When a marriage ends or a parenting dispute boils over, you need clear options and an advocate who protects your children and your future — without making a hard time harder. Based in Medford, we handle family law for clients across Oregon, from the first filing to a resolution you understand.
Family law touches the parts of life that matter most — your kids, your home, your safety, and your financial footing. Oregon law gives the courts wide discretion in these cases, which means how your situation is presented can change the result. We prepare every family matter carefully and explain each step in plain English, whether you are starting a divorce, fighting for time with your children, or responding to a case someone else filed.
Based in Medford, we counsel clients in circuit courts across Oregon, including Jackson County Circuit Court in Medford and Josephine County Circuit Court in Grants Pass.
Oregon is a no-fault state. To end a marriage you only have to show irreconcilable differences that have caused the marriage to break down — no one has to prove the other spouse did something wrong. Dissolution is governed by ORS chapter 107. Before you can file, at least one spouse generally must have lived in Oregon for six continuous months, unless you were married in Oregon and still live here.
If you are not ready to end the marriage — for religious, insurance, or personal reasons — Oregon also recognizes legal separation on the same no-fault ground, with the court able to set the same kinds of terms (support, parenting time, and division of property) without dissolving the marriage.
Oregon courts decide custody and parenting time by one overriding measure: the best interests and welfare of the child. The factors a court weighs are set out in ORS 107.137, and they include the child's emotional ties to family members, each parent's relationship with and attitude toward the child, the value of keeping an existing relationship stable, any abuse of one parent by the other, and each parent's willingness to support the child's relationship with the other parent.
A few protections are worth knowing. The court may not favor a parent based on the parent's sex, and it does not hold a parent's lifestyle, income, or social environment against them unless it is shown to harm the child. The court also will not weigh a parent's "willingness to cooperate" against someone who is acting to protect a child from an abusive parent. We help parents build a workable parenting plan and present the facts that matter on these factors.
There is no automatic mother-or-father preference in Oregon. Under ORS 107.137, a judge weighs the child's emotional ties, each parent's relationship with the child, the stability of existing arrangements, any abuse between the parents, and each parent's willingness to encourage the child's bond with the other parent — and the court cannot use a parent's sex as a tie-breaker. Knowing which facts speak to which factor is where good preparation pays off.
Oregon sets child support with a statewide formula built on an "income shares" model: both parents' incomes are combined, a base support obligation is read from the state scale, and that obligation is then divided between the parents in proportion to their incomes and the parenting schedule. The framework for support and the child-support program lives in ORS chapter 25, and ORS 25.275 directs the state to set the guideline formula by rule, accounting for each parent's earnings, earning capacity, other dependents, and similar factors. The calculator's output is an estimate — the final number is set by the administrator, an administrative law judge, or the court.
We help calculate support correctly under the guidelines, establish or respond to an order, and seek a modification when incomes or circumstances change.
Oregon recognizes three kinds of spousal support, authorized under ORS 107.105, and a judgment may award one or more of them:
We help clients understand which categories may apply and present the relevant factors — whether you are seeking support, defending against a request, or asking to modify an existing award.
Oregon is not a community-property state. It divides marital property by equitable distribution — a division the court finds "just and proper," which is not automatically a 50/50 split. Under ORS 107.105, there is a rebuttable presumption that both spouses contributed equally to property acquired during the marriage, and a homemaker's contributions count toward acquiring marital assets. Full, honest disclosure of assets and debts is required. We help identify and value what is on the table — the house, retirement accounts, a business, and the debts — and advocate for a fair result.
Life changes after a judgment is signed. When there has been a substantial change in circumstances — a move, a job change, a shift in the children's needs — the court can modify custody, parenting time, or support under ORS 107.135, with child-related changes also measured against the child's best interests. Repeated, unreasonable interference with parenting time can itself count as a substantial change. We also help clients enforce orders that the other side is ignoring.
Establishing legal parentage protects both a parent's rights and a child's right to support. The methods of establishing parentage are set out in ORS chapter 109, including a signed voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, which can be challenged in court after a short rescission window on grounds such as fraud, duress, or a material mistake of fact. We help with acknowledgments, parentage actions, and the custody and support issues that follow.
If you are in danger from a family or household member, Oregon's Family Abuse Prevention Act restraining order is the fastest civil protection available. Under ORS 107.718, a person who was abused within the 180 days before filing, who is in imminent danger of further abuse, and who faces a credible threat to physical safety may obtain an order that can require no contact, remove the respondent from a shared home, and set temporary custody and parenting time. These petitions are heard ex parte — often the same day — and the respondent then has a limited window to ask for a contested hearing. There is no filing, service, or hearing fee for a FAPA petition. We help people seek FAPA protection and represent people responding to an order. Because these cases move fast, early advice matters.
Every case is different, but an uncontested dissolution usually follows the same path: confirm Oregon residency, file and serve the petition, sort out any temporary arrangements for support and the children, exchange financial disclosures and (in contested custody cases) attend mediation, and then enter a final judgment. Uncontested matters can often be finalized on written declarations without a hearing; contested cases proceed to trial.
Plan for time. Even an uncontested divorce in Oregon generally cannot be finalized until roughly 90 days after the other spouse is served, and contested cases involving custody, support, or property routinely take several months to more than a year, depending on the court's docket and how complex the issues are. We give you a realistic timeline at the consultation so there are no surprises.
In contested custody and parenting-time disputes, Oregon courts generally require the parents to attend mediation before trial — and that mediation is confidential and provided at no cost through the court. Domestic-violence (FAPA) cases are exempt from this requirement. Mediation often resolves the parenting plan faster and with less conflict than a contested hearing, while keeping the decisions in the parents' hands.
If you are facing a divorce, a custody fight, a support problem, or a need for protection, talk to us early. The sooner we start, the more options you have. Call (458) 666-3193 or request a consultation.
A free, confidential consultation is the fastest way to understand your options. With court deadlines, the sooner you call, the more we can do.
