Helen Costa | Miami Lakes Divorce & Family Law Lawyer

• Member, Florida State Bar Association, Family Law Section
• Member, ABA – American Bar Association
• Member, Miami-Dade County Bar Association
• Member, Miami Lakes Bar Association
• Member, Broward County Bar Association
• Member, United States Supreme Court Bar Association
• Member, National LGBT Bar Association
• Member, Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
• Member, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

A teenager in an abusive parental relationship was protected from visiting the abusive parent. There was insufficient evidence for a injunctive order (restraining order against the child and the non-abusive parent) but a stay away order was obtained for their protection. The parental rights of a father, which was not the biological father, was terminated and the true biological father was adjudicated the biological and legal father and the child's name was changed to reflect the correct father. A family pursuing a dissolution marriage, wherein one parent refused to move out creating a horrible and tense atmosphere for all especially the children living in the home, obtain an order wherein the parent was forced to move out and the other parent and the children were granted exclusive use and possession of the home during the legal proceedings. Two gay parents, each independently adopted a child and raised them as a couple and as siblings. The relationship between the parents went awry. Even after their separation, I was able to get both children, their two parents, legally by two successful 2nd parent (gay) adoptions. We were able to stop the sale of a home on the morning of its public foreclosure sale auction. We were able to successful obtain loan modification with terms the client could comply with and save their home. We were able to defend foreclosure lawsuits wherein without our assistance the home would have been fore closured and sold within the 45 days had we not been hired. We were able to defend the lawsuit and raises applicable and pertinent legal defenses against falsely and incorrectly stated allegations by the lenders' attorneys. We were able to successful assist a home owner from a foreclosure sale and judgment; by negotiating and coordinating a short sale wherein the foreclosure sale and foreclosure judgment and a deficiency judgment were not obtained by the lender from the court saving our client a permanent judgment on their credit record.

Our business is focused on personalized and hands on practice. We work hard and focus on preparation, that is the key. Also honesty and realistic expectations is paramount. We are assertive and aggressive when necessary with the ultimate goal of achieving the best and optimal realistic results for our clients. We have more than 50% of our clients are prior client referrals and word of mouth. That is our best advertising. We strive to respond to all inquiries and questions within a day. We strive to keep our clients informed of their cases and all the communications involved in their case as best we can so that they are duly informed in a timely manner of what is going on and what is happening on their case. We strive to resolve problems, not create them.

Local knowledge can make a world of difference. Whether it is family law or real estate law related; knowing the procedures and procedural differences between the courts, the clerks and the counties can be a time saver. Knowing the judges (not personally) but their overall positions can help make the case much smoother. For example in Family Law, certain Judges if the circumstances allow, will speak to children while others do not speak to the children (generally). Know how the Judges have ruled in the past on similar cases and circumstances. Your reputation before the court is also vital. We have an excellent reputation before both Miami-Dade and Broward County Judges and General Magistrate in the Family Division. Keeping up to date on the local rules, and local appellate court case decisions, which we are, helps our success. For Real Estate related matters, knowing the specific requirements for each county, city, town and municipality can make a real estate purchase, sale or refinance so much smoother. Assisting our clients with reputable property inspections and insuring that all matters related to the real property are resolved such as judgments, liens and having all title related matters resolved is one of our key functions.

If we have the names of the parties, attorneys and judges involved and a copy of any legal proceeding that the consultation is about, it allows us to provide better and more pertinent information and guidance during the consultation.

A happy client. A client that emails us saying things like ….Thank you so much for such an excellent job in court this morning or You are the best, I was so nervous but I was glad to see you handled everything succinctly and professional. Thank you for keeping me up-to-date.