Practice Areas

The Law Office of Julia Shalhoup
Family Law Mediation and
Collaborative Law Attorney
Serving West Virginia’s Family Law Needs for Over a Decade

Competent, Caring, Effective
Our office practices law in the following areas:

Divorce
Our law office provides you with aggressive and effective litigation to protect your rights and the rights of your children. We are a law firm staffed by compassionate individuals. We understand what you are going through and have the experience and maturity to help you through this emotional time.

Child Custody, Visitation, and Support
Child custody is one of the most difficult issues that a family will ever have to face. We are a full-service family law firm that will help you obtain a fair child custody and parenting arrangement that will help preserve a working relationship with your ex-spouse.

Adoption
Adding to your family through adoption can be a glorious time in your life. Our office handles all types of adoptions, especially step-parent, and private party adoptions. Because of our experience, we can do everything possible to ensure that your adoption is successful.

Grandparents’ Rights
Under West Virginia law, grandparents cannot be denied visitation with their grandchildren if there has already been an established pattern of visitation and the parent-child relationship will not be harmed. If you are having difficulty arranging to visit your grandchildren, let us help.

Establishing Paternity
Julia Shalhoup can help you establish paternity or defend against a paternity action. Regardless of whether you are the mother or the father of a child, paternity establishment can protect valuable rights for you and your child.

Prenuptial Agreements
Despite its unromantic reputation, there are very good reasons why you may wish to establish a prenuptial agreement. Our office drafts and reviews these documents, which can be used to ensure that valuable property is kept within your family and ensure that your heirs are treated fairly.

Collaborative Law
Collaborative law is a cost-effective and emotionally less divisive alternative to divorce litigation. It also has the advantage of preserving goodwill between the parties to a dispute, which is the key to maintaining a working family relationship after the divorce.

Appellate Litigation
Julia Shalhoup is experienced in family law appeals and litigation. She has successfully petitioned higher courts for review of lower court decisions, which can sometimes be a difficult prospect under West Virginia law. If you feel you did not receive a fair order or verdict at your trial, let us help you overturn that court decision.

Family Law Mediation
Mediation is very similar to collaborative law in that it is an alternative to litigation. A mediator acts a neutral party who sets the ground rules for the discussion, makes sure that each party is heard, and helps the parties come to their own resolution. Because Julia Shalhoup has a law degree, she can help make sure that any agreement you come to will be valid under West Virginia law.

Contact our experienced family law and mediation firm at (304) 345-4455 or by filling out our online contact form. To find out more about family law issues in general, please see our Family Law Information Center or our Frequently Asked Questions About Family Law.