Smooth communication between parties is often vital to successful resolutions in family law matters, especially when dealing with children. Here's a guide with practical strategies to help you communicate: 1. When children are involved: Child-centered approach: When children are involved, communication should center on their well-being. For instance, when discussing parenting time arrangements or changes, focus on your children by talking about their stability and emotional security, not just your own.  Open dialogue and consistency: Improve your ability to make parenting decisions ..read more

In Oregon, laws concerning custody and parenting time treat unmarried parents the same way as married parents. ORS 109.103. However, unmarried parents must first follow specific steps to establish a father's legal rights and responsibilities. This blog post explores pathways for unmarried parents in Oregon to establish parentage, make custody decisions, and arrange child support. Establishing Parentage for Unmarried Parents If parents are unmarried when their child is born, the mother gets sole legal custody by default. Fathers can secure their parental rights only by “establishing parentag ..read more

With the end of the end of the holiday season comes a well-documented trend known among legal practitioners as “Divorce Day.” The first working Monday in January, “Divorce Day” is generally understood to be a time that courts and law firms around the country experience an influx of divorce-related inquiries and filings. Click here for family law help Why January? There are many reasons for the January spike in decisions about divorce. Some of these reasons are: New Year, Fresh Start: Since January is the beginning of a new year, many folks use this time to set  new goals and reflect ..read more

Navigating Winter Storms as a Tenant Heating and plumbing issues during a severe winter can be challenging as a tenant. Fortunately, Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 90.320, 90.360, 90.125 and chapter 86 of Oregon Laws 2022 outline rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords. In this blog post, we'll explore key sections of these statutes. Understanding Tenant Rights & Timing Tenants still keep their rights to habitable living like heating and plumbing during a harsh winter. The landlord is responsible to maintain their tenant's habitable living conditions. Landlords must quickly ..read more

The holiday season is upon us, and with its arrival comes a unique set of challenges for co-parents. Whether you’re recently separated and learning to navigate parenting from a new perspective or you have a few years of experience under your belt, there are several ways you can reduce stress and create meaningful holiday memories for your children. Review your Parenting Plan The easiest way to reduce stress and ensure a smooth transition into the holiday season is to follow your parenting plan. It’s a detailed roadmap for most, if not all holiday operations and you should review it careful ..read more

Dear Friends of The Commons, Thank you to everyone who donated on Giving Tuesday! With your help, we've now raised almost $11,000 toward our $20,000 end-of-year goal! We raised over $1,000 last week and will be receiving a matching $1,000 from attorney John Schlosser. Your donation will help us expand access to civil legal services throughout Oregon. Our work would not be possible without you. We have a delicious offer for this week from Sesame Donuts This week only, the first 10 people to donate $25 or more will receive a $20 gift card. TCLC Give!Guide The Big Give Day this Wednesda ..read more

Hi Supporters of The Commons! Huge thank you to all of you who have donated to our Give!Guide so far. With some generous donations this week we have reached 47% of our goal! We also received some amazing incentives for the end of the year from McMenamins and Oregon Children’s Theater. The Commons team got together last week to do some strategic planning for the next two years on how we can build upon our connections to the community and hone our systems and processes to more efficiently deliver legal help to people in Oregon. We look forward to sharing our work with you! Do you have peop ..read more

Dear Friends of The Commons, Thank you to everyone who has supported so far! By the end of our second week with pledged donations  TCLC has reached close to 20% of our Give!Guide goal! We couldn’t do this without you. Your support helps us give equitable access to vital legal services to underserved Oregonians. Through your donations you are helping us guide families through big life changes, support families who are grieving, empower people to have certainty in their futures and keep people (and their pets!) housed. This week’s incentive is for our dog lovers out there! Do ..read more

Dear Friends of The Commons, What an exciting week we just had! We hosted our first fundraiser event and kicked off our first ever Give!Guide Campaign. Thank you to everyone who made our fundraiser a success and to all our supporters who helped to raise over $1,000 in week one of Give!Guide! We are jumping into our business partnerships with an offer from one of the best pizza joints in Portland, Atlas Pizza. This week only, the first 25 people to donate $25 or more will receive a coupon for a free pizza from Atlas Pizza. The Big Give Day this Wednesday is a real score, Give $10 or mo ..read more

Greetings friends and supporters, WELCOME TO GIVE!GUIDE We could not be more excited to kick off our first year of fundraising, giving you cool items and experiences, and collaborating with amazing local non-profits and businesses. TCLC Give!Guide Follow along for information about the 12 Big Give Days and the wonderful partners who are supporting us this giving season! Skidmore Prize Winner Ekua Hackman We are so proud of our Staff Attorney Ekua Hackman. Ekua works with our Estate Planning program and runs our Homeownership Asset Preservation Program (HAPP). HAPP is a collaborative pro ..read more