Family Law

• Divorce
  Mediation: Mediation is a private, and confidential process that takes place outside of court. The parties are assisted by an impartial mediator to resolve any or all of the issues in their family law matter. When agreement is reached, it can be put in writing by yourselves or with the help of a legal professional. Each party may consult with their own private attorney to advise them on the fairness of the agreement, as well as any legal issues that are present. Barton Pokras uses a variety of mediation techniques to help you resolve the issues upon which you cannot reach agreement. The mediation process is completely voluntary. It is also confidential. Barton Pokras is a divorce lawyer, family law attorney and mediator with offices in Westlake Village and Ventura, serving all Ventura County. With more than 20 years of California family law experience he is able to help you evaluate the matters in controversy, facilitate communications, and help you negotiate a fair agreement with your spouse amicably and with dignity. Once agreement has been reached Barton can prepare a complete and legally enforceable marital settlement agreement that complies with the California family law. He can also prepare whatever legal forms are necessary to obtain your divorce, and arrange for filing and processing by the court. In situations where you need the help of a financial expert to help you analyze and understand financial documents, or where the assistance of a child therapist would help you structure a parenting agreement, Barton Pokras can arrange for obtaining the services of a neutral professional who is familiar with the divorce mediation process. Barton Pokras also serves as a consulting attorney for parties that are having their divorce mediated by another mediator. He can attend the mediation sessions with you and participate in the mediation if so desired. He can also help you strategize in preparation for the mediation negotiations, and help you prepare the necessary disclosure documents. Collaborative Divorce: Collaborative Family Law, like divorce mediation, is a process to resolve family law disputes without going to court. Attorneys trained in the Collaborative Process represent both spouses, and an agreement is signed at the beginning of the case by both spouses and both attorneys in which all agree to the Principles and Guidelines of the Collaborative Process. Barton Pokras is a Collaborative Family Law attorney. He belongs to Collaborative Divorce Practice groups in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. He has offices in Ventura and Westlake Village, and is the 2009 president of the Coalition for Collaborative Divorce, a non-profit organization serving Los Angeles and Ventura counties since 1999. The main principles include the agreement that both parties want to resolve their divorce without going to court, that neither spouse nor attorney will seek court intervention, and that both spouses wlll be cooperative and voluntarilly provide whatever fi
• Child Support
  Divorce mediation is a voluntary process that allows couples to resolve their marital issues outside the court system. It allows couples to make their own decisions and evaluate their own situations. Mediation enables couples to question their own assumptions, reconsder their positions, and explore a variety of possible solutions through “brainstorming” in a safe context, where the true interests of the couple can be discussed with openness and honesty. It helps minimize the costs of divorce and provides a context in which a couple can respectfully resolve any or all of the issues in a divorce, including custody and visitation of children, spousal and child support, division of assets and liabilities. Divorce mediation is not limited to the issues that a court will deal with, but can also include matters of concern to a couple that are beyond the scope of the family law courts, such as flexible co-parenting, post-dissolution estate planning, step-parent visitation, post-separation dating, or the continued joint operation of a family owned business. Aside from the cost advantages, mediation avoids many of the pitfalls of a litigated divorce. Divorce is a legal process that requires careful attention to the applicable laws, and deals with issues that have far reaching legal consequences. There is no license required in California to be a mediator, and no requirement for a divorce mediator to have any knowledge of the relevant laws. It is a common practice of mediators, whether they have a legal background or not, to advise their clients to seek the advice of a lawyer, either during or after the mediation to review the settlement agreement. As a lawyer, I review settlement agreements that are referred to me by mediators. As a mediator, I help my clients negotiate settlement agreements that do not have to be renegotiated because of legal problems such as lack of enforceability or unanticipated legal consequences. Couples often tell me that they “just want what’s fair.” Usually this boils down to their desire to obtain the same result from mediation that they would have gotten from a judge if they had gone to court. My response is that there are very few things that are predictable in a case that goes to court, mainly because a lot of it depends on which judge hears their case, or even if the judge is known — how much attention he will be able to give to their case given the enormous case loads in the family courts, and even if he has had sufficient time to properly review their case, the results will still vary because of the many subjective factors that enter into the judicial decision making process. All that being said, as a mediator with 20 + years of family law experience, I can help my clients intelligently evaluate their situation. There are several different styles of mediation, and this type is referred to as “evaluative.” Another way of resolving the issues that arise in a divorce is to find the best possible way to meet eac
• Child Custody and Visitation
  Barton Pokras also has considerable experience in the areas of taxation, business law, contracts and real property so that he is particularly able to assist divorcing families who own businesses, have sophisticated estate plans, real property holdings and retirement plans that need to be dealt with in the division of community assets and liabilities. When the parents of children live in different states it isn’t always clear which state has the jurisdiction to decide custody and visitation issues. Each of the 50 states in the USA has enacted a uniform set of laws dealing with the issues of interstate child custody jurisdictional disputes. Sometimes only one of the states can lawfully exercise jurisdiction, and sometimes more than one state has jurisdiction. In situations where more than one state has jurisdiction, there is a procedure for determining which of these states will hear the case. Barton Pokras has experience in this area, and has successfully litigated these issues. Some divorces are known as “high conflict divorces.” These are the cases that usually end up going to trial in court. These cases are generally not suitable for mediation or collaborative practice, because at least one of the parties is not interested in reaching a settlement. In many of these cases one of the spouses has a clinical personality disorder (e.g. borderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder). He doesn’t have the expertise, of course, to make such a diagnosis, but he works with mental health professionals who are familiar with these types of individuals, and he has experience in this area of family law. His approach in these cases is to proactively “defend” his clients, devise strategies to keep the costs down, and to associate with experienced mental health professionals to protect the client and any children who may be involved. Barton’s law degree is from the University of California, Hastings College of Law (1972, Honors), and he has a Master of Laws in Taxation from Golden Gate University Law School in San Francisco (1981).
• Paternity
• Premarital Agreement
• Spousal Support
  My experience with Barton Pokras started out great and just got better! At the outset, he was able to put me at ease during a very difficult divorce process. His expertise was evident immediately. More importantly, he was an engaged advocate committed to protecting my position throughout a lengthy negotiation with my ex-wife and her counsel. He paid sincere attention to my biggest concerns and never let anything “fall through the cracks.” Basically, my wife left me after 22 years of marriage. My greatest fear was that I would have to pay large sums of alimony for a very long time. Miraculously, Barton somehow convinced all concerned that no alimony payments would be appropriate (that’s right – zero!) largely on the argument that I was committed to finishing the job of putting ours sons through college in these difficult economic times. His measured, consistent, calm approach finally won the day and I will forever be grateful. Choosing Barton Pokras as my attorney was one of the best decisions I have ever made! He operates as a true fiduciary for his clients and I am very proud to recommend his services.
• Legal Separation
  The legal requirements for obtaining a California divorce or legal separation can be satisfied by using any of several different processes. Depending upon your own individual circumstances, some are more appropriate than others. At the Law Offices of Barton Pokras we will explain the various options that are available to you, and advise you as to which ones best fit your needs.

Business and Corporate Law

• Business Disputes
  He has represented individuals, partnerships and corporations in the areas of taxation, business law, contracts and real property so that I am particularly able to assist divorcing families who own businesses, have sophisticated estate plans, real property holdings and retirement plans that need to be dealt with in the division of community assets and liabilities. Barton is licensed to practice in all the courts of the State of California and in the United States Tax Court. He is a member of the Coalition for Collaborative Divorce, the Collaborative Family Law Professionals (Ventura), and the Los Angeles Collaborative Family Law Association, as well as the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. Barton is on the Board of Directors of the Ventura Family Law Bar Association and current president (2010) of the Coalition for Collaborative Divorce. Barton Pokras has represented clients in the California Supreme Court, the California Court of Appeals, the Superior Courts in Ventura, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Solano Counties, as well as in the Federal District Court for Northern California. He has a long history of providing pro bono legal services to low income families. The State Bar of California, the Ventura County Bar Association, the San Francisco Bar Association, and the Ventura Superior Court have commended him for his pro bono family law work. He is a volunteer with the Ventura Superior Court Family Law Facilitator’s Office, the Ventura Superior Court Mediation panel, and the Ventura County Bar Association pro bono referral service.

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  2007-Present Private practice in Ventura County, CA, devoted almost exclusively to Family Law, (I also assist Families with Estate Planning matters.

Finance Law

• Tax Law
  1973-1992 In private practice, San Francisco, CA. Emphasizing Family Law, Civil and Tax Litigation, Admitted to practice before The United States Federal District Court for Northern California, The United States Tax Court. Hearing Officer – San Francisco Rent Board