Team Members:
Helena, MT
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I provide creative, low conflict Collaborative Family Law solutions in Divorce, Parenting, and Adoption and comprehensive Collaborative Estate and Legal Planning. My passion project is my law firm, Wholehearted Family Law, LLC, www.wholeheartedfamilylaw.com. I practice throughout Montana and have offices in Helena and Butte. You can find me at wholeheartedfamilylaw.com. I am a Certified Montana Mediator and Holistic Divorce Coach, and practice Collaborative and cooperative law as much as possible, tailoring my approach to each client's individual needs and setting my flat fees based on the complexity your matter entails. As a Montana native, I received my law degree from the University of Montana School of Law in 2008 and began my career clerking for the Montana Supreme Court. Throughout my career, I have worked in family law, estates and trusts, and general civil litigation. I believe that family law is about knowing what your options are. It is important to know that there are different methods for going through these legal processes, and not all of them have to entail a fight. It is my passion and purpose as a Collaborative family law and estate planning attorney to educate my clients about the steps in the process and their options along the way. I believe that using the right approach to address your family's legal issues will minimize emotional and financial costs for all involved. When I am not advising clients, you can find me enjoying all of the outdoor activities Montana has to offer and spending time with my husband, Andrew, and our wild and crazy dogs.
Contact Hilary at: hilary@wholeheartedfamilylaw.com
Sara is a family law attorney with over 23 years of experience. Practicing at Laird Cowley, PLLC’s Helena, office, Sara’s practice is dedicated to family law, and she focuses on helping her clients be solution based as they move through the family law process in order to reach a resolution outside of Court whenever possible. Sara is a seasoned litigator and mediator with the ability to offer a different approach to finding conflict resolution between families within the collaborative process.
Contat Sara at: acarlson@lairdcowley.com
Janell is a family mediator and attorney providing coaching, consulting and mediation services in Montana. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Montana Mediation Association and is trained in high conflict divorce coaching. She founded Rise Consulting & Mediation to assist families through divorce, separation, and post-divorce issues through cost-effective and collaborative methods, minimizing reliance on expensive and time consuming litigation. Her goal is to help clients move toward effective resolution and keeping focus what's next: a bright future.
Contact Janell at: janell@riseconsultingmt.com
Trish Klanke is a family law and civil litigation attorney at the Drake Law Firm in Helena, MT. Her experience in and out of court has drawn her to collaborative law in the belief that solutions should be built around families, not imposed on them. Trish is committed to helping clients preserve their dignity and relationships while always putting their children first.
Contact Trish at: patricia@drakemt.com
Sarah is a wise and steady guide for her clients navigating difficult family transitions. She knows redefining families is not best accomplished in a courtroom. Sarah emphasizes creative and alternative dispute resolution in family cases whenever possible. Sarah believes the client-driven resolutions reached in the collaborative process maximizes the preservation of peace, strength, and dignity for clients and for their children.
Contact Sarah at: Sarah@laruelawmt.com
Lindsay Ward is a dedicated collaborative law attorney practicing family law at the Law Office of Lindsay Ward, PLLC, in Helena, Montana. With a profound belief in the power of mediation and collaboration over adversarial litigation, Lindsay guides families through the complexities of legal disputes by fostering a cooperative environment where solutions are tailored to fit the unique needs of each family. Her approach emphasizes mutual respect, open communication, and the well-being of children, ensuring that families can navigate their challenges with dignity and maintain healthy relationships post-resolution.
Contact Lindsay at: lindsay@wardlawmt.com
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When I started in the mortgage business in 1997, I made the decision that my focus was going to be helping people create and retain generational wealth through the financing of real estate. Over the course of my career, I realized two important facts about divorcing homeowners. First, very few people really understand how the marital home intersects with every other part of the financial landscape and second, Mortgage Loan Officers are trained to help people purchase and refinance their homes. They are not trained in the complexity of divorce and the affects of the marital home on the total balance sheet.
As a CDLP® (Certified Divorce Lending Professional) and a REM-S® (Real Estate Mediation Specialist) I specialize in helping divorcing families reach decisions that are in the best interest of their family. Divorce mortgage planning is about taking a holistic approach to the overall financial picture. In this capacity, I am able to collaborate with divorcing homeowners, attorneys, financial planners, CPA’s and Mediators to develop strategies to retain family wealth, even though it is being divided. This approach focuses on equity division, tax implications, cash flow, debt management and long-term wealth retention, not on financing.
Please contact me at 406-439-5626 or greg.hinkle@nafinc.com