Best Adoption Lawyers in Salem, OR

Legal separation is an option for people who have not lived in Oregon long enough to qualify for divorce as well as for those with religious objections to divorce or who want to continue to share certain legal benefits of marriage without living together. A legal separation can resolve issues such as living arrangements, spousal support, property division, and child custody.

Not necessarily. When spouses cannot agree on things such as child custody, support payments, or property division, resolving these differences through divorce mediation is an option. If you are still unable to reach an agreement through mediation, you will have to go to court and present your arguments to the judge who will ultimately issue a ruling.

Yes. If it makes sense to adopt the children, you would replace the other parent on the birth certificate. This change would confer on you all of the same parental rights and obligations as if the child or children had been born to you. If the other parent is deceased or consents, adoption can be a relatively straightforward process, although complications may arise. We can help you explore your adoption options.

An advance directive is a document that gives instructions to your loved ones and medical care providers about how to take care of you if you are unable to make medical decisions for yourself. If you have strong feelings about life support, organ donation, or tube feeding, it is a good idea to have an advance directive so that your wishes will be honored.

For all Oregon estates that have real estate (land and houses) worth less than $200,000 and all other property (cash, retirement accounts, items) worth less than $75,000, the estate may be settled with a small estate affidavit. This process is much easier and takes less time than probate. If the estate value is greater than the values listed above and there is only a will (no trusts or other methods of distributing the assets), it is likely that the estate will need to be supervised by the probate court.