG AND INDEPENDENT WOMEN attorneys make up the “associates” in Magee & Associates. Their various ages, experiences and knowledge offer clients a full range of services, always tailored to the client’s best interest.

“From complex legal issues to a simple filing of an LLC, we offer attorneys who can meet a client’s needs. Because our rates are commensurate with experience, the client also has a bit more flexibility with regard to legal fees,” Bill Magee said. Bill has over three decades of experience and he is certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy as a Civil Litigation Specialist.

Zara Zeringue has 16 years of experience. Her practice areas include domestic/family law, personal injury and business litigation. While she has represented a variety of clients over her career, her goal is the same—to bring her clients’ cases to closure. “Whether handling a wrongful death suit or picking up a case that has been pending for a long time, I want to see my clients’ needs and concerns addressed and resolved so that they can move on with their lives.”

Attorney Suellen Richardson has six years experience in practicing law. Among other areas, she handles criminal cases, successions, wills, and donations, but primarily focuses on domestic law, handling divorce, child support, spousal support, community partitions, custody, and adoption cases. According to Richardson, while custody cases can be difficult and challenging, they can also be the most satisfying. “When parents can set emotion aside and work together for the best interest of their children, that’s really fulfilling.”

The newest associate with the firm, Rhea Loney, graduated from law school in 2009 and brings Magee & Associates a fresh perspective on the law. In her short time with the firm, she has exhibited a keen legal mind and gained competency in a variety of practice areas. “One minute I am working on partitioning co-owned property and the next I am in criminal court, arguing an entirely different matter,” she said.

These attorneys, along with the entire staff, all share the same work ethic guided by courtesy, compassion and efficiency. A testament to these principals is that more than five of the seven staff members of Magee & Associates have been with the firm for more than 10 years. The entire support staff has a combined legal experience of over 75 years. Magee said the combination of his associates and staff enables the firm to achieve its goal of providing quality legal services with competence and compassion.

The office of Magee & Associates, Attorneys, is located at 207 East Gibson Street in Covington. To schedule a consultation or to learn more, call 985-893-7550 or visit www.wmageelaw.com.

From April 2010, Sophisticated Woman Magazine - REALITY SHOWS US that divorce has been with us for centuries and will be with us into the foreseeable future. One of the issues that must be addressed when contemplating divorce is whether spousal support is due in connection with the dissolution of the marriage or not. If so, in what amount?

There is an old Chinese proverb that says, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” I saw this played out recently in a marriage dissolution case that came to me late in the process. It turned out that one of the spouses, the husband in this case, had issues with control and manipulation of his spouse in the marriage. When the wife decided to leave the marriage, he convinced her that she did not need an attorney and that he would hire one to take care of the legal work for both of them. A petition for divorce was filed by the husband in which the issue of interim spousal support was not addressed. I immediately filed a pleading to put that issue before the court. However, months of entitlement to this interim spousal support were lost because she trusted the husband to treat her right (fool me twice).

Louisiana law provides the right to either spouse to claim interim spousal support (formerly alimony pendente lite) during the period between the filing of suit for divorce and the judgment of divorce. Louisiana Civil Code article 113 provides that a spouse may be awarded an interim spousal support allowance based on the needs of that spouse, theability of the other spouse to pay, and the standard of living of the spouses during the marriage. Absent a pending demand for final spousal support, an award of an interim spousal support allowance terminates six months after the rendition of a judgment of divorce. The spouse seeking interim spousal support bears the burden of proving his or her entitlement to it. This type of support is designed to preserve and continue the status quo insofar as maintenance and support are concerned.

In the example above, the wife lost those months of support because she hesitated in learning what her rights were on this issue.

In the unfortunate event that your marriage seems destined to terminate, don’t hesitate to seek legal counsel to learn what your rights are to make sure you don’t miss out on important deadlines and benefits.

Author: Bill Magee Bill Magee is a local attorney with over 31 years of legal experience and whose practice includes family law and civil litigation. His office is located at 207 East Gibson St. in Covington. Bill can be contacted at 985-893-7550 or via email at bill@wmageelaw.com.

The irony that all this happened underneath a law office known for handling domestic matters was not lost on me, and it certainly gave me a moment’s pause to muse on the complexities of custody litigation. Many readers may be aware that the standard for determining custody is “the best interest of the child.” Louisiana Civil Code Article 134 lists twelve different factors to consider when determining this best interest. One that I have heard domestic judges name time and again as one of the most important factors is the tenth one: “the willingness and ability of each party to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing relationship between the child and the other party.” Thinking about this in the context of the puppies made a wry smile flit across my face, as I couldn’t help but ponder what our domestic judges would do with that situation: the father dog obviously did not try to facilitate the relationship between the puppies and the mother dog that left!

Before I dive any further into this analogy that seems to be getting more ridiculous by the minute, perhaps I should simply stop and note the important lessons contained here for humans. When you share custody of a child with someone you no longer share a home with, it is good to keep some basic principles in mind. Never do or say anything that will diminish the child’s affection or esteem for the other parent. Never deny the other parent his or her custodial time, or make negative remarks about him or her in the presence of the child. And never forget these principles if a new romantic interest comes on the scene, or let that person try to replace the child’s other parent.

That last thought brings me back to the puppies. Our readers may rest assured that our office has been working with the humane society to make sure that care is properly provided for both parents and pups.

Author: Suellen Richardson Suellen Richardson is an attorney specializing in family law at Magee & Associates, Attorneys. Her office is located at 207 East Gibson St. in Covington. Suellen can be contacted at 985-893-7550 or via mail at suellen@wmageelaw.com.

As a divorce attorney, I hear many men and women, who are considering divorce, speak about not loving their spouse as the motivation for divorce. I am always struck by the reasoning, “I just don’t love him (her) anymore,” because it conflicts with my core belief that love is an action. Love is not merely an emotion. Love is a choice, or series of small choices, daily. I don’t judge this comment at all though, because it is so difficult to explain why you are estranged from your spouse in an hour consult. In today’s branding market, each person must come up with an elevator excuse for the discord. How do I explain the unhappiness of my marriage, of perhaps many years, in 15 seconds? “He doesn’t understand me.” “She has a drinking problem.” “We don’t get along.” The divorce is the action and the explanation is how we make sense of it. (I am not talking here about divorces motivated by a devastating specific action like physical abuse or infidelity).

From personal experience, in my own marriage, when things are rough, by the time I do enough mental gyrations to get to
a place where I start thinking divorce might be the better option, I step back and think, “What if I am just making all this up and what if I had a different perspective? Would the same facts support a different interpretation?” All relationships are phasic, cyclical. What if I just take some different action, make some requests, illicit some commitments and see what happens? So far, this strategy has worked for me; however, not in a vacuum. Primarily, in my experience, both parties need to be committed to the concept of marriage and have a willingness to be open or change.

Now, while I am a counselor of law, I am not degreed in psychology or sociology; however, I do work intimately with people during their worst times and, coupled with my own experience and learning, I have made a few observations I hope make you reflect as you celebrate this Valentine’s Day.

Author: Zara Zeringue Zara Zeringue is an attorney specializing in family law at Magee & Associates, Attorneys. Her office is located at 207 East Gibson St. in Covington. Zara can be contacted at 985-893-7550 or via email at zara@wmageelaw.com.

Knowing and seeing how devasting divorce can be for all parties, especially children, it seemed appropriate to address the real costs of divorce so you could determine whether it is really worth it. Frequently, I hear comments from friends and clients who have gone through a divorce that if they knew then what they know now, they would have done whatever was necessary to attempt to save their marriage.

So, what are the true “costs” of divorce? Of course, the legal fees and court costs are certainly at the top of the tangible costs. Two families living apart is much more expensive than one family living together. But what about the emotional cost? Statistically speaking, the further away you get from God’s design for marriage, a man and a woman who come together and commit to love one another for life, the greater the incidence of social, psychological and economic problems for the spouses and the children. Your children will be scarred for life! Our culture is being destroyed little by little every time a marriage is broken. (For further support for why marriage is important and research on the negative impacts divorce imposes on
children, contact joy@wmageelaw.com)

If you have children and choose to divorce, you are then opening up the family to a third party (the new spouse of the other divorced parent) that will have to interact with and have a lasting impact on your children, and you will have no input into who that person will be. How will that impact you and your children and other extended family members at holidays, graduation, birthday parties, weddings, etc? My informal research leads me to conclude that it can be, and usually is, devastating.

It is clear that most, not all, divorces can be avoided if the parties lay aside their personal agendas and egos and put their partner, the marriage and their children at the top of the priority list. If you have children and want them to be the best they can be, you will do whatever it takes to keep a stable home environment for them. If you need help with resources designed to encourage and support your desire to save or build on your marriage, I suggest you contact www.familylife.com.

Author: Bill Magee Bill Magee is a local attorney with over 31 years of legal experience and whose practice includes family law and civil litigation. His office is located at 207 East Gibson St. in Covington. Bill can be contacted at 985-893-7550 or via email at bill@wmageelaw.com.