Pekelder Family Law, PC

Ruth represented me in the legal battle for custody of my son. While doing so she specifically ignored my instructions. She made the contents of the «parental assessment» confidential. After doing so she insisted that I sign the confidentiality agreement. I was under duress and would eventually give in and sign. That was a mistake on my part. Here is a horrible truth: in the family law system you can not trust your own lawyer, even one being paid over $ 300 an hour, to do what is genuinely in the best interests of your child.
Ruth is highly intelligent, and gives the impression that she is there for you. This, in my experience, was misleading. An example: she had left me a message regarding a specific question regarding my case. I returned her call. I was only trying to answer the question she had asked. Within 5 minutes of speaking with me she told me that she could not put everything on hold to deal with me. She was abrupt. She was rude. I was only attempting to answer the question that she had requested I call her about. It would have been perfectly acceptable to me if she had said to me, immediately: «thanks for returning my call, I’m really busy, can I call you back?» But she didn’t. It is truly unfortunate that positions of wealth and prestige create counterproductive arrogance in those who hold them. When I got off the phone I had a moment where I asked myself: «did that really just happen?» It is painful to be unwillingly thrust into legal proceedings surrounding your child only to have someone like Ruth behave in the manner she did.
Additionally: during negotiations Ruth overlooked a critical detail. My wife’s lawyer was insisting that I continue providing life insurance. But was dropping coverage for my wife. Before we had both maintained a policy. At $ 325 an hour this is the kind of detail that you are being paid to catch in legal documents. I caught it. She did not.
I had to borrow money from my family in order to pay Ruth. She knew I was working a minimum wage job. Knowing all this she strongly advocated that I accept a «parental coordinator» as a part of the settlement. That the parental coordinator cost $ 350 an hour was with held from me. There was no way that I could possibly afford that and she knew it. It is my strong feeling that the reality of my economic situation was subordinated to her relationship with the parental coordinator, whom she knew. I would later, have to return to court, after much expense and inconvenience to get the parental coordinator removed.
I can only offer you my heart felt compassion if you are reading this review because you are having to face divorce and custody issues. My general impression is that our family law system is fundamentally dysfunctional. To help you better understand what you are facing I suggest that you visit
I can’t recommend Ms. Pekelder. My experience with her was unfortunate and counterproductive.