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During The Divorce · 05
One plan, built by the whole team.
A special-needs divorce is bigger than family law alone. We coordinate with your child's doctors, therapists, school team, financial advisors, and a trusts and estates attorney, so the legal plan we build actually fits your child's real life.
First call is a conversation, not a commitment.
The Short Answer
Getting a special-needs case right takes more than one professional. We handle the legal side and coordinate with your child's medical, school, financial, and trust teams so every part of the plan points the same direction.
How We Coordinate
Bring the team together early.
The cleanest plans come from getting the right people in the room before decisions are locked in. Here is how we do it.
1
Map who is already involved
Doctors, therapists, the school's IEP or 504 team, and any financial professionals your family already works with.
2
Bring in the legal specialists
A trusts and estates attorney for special needs trusts and benefits, and sometimes a guardian ad litem to represent the child.
3
Translate care into legal terms
Provider input shapes the parenting plan, the support request, and the long-term plan, so the order reflects real needs.
4
Keep everyone aligned
One coordinated plan instead of separate silos, so the legal, medical, financial, and educational pieces work together.
Where The Law Fits
The court still decides custody and support under the Virginia statutes, the best-interests factors in Va. Code § 20-124.3 and the support rules in Va. Code § 20-108.1. Coordinating with your child's other professionals is how we make sure what those statutes produce actually matches your child's needs.
Statutes change. Confirm the current law and how it applies to your facts before relying on it.
Who Is On The Team
The people who shape the plan.
01
Medical & Therapy
Doctors and therapists who know your child's condition and can speak to needs, routines, and recommendations.
02
School & IEP Team
The educators and specialists who manage your child's IEP or 504 plan and daily school support.
03
Financial & Trust
Financial advisors and trusts and estates counsel who handle special needs trusts and benefits planning.
04
Guardian ad Litem
When appointed, an attorney who represents the child's interests directly to the court.
Worth Knowing
What a coordinated team does, and what a siloed one misses.
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It works when
- The team is assembled early, before decisions are locked in
- Providers' input shapes the parenting plan and support request
- Legal, financial, and benefits planning are coordinated, not separate
- A trusts attorney is involved before any money changes hands
- Everyone is working from one plan for the child
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It backfires when
- Each professional works in isolation with no shared plan
- The legal order ignores what the providers actually recommend
- Benefits and trust planning come in after the fact
- Support or property awards are structured without estate input
- No one is responsible for keeping the pieces aligned
Corrie Sirkin, Esq.Founding Partner · AAML Contributor
From Our Attorney
"A family lawyer working alone cannot solve this. The cleanest plans come from the whole team in the room early."
We work alongside trusts and estates counsel, financial advisors, your child's medical and educational providers, and sometimes a guardian ad litem. Each one sees a piece of your child's life, and the legal plan only works when it reflects all of them.
That coordinated approach comes straight from contributing to a national AAML publication on special-needs divorce, where the throughline is the same: get the team together, then build the order around what they tell you.
Talk With CorrieMore On Special Needs
Every part of a special-needs case.
01
Tailored Parenting Plans
02
Custody With Special Factors
03
Above-Guideline Support
04
Equitable Distribution
05
Working With Specialists
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Detailed Parenting Agreements
07
Support Past Age 18
08
Special Needs Trusts
09
Guardianship Planning
10
Government Benefits
11
Life Insurance Planning
12
Long-Term Co-Parenting
Questions Families Ask
Building the right team.
A few of the questions we hear most on a first call. If yours is different, we are happy to answer it directly.
Have a specific question?Call 571.260.0999 or send us a message.
Why does a special-needs divorce need more than a family lawyer?
Because the plan touches more than custody and support. It reaches into government benefits, special needs trusts, education and IEP services, and long-term medical care. A family law attorney handles the legal side, but getting it right means coordinating with the professionals who manage the other pieces, so the parenting plan and support order actually fit your child's life.
Who is on the team?
It varies by family, but it often includes your child's doctors and therapists, the school's IEP or 504 team, a financial advisor, and a trusts and estates attorney who handles special needs trusts and benefits planning. In some cases a guardian ad litem is appointed to represent the child's interests. We coordinate with whoever is already involved and help bring in the specialists a complete plan needs.
Do you work with my child's existing providers?
Yes. Your child's current doctors, therapists, and school staff understand the day-to-day reality better than anyone, and their input shapes the parenting plan, the support request, and the long-term plan. We translate what they tell us into terms a court can act on.
Can you bring in a trusts and estates attorney?
Yes. Special needs trusts, benefits eligibility, and how child support, property awards, life insurance, and inheritances are structured all sit at the intersection of family law and estate planning. We coordinate with trusts and estates counsel so those pieces are set up correctly and do not accidentally disqualify your child from benefits.
When You Are Ready
Let us coordinate the whole team.
Tell us who is already helping your child. We will handle the legal side and pull the rest of the team into one plan that fits.