Divorce & Dissolution
Contested and uncontested. Petition through final judgment, including the paperwork nobody warns you about.
Divorce · Custody · Family Law
A clear path forward.
Divorce is rarely one decision. It is a hundred small ones, made at the worst possible time. Clear Path Divorce Law exists to make those decisions legible: what the law actually says, what it means for you, and what happens next.
Confidential from the first message
Replies within one business day
Fees and scope in writing, up front
Practice Areas
Focused on family law, and nothing else.
A narrow practice means fewer surprises. These are the matters this firm handles, day in and day out.
Child Custody & Parenting Time
Legal and physical custody, parenting plans, holiday schedules, relocation, and the standard courts actually apply: the child's best interests.
Child & Spousal Support
Guideline calculations, income that is harder to pin down than a pay stub, deviations, and enforcement when payments stop.
Property & Debt Division
The house, the retirement accounts, the business, the debt in one spouse's name. Identified, valued, and divided on the record.
Mediation & Collaborative Divorce
When an agreement is reachable, litigation is the expensive way to get there. Negotiated resolution first, courtroom second.
Modifications & Enforcement
Orders age badly. Income changes, people move, agreements get ignored. Post-judgment work to bring the order back in line with life.
The Approach
Three steps, in this order.
No case is standard, but the way it starts should be. You should never be paying a lawyer to find out what you are paying for.
Listen, then scope
A consultation is a conversation, not a sales call. You describe the situation; you leave knowing which parts are legal problems, which are not, and what the realistic range of outcomes looks like.
Put the plan in writing
Strategy, sequence, documents needed, who does what, and what it costs. In writing, before the work starts, so there is a document to hold the engagement to.
Resolve at the lowest level that works
Negotiation and mediation where an agreement is achievable. Firm, prepared litigation where it is not. The choice is driven by your position, not by billing.
About
Nicole Schechter
Attorney at Law · Clear Path Divorce Law
Clear Path Divorce Law is a family law practice built on a simple observation: most of the fear in a divorce comes from not knowing what happens next. Clients rarely need to be talked into a fight. They need somebody to lay the process out plainly, tell them where they actually stand, and then do the work.
“My job is not to make this easy. It is to make it understandable, and to make sure nothing important gets decided by default.”
That means returning calls. It means explaining a guideline support calculation until it makes sense rather than asking you to trust the number. It means telling you when the thing you want is not worth what it will cost to pursue, and when it very much is.
Every matter is handled directly — you will know who is working on your case, because it is the person you met.
Common Questions
The questions people ask first.
General information, not legal advice for your situation — that requires a conversation about your facts.
How much does a divorce cost?
Honestly: it depends on how much of it is contested. An uncontested divorce where both people agree on the terms is a fraction of the cost of a custody trial. What you can expect from this firm is a written scope and fee arrangement before any substantive work begins, and a heads-up before anything moves outside it — not a surprise invoice.
Do I have to go to court?
Often, no more than briefly. Many cases resolve through negotiation or mediation and reach a judge only to have the agreement entered. Contested custody and support disputes are more likely to require hearings. Either way you will know which path your case is on, and why.
How is custody actually decided?
Courts apply a best-interests-of-the-child standard, which weighs factors such as each parent's relationship with the child, stability, the ability to co-parent, and the child's own needs. It is not a default 50/50 split, and it is not a contest over who is the better person. Preparation and documentation matter more than argument.
What should I bring to a first consultation?
Whatever you already have, and nothing you have to go dig up under stress. Anything filed or served, recent pay information for both spouses, a rough list of assets and debts, and any existing order or agreement. If you have none of it, come anyway.
Is what I tell you confidential?
Communications with an attorney about seeking legal advice are privileged, and this firm treats an initial inquiry as confidential. One caution that applies to any lawyer: an unsolicited message sent through a website does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship, and you should avoid sending detailed case specifics until an engagement is in place.
Contact
Start with a conversation.
Tell us as much or as little as you want. You will hear back within one business day, from the attorney, not a call centre.
- Email Nicole.Schechter@clearpathdivorcelaw.com
- Response time Within one business day
- Confidentiality Inquiries are treated as confidential