PeaceLaw can assist you in many different areas of

Family Law

such as Adoption, Child Support, Collaborative Divorce/Collaborative Law, Custody, Divorce Mediation, Guardianship, and Visitation

Adoption and Guardianship: PeaceLaw can assist you with step-parent, local and interstate adoptions as well as adult and infant guardianships.

For those who have already experienced the trauma of divorce and are facing Custody · Visitation · Child Support, PeaceLaw can help.

Domestic Relations and Divorce Mediation

For those who are in a situation where the restoration of the marriage is not possible*, Attorney Steve Plaisted of PeaceLaw can serve as a Divorce Mediator or as a Collaborative Lawyer so you will not pay the high costs (both money, emotional energy/peace) which are involved in litigation. There’s no need to do more harm to the other spouse. You both have to live with yourselves and/or any child(ren) you may have. Do your best to not alienate yourselves from your children during a divorce. By preventing the escalation of conflict through litigation, Divorce Mediation can provide a context to preserve continuing relationships with children and/or friends. Let us know how PeaceLaw can assist you with the compassionate and professional approach of Divorce Mediation which incorporates the male/female PeaceLaw team.

*”If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18 (NIV)

HOW TO SET UP YOUR INITIAL CONSULTATION: Contact Steve Plaisted TODAY at either PlaistedLaw@aol.com or call 301.762.7877.

AVAILABILITY: Steve Plaisted is available for appointments from about 10:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (afternoon appointments should not start later than 4:00) and most Saturday afternoons. To accommodate clients, Steve is also available evenings as his schedule permits.

WHERE: Steve Plaisted’s convenient Gaithersburg office (113 Billingsgate Lane, Gaithersburg, MD 20877) in a quiet neighborhood located near Mid-County Highway and Woodfield Road which is minutes away from I-270 and the Shady Grove Metro with parking just a few steps from the office entrance.

WHY CHOOSE Steve Plaisted to assist you during a Family Law crisis?

Since 1991, Christian Attorney and Mediator Steve Plaisted of PeaceLaw has handled domestic relations cases in Maryland, mostly in Montgomery County. Steve’s experience in family law combined with his heart for struggling couples allows him to serve them with skill and empathy.

Steve Plaisted helps clients avoid the contentious aspect of litigation in family matters, by being a conflict coach, mediator or collaborative lawyer. Steve Plaisted, a Certified Christian Conciliator since 2005 by Peacemaker Ministries, offers clients in a collaborative mediation/divorce mediation process the ability to save MORE emotional energy, time and money. During a typical law suit, divorce lawyers are known for escalating the conflict through unnecessary legal requests and through inflammatory rhetoric which ends up causing the parties more money to deal with the burdensome requests.

Additionally, BOTH parties will usually not achieve beneficial outcomes that they BOTH believe are fair and just when a separation agreement is negotiated through lawyers in a typical law suit (litigation) context. And it’s usually worse when a judge is asked to make those decisions.

Steve has moved away from the traditional divorce law suit model and now focuses on Divorce Mediation as well as Collaborative Law as a method to compassionately “integrate the power of peacemaking with the practice of law” to facilitate discussion of his clients’ concerns and wishes in a non-argumentative manner to help those in challenging circumstances evaluate and work through decisions to avoid relational and financial regrets — whether in divorce mediation or marriage restoration. (A female co-counselor is present during mediation and/or restoration sessions.)

I have participated in several counseling/mediation sessions led by Steve. I have observed that Steve is not just any lawyer. He is a competent and experienced lawyer who loves the Lord and cares for his clients. He seeks resolutions that are best for his clients and pleasing to the Lord. His interactions with his clients are warm and professional. — John Leconte, Non-staff elder, Covenant Life Church

Steve brings over 25 years of knowledge of domestic relations law and local practice to the table when he conducts mediation. However, when he conducts mediation, he is not working as a lawyer for either or both parties. Instead, he works for both parties as a completely unbiased and neutral peacemaker. Steve works with his wife, Pam, who has received Conflict Coaching and Mediation training from Ambassadors of Reconciliation

He walks clients through every issue that must be discussed and he facilitates dialogue regarding those issues. He works with a female co-mediator so clients benefit from the contributions of two neutral parties who are able to provide two independent perspectives as well as male and female perspectives. In the mediation context, the ideas from four heads (two mediators and two clients) work together simultaneously to think of beneficial and sometimes creative solutions to problems.

*Priceless* is the **PEACE** which comes from resolving conflicts when hiring Steve Plaisted as a conflict coach who wants the best for parties — to come to a better understanding and to accept personal responsibility in order to pave the way toward relational reconciliation.

Even though Steve Plaisted provides divorce coaching, mediation and arbitration services and helps parties negotiate separation and property settlement agreements when necessary, it is never his intention or desire to facilitate a divorce when there is any hope of reconciliation. Like God, Steve loves relational reconciliation and derives great joy to be a part of the process of relational reconciliation. He is able to provide a wealth of information to clients to help them make an informed decision about the issue of divorce before it is too late. He can also explain why divorce is not usually the answer to an unhappy marriage and he can provide information which may restore your hope for a brighter future without a divorce.

Even if you have “tried everything,” there is wonderful news for you. Most divorces can be avoided and most marriages can be renovated and eventually transformed into marriages that are more satisfying than the spouses have ever experienced and possibly better than they could have ever imagined.

In a process Steve Plaisted calls Marriage Renovation Mediation, struggling couples work with a team to mentor them and to help them follow the written plan created by the couple to help them resolve conflicts.

People seldom regret NOT getting divorced, but they often regret getting divorced. — Steve Plaisted

From a reconciled spouse who ended up participating in a Marriage Renovation Mediation process: I remember what a mess I was when I came in for . . . help to file [for divorce]. I did not have peace. As soon as you shared your perspective, at the end of the meeting, I had the peace of God, a true indication of God’s will ☺.

I am utterly amazed as I consider the work He has done, and the work He continues to do ☺.

HOW TO SET UP YOUR INITIAL CONSULTATION: Contact Steve Plaisted TODAY at either PlaistedLaw@aol.com or call 301.762.7877.

When my hopes and dreams are far from me and I’m running out of faith

I see the future, I pictured, slowly fade away

and when the tears of pain and heartache are pouring down my face

I find my peace in Jesus’ name

In the eye of the storm You remain in control

In the middle of the war, You guard my soul

You alone are the anchor, when the sails are torn

Your love surrounds me, in the eye of the storm

“Eye of the Storm” ~ Ryan Stevenson

The PeaceLaw team understands the importance to “fight for peace”, to “fight for love” and to “fight for truth”.

If something were easy, it wouldn’t be a fight to remember the things that are true — that we are in a battle to preserve and to love our family for the next generation.

Psalm 89:1-2 (NIV)

¹I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;
    with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known
    through all generations.
²I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
    that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

PeaceLaw is here to help you remember the things that are true during a challenging time. God has not left you nor forsaken you although you may certainly feel like that in a challenging family law situation.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” ~ 2 Cor. 1:3-4

RESOURCES

Sometimes, knowing other people (and ministries) who know what you’re going through can provide some much needed answers and hope. Perhaps these resources may be of help:

Both Focus on the Family and FamilyLife Today provide transcripts of their radio programs which deal with ALL areas of marriage and parenting. The programs are also available online at their respective websites — FocusOnTheFamily.com and FamilyLife.com — as well as through their app and are also available via the podcast function on mobile devices.

Both Focus on the Family and FamilyLife provide specialized marriage conferences.

Focus on the Family – Marriage Intensive (click for link)

FROM THE LINK ABOVE: Focus on the Family’s Hope Restored intensives offer marriage counseling for couples who are facing an extreme crisis in their marriage, and who may even feel they are headed for divorce. Hope Restored Intensives are all-inclusive, extended periods of counseling over multiple days that allow our team of marriage counselors to get to the root of the problem.

Focus on the Family – Click for Accessing Radio Broadcasts AND Other Marriage Resources (click for link)

FamilyLife’s “Weekend to Remember” WTR Conferences (click for link)

FROM THE LINK ABOVE: Couples attend Weekend to Remember because they’re ready to invest in their marriage and intentionally move towards oneness. We help you understand God’s blueprint for marriage so you can create a legacy of greatness. Our attendees say their relationships improved on average from a 4/10 to an 8/10 after one weekend.

“Weekend to Remember” Conferences are held in almost every state annually. In the DC Metro area, there are several conferences held which are an easy drive to either stay overnight or to commute.

FamilyLife Today – Click for Accessing Radio Broadcasts and Other Marriage Resources from FamilyLife

Since parenting can lead to marriage conflict, Parenting Today’s Teens – Radio Show & Blog (click for link) may provide some insight.

Another reconciled spouse: I belong to [NAME OF CHURCH REMOVED] and they said I should get a divorce and then they referred me to you and then you said I didn’t have any biblical cause and my husband and I went to a FamilyLife marriage conference that saved our marriage and I never felt comfortable in leaving him after i had talked to you. I really thank you for that. ~ K.T.

Encouraged through a phone conversation: I was discouraged and depressed. So I called you for advice. you didn’t hesitate to help. You were especially nice. I want to thank you very much for advice you gave me. you gave me scriptures I should read, which helped tremendously. you really show the love of God in each thing you say and do. I love you for your kindness. God bless you your whole life through. [A note from a client whose only contact was a phone conversation.]