Family Lawyers in Brunswick, Maine

Brown & Pols, PA

56B Maine Street
Brunswick, Maine 04011
USA

(207) 721-1010

(207) 721-0517

www.maine-divorce.com

Law Firm Overview

Brown & Pols, P.A. is a general practice law firm with concentrations in the areas of family law and probate matters. Primarily, the firm handles divorces, parental rights and responsibility actions, child support, spousal support, child custody, grandparent’s rights and protective orders.

Probate proceedings involve estate administration, guardianship, conservatorship and adoptions.

We represent clients in a variety of other matters as well, including real estate and construction disputes (for both homeowners and contractors) and landlord/tenant issues. Our estate planning services include wills, health-care directives, financial powers of attorney and trusts.

Mr. Brown has been practicing law in Brunswick since 1987. Sharon Greene serves as paralegal assistant, receptionist/secretary and anchor-to-windward. Rylie P. Dog and Tucker K. Dog still put in the occasional appearance. Mr. Pols has retired from the active practice of law and is now of counsel to the firm.

Year this Office was Established: 1993

Areas of Law

Areas of Law Description

Brown & Pols, P.A. offers legal services on the following areas of practice:

- Family Law

The track that your family law case will follow through the Court system depends upon whether you have minor children. Today, all new Family cases are filed in District Court. If you don't have minor children, your case will be handled by a Judge. If you have a contested divorce without children, you will find it very difficult to follow the Pretrial Order without the assistance of an attorney. Even if you have an uncontested case, you should probably seek out an attorney to help you draft your final Divorce Judgment. If your family law matter does involve children, and regardless of whether it is an initial filing or a Motion to Modify an Existing Judgment, your case will go into the Family Law Case Management System.

- Mediation / Arbitration

Mediation with a court mediator is generally required in any family law matter before the case may go to trial. That is, if the parties do not agree on all issues, they have to attend mediation in an attempt to resolve their dispute. In general, the requirement of mediation is helpful, because it forces the parties to actually talk to each other. The mediation requirement may be waived by the Court "for good cause shown". The difference between mediation and arbitration is that, in mediation, the neutral third party (mediator) has no power to impose a decision on the parties.

- Support

There are two kinds of support which may be ordered in a family matter in the State of Maine; child support and spousal support. Child support can be ordered in any case where there are minor children. Spousal support (or alimony), can only be ordered in divorce cases, or in post-divorce matters where the issue of spousal support was left open. If there is no spousal support granted in the initial divorce, you can't go back to court and get it later.

- Guardian Ad Litem

People who serve as Guardians Ad Litem are often attorneys, but they don't have to be. If you have a "custody fight" (battle over physical residence of the child, or parental rights and responsibilities), it is quite likely that a Guardian Ad Litem will be appointed to your case. The role of the Guardian Ad Litem is to do an independent investigation and (if necessary) report to the Court on the best interests of the minor children involved. A Guardian Ad Litem can, potentially, save you legal fees; a lot of evidence can come in through the Guardian Ad Litem which otherwise would require more witnesses.

- Collaborative Divorce

There is a new method of resolving disputes which has recently arrived in Maine. Called "Collaborative Law", it is already practiced in several states and in many other places around the world. Collaborative law is not reserved exclusively for divorce cases, but many practitioners feel that the process of collaborative law is often beneficial to the participants in a divorce. Collaborative law can also be used in contract disputes, employee/employer disputes, and in any other type of dispute where both parties have a vested interest in staying out of the litigation process.