Founding Attorney
By Adam Bulger
How do You Set up a Trial Separation?
Trial separations don’t require lawyers. Attorney and founder of California-based mediation firm Off the Record Mediation Services Dorit Goikhman notes that many family court litigants are self-represented. “Courts and legal service agencies often have free or low-cost self-help tools for self-represented family law litigants to assist you in your case,” Goikhman says. But trial separation agreements are binding. “It is highly advisable to engage a knowledgeable family law attorney for your separation,” he adds. “ This is true whether you are asking for a separation through the courts, or entering into a written separation agreement, and it is particularly important if many assets are implicated, or if your situation is more complex than most due to extraordinary factors.”