Mincher Koeman: A Modern Client Experience

At Mincher Koeman, we understand that when people are in the process of separating and dismantling their relationship, their world is in turmoil. They need to retain a firm that understands that and will work with them to make the process move smoothly and swiftly. We understand that any delay in the process of separating assets and preparing parenting plans leads to increased costs, increased feelings of hurt and helplessness and potentially more conflict between the parties.

That is why at Mincher Koeman we have invested heavily in technology to ensure we are able to offer our clients swift and comprehensive legal advice in a cost-efficient manner.

When you contact our firm you will be welcomed by our legal support staff who will book an appointment with one of our lawyers, either one you specifically request, or a lawyer who we think will best be able to assist you at the time. This does not mean you will only be assisted by the assigned lawyer, however. We believe in a team approach to ensure that the process moves swiftly without delays due to a specific lawyer’s availability. We are also able to keep legal fees to a minimum by allowing different team members to perform different tasks for a client.

Prior to the First Appointment

Prior to your first appointment, you will receive a comprehensive electronic questionnaire. We anticipate that this will take clients between 1- 2 hours to correctly complete. This questionnaire is designed to gather the most pertinent information required to allow the team at Mincher Koeman to assist you with your legal issues. We understand that legal fees can be expensive and believe that fees should be reserved for providing legal advice and not information gathering. That is why we enable clients to gather the information we need in the comfort of their own home on their own time, without the pressure of a billable clock ticking. Once the client has completed the questionnaire, our team will prepare for the first meeting.

The First Meeting: What to Expect

Matrimonial Property, Equalization Payments and Income

1. A Property Spreadsheet setting out the assets the clients have identified and an overview of potential equalization payments owing to either party which you can take home and use in mediation or discussions with your partner should you so desire;
2. Advice on potential exemptions and what further information is required to trace them;
3. Advice on potential child and spousal support payments for primary and shared parenting arrangements, along with tax information and the allocation of benefits and s.7 expenses; and
4. A comprehensive list setting out what supporting documentation is required to determine the matrimonial assets and incomes of the parties.

Advice on Parenting Issues

Our lawyers are all trained in domestic violence screening and child protection issues. We understand that domestic violence is potentially an important consideration for any couple separating. We understand violence can be perpetrated against men or women and that victims can feel a sense of shame and responsibility for the violence. We ensure that our clients feel supported to share any pertinent information we may require as lawyers and that this information is carefully gathered to ensure any steps, or processes that we suggest to clients takes the potential for violence into consideration if necessary.

Our clients can utilize the information we provide in our first meeting to attend for mediation without counsel, ensuring that they are fully prepared and educated on their rights and obligations. This helps to avoid a situation where a party attends mediation and enters into deals that are legally unsupportable, such as waiving child support or making decisions about the matrimonial property without the full information they require to determine their rights. If a party makes a deal without legal advice only to realize afterward that the deal is inequitable or legally unsupportable, this can lead to further conflict or distrust between the parties.

When a Client Retains Mincher Koeman

Matrimonial Property & Equalization Payments

If you decide to retain Mincher Koeman at the first meeting, you will be sent a further electronic questionnaire which is much more detailed. This questionnaire asks additional questions to ensure we are able to assist you with your property division. This allows the Mincher Koeman team to build on the information provided at your first meeting and to develop an accurate assessment of the parties’ incomes, your property entitlement, and any exemptions. We anticipate this questionnaire will take you a minimum of 2-3 hours to complete depending on the complexity of your assets. Again, this can be completed in the comfort of your own home, without the stress of having to answer questions in a lawyer’s office. This process allows our clients to provide the information on their own time, with all of their documentation at hand, as well as save in legal costs and time.

Once we receive this information, our lawyers will provide you with an opinion with respect to your matter. In that opinion, we will set out what disclosure is still required from both parties, address any potential issues that may require us to retain experts, in addition to reviewing support obligations and potential ways to move your matter forward.

A knowledgeable client understands what they need to move forward in their new life from a parenting, income and property perspective, and how they want to shape their future. At Mincher Koeman, we believe in giving you the tools to allow you to do that early on.

We will work with you to gather and organize your disclosure with our trained disclosure experts, to ensure we have all your financial disclosure at our fingertips, electronically stored and organized to allow us to access it quickly and efficiently.

Parenting Calendar

We will provide you with your own client portal which will allow you to access a parenting calendar where issues, questions and events can be documented for the team at Mincher Koeman to access and provide advice as issues arise.

Finalizing the Deal

Once we have provided an opinion, we work with our clients to try and settle their disputes in a quick and cost-effective manner. We understand that once a deal is negotiated, parties want an agreement prepared as quickly as possible. At Mincher Koeman, we have invested in hours of legal manpower and technology to enable us to prepare your agreement within hours of receiving your instructions.

The family law lawyers at Mincher Koeman are exceptionally experienced with respect to assisting clients facing the breakdown of a relationship. We will work with you to ensure that your voice is represented in any dispute and will make the process as painless and efficient as possible. Contact our office today by calling us at 403-910-3000 or contact us online.