Special Needs
Family Lawyer Supporting Parents of Children with Special Needs
In California family law matters, there are unique issues for parents who have children with special needs. Because of her social work training in developmental disabilities and her personal experience, Mara Berke has a deep understanding of the intricacies of these issues. She is keenly attuned to the challenges in addressing daily routines and the myriad decisions parents must face concerning their children. Mara is able to anticipate potential areas of conflict and guide you and advocate for you and your children’s best interest. Mara is aware of the importance of the parents’ relationships with the children’s service providers and school personnel. Her empathy and dedication for your children allows her to strive to reduce the potential for conflict between parents and resolve it more efficiently when it does arise. If conflict cannot be avoided, then Mara will advocate for her clients in Court to seek the children’s needs.
Some examples of questions that parents of children with special needs may have follow:
- What type of custody schedule will support the routines and consistency our children need?
- How will we agree on the treatment modalities for our children?
- How will we choose and coordinate our service providers for occupational therapy, physical therapy, or other therapies?
- How will we insure that any necessary assessments are done for our children?
- How will we agree on the services, goals, and recommendations or decide to dispute them at our IEP meeting?
- How are we going to choose the best school placement for our children?
- How are we going to decide on medication for our children and its administration?
- How are we going to navigate all these issues during this challenging time in our world?
Mara cares deeply about children’s special needs and parents working cooperatively as a team for their children’s benefit. Her resourcefulness and out-of-the-box thinking is especially helpful to families who have more complex parenting issues to be addressed. As a Santa Monica family lawyer who knows resources in the community and who understands these parenting issues, Mara is an asset in assisting families through the California divorce process.
If you are a parent of a child with special needs and currently going through the process of divorce or have custody disputes, contact Mara Berke to schedule a consultation.
