- Divorce( Will be established at the initial conference – cases that do not appear to need a court appearance or are likely to settle without a hearing will generally require a $4500.00 deposit; cases that will require a court appearance usually require a minimum $8,500.00 retainer; uncontested divorces with no children and no community property issues and defendant willing to sign a waiver of service will allow for a lower retainer and will be set after conference, and contested custody cases AFTER the divorce, certain to require litigation, will require a $15,000 retainer. (Note: this does not include requests for standard visitation requests or minimal changes, which are much less time consuming and usually only require a $3500.00 retainer). Your retainer will be held in trust as a deposit against hourly fees. Your funds on deposit in your trust account will be applied to your monthly statement to pay your bill. All legal services are to be paid for in advance and if your retainer account is depleted, you will be required to pay in advance for any additional legal services required or replenish your retainer account. If your trust account does not have sufficient funds to pay for the services needed and you are unable to pay in advance for those necessary legal services, my representation will be immediately terminated and I will withdraw as counsel of record. We will of course notify you prior to termination of our services should this event occur. It is therefore beneficial to you to retain a reasonable minimum balance at all times in your retainer account and it is up to you to make sure there are adequate funds in your retainer account to pay for the needed services. Any unused fees will be refunded to you at the conclusion of the case, at the end of next billing cycle following the conclusion, therefore, the balance of your advance retainer will be returned to you after deducting your final bill for services rendered and paying any outstanding court costs.
- Child Custody and VisitationCharlotte Pugh is a certified civil mediator and certified custody and visitation mediator. She has completed 50 Hours of Civil Mediation Training, including 20 Hours of Custody and Visitation Mediation Training, successfully completing Mediation Training Requirements pursuant to La.R.S. 9:4106 and has participated in numerous mediations throughout her career.
- Restraining OrderTo divide community retirement or profit-sharing benefits require additional specialized work and may be referred to experts in the field, depending upon the difficulty and my workload, and therefore my representation does not include preparation of those pleadings. I also do not give TAX ADVICE. I advise you to consult with a CPA to determine the tax consequences of any proposed action PRIOR to settlement or trial. I will NOT obtain a restraining order on your behalf to prevent alienation of community assets unless you ask for one. Only upon your specific request, however, will I ‘freeze’ a retirement or other financial account.
- Personal InjuryFamily Law, including custody, divorce and community property issues; Personal Injury Litigation; Trained and Certified Civil and Family Mediator