Over 30 years of family law
A parenting plan you both wrote, not a schedule a judge picked. Call (508) 833-2622.
Patrick M. Morris
Divorce mediator, Sandwich
Cape Cod and Plymouth County
Client reviews
From the firm's website.
“Patrick was extremely helpful and professional throughout our mediation process. He explained every detail thoroughly and guided us through the agreement. He is a kind man who truly tries to be as fair as possible to both parties while educating them on the entire process. We saved a large sum of money on legal fees by choosing mediation with Patrick.”
W.M. · Client testimonial, from the firm's website
“Attorney Morris took a great deal of time explaining the mediation process, answering all of our questions, drawing up the necessary paperwork ... and made himself readily available to us throughout the process.”
L.M.F. · Client testimonial, from the firm's website
“Patrick was a great resource for our uncontested divorce. He explained his role in the mediation process very clearly and described how the divorce process works in detail, all before requesting a fee. Once mediation started he was very helpful in explaining how the Court sees marriage and divorce.”
A client · Client testimonial, from the firm's website
How it works
You meet Patrick together. He explains what Massachusetts law says about legal and physical custody and what the court looks at in a parenting plan.
Weekdays and weekends, holidays and summers, pick-ups, school and medical decisions, a parent who may move. You decide each point. He keeps the list complete.
He drafts the parenting plan and the support terms and files them with the court, as part of the divorce or on their own.
The first meeting
You and your spouse come in together, or join by video. Patrick asks whether you are both here by choice, then explains what mediation is and what it is not.
He walks through what a divorce has to settle, the home, the children, support, retirement accounts, and answers every question. Nothing is decided yet.
You leave knowing the process, the flat fee and the next date, if you both want to go on.
The plan
Who makes the major decisions about school, health care and religion: both of you together, or one of you.
Where the children live and the week-to-week schedule, including holidays, vacations and summers.
Set under the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines from both incomes and the parenting schedule, plus health insurance and child care.
A plan that says how you handle a new job, a move or a child's changing needs, so you are not back in court for every change.
Unmarried parents too
Parents who were never married, and same-sex partners, mediate custody and support with Patrick the same way.
Call (508) 833-2622Your mediator
Attorney at Law and divorce mediator, Sandwich
Patrick Morris practiced divorce law for over 30 years. Today he mediates, nothing else. Both spouses sit at one table with him. He explains Massachusetts law on each issue, the home, the children, support, retirement accounts, and the two of you decide. He drafts the separation agreement and e-files it with the Probate and Family Court as an uncontested divorce. Office in Sandwich, meetings also in Barnstable, Mashpee and Falmouth, or by video.
Questions
What serves the children: their routine, their relationship with each parent, each parent's ability to care for them and to cooperate. A plan both parents wrote and signed is what the court reviews and, if it is fair to the children, approves.
Yes. Patrick works with unmarried parents and same-sex partners who need a custody, parenting time and child support agreement without a divorce.
Patrick suggests ways out of the impasse that he has seen work for other families. If one point still stays open, the rest of the plan stands and only that point goes to the court.
Yes. The first meeting is free and confidential, with both of you, at the office in Sandwich or by video. Ask everything you want to know. Nothing starts until you both decide to go on. Call (508) 833-2622.
Barnstable County court
Mediation happens at Patrick's table, not in a courtroom. For a couple on Cape Cod, the separation agreement is e-filed with the Barnstable Probate and Family Court, 3195 Main Street, Barnstable, MA 02630, at the county courthouse complex on Route 6A, where the uncontested divorce is heard in one short hearing. Patrick Morris practiced in this court for over 30 years as a divorce attorney. He prepares the two of you for the hearing, and the judge reviews an agreement you wrote yourselves.
Talk to Patrick Morris
Call for a free first meeting, together, at the office in Sandwich or by video. Patrick explains how mediation works, what it costs and what comes next.
Patrick M. Morris
Divorce mediator, Sandwich
Cape Cod and Plymouth County
