OODesigns concept Aldridge Family Law is a fictional business created to demonstrate design work Back to gallery

You have the papers. What now?

Aldridge Family Law handles divorce, custody, adoption and mediation from one office in Andover, Kansas. You do not need to know the law or have your papers in order. You find your case below, you land on the stop marked “You are here”, and you take that one step.

Open Monday to Friday from 8:30

Book a first conversation Call (316) 555-0142

First meeting: one hour, $150, credited if you hire us.

Which stop is your case at?

  1. You are hereThis week

    First conversation

    An hour with an attorney. Bring what you have, and we sort the rest.

  2. Weeks 1 to 3

    Petition filed

    We file with the district court. Your spouse is served, or signs to accept the papers quietly.

  3. Weeks 2 to 6

    Temporary orders

    Where the children sleep and who pays the mortgage, until the case is final.

  4. Months 1 to 3

    Paperwork and a plan

    Income and debt statements, a parenting plan, and a short parenting class.

  5. Months 2 to 5

    Mediation

    Most couples settle here, with a neutral mediator instead of a judge.

  6. Day 61 at the earliest

    Final decree

    Kansas waits 60 days after filing before a judge can sign. Ours usually finish in four to eight months.

Courts we file in: Butler and Sedgwick County District Courts Your part this week: one phone call or one online form

What brought you here this week?

Most people reach us from one of six moments. You read down until one sounds like yours. Each has a first step you can take before you pay us anything.

An adult and a small child in jeans walking side by side down a path covered in autumn leaves, seen from behind
Two homes, one childhood.Most of our custody work is building a schedule children can actually live with.

Cases on our desk

Family law, and only family law. Two attorneys, one mediator and a paralegal, working from one office in Andover since 2011.

Divorce

Uncontested and contested, including dividing retirement accounts, a family business, or a farm.

Custody and parenting time

First parenting plans, changes when a parent moves or a child grows, and enforcement.

Adoption

Stepparent, grandparent and relative adoptions, and adult adoptions for inheritance.

Mediation

Dana Whitcomb mediates for couples who want to settle outside the courtroom, with or without attorneys.

Child support

Calculations under the Kansas guidelines, and changes when income or custody changes.

Protection orders

Filing for, or responding to, protection from abuse and stalking orders.

Fees, the same as on your agreement

You open the fee agreement and you find the number from this table. It does not change after you sign. Court filing fees are separate.

ServiceWhat it coversFee
First meetingOne hour with an attorney, in person, by phone or by video. Credited to your case if you hire us.$150
Uncontested divorce, no childrenPetition, settlement agreement, decree, and one court appearance if the judge asks.$1,500 flat
Uncontested divorce with childrenEverything above, plus the parenting plan and child support worksheet.$2,250 flat
Contested divorce or custodyBilled by the hour against a retainer. Attorney time $210 to $245 an hour depending on the attorney, paralegal time $110 an hour.$3,500 retainer
Stepparent adoptionConsents, petition, hearing and the amended birth certificate request.$2,100 flat
MediationPer hour of session time, split between both people unless you agree otherwise.$190 an hour

A first meeting about a protection order is free. Any fee can go on a payment plan, usually four monthly payments. Flat fees stay flat: if a case turns contested, what you paid is credited to the retainer, and unused retainer is refunded within 30 days. Butler County's divorce filing fee is about $195.

After the house goes quiet

It is late and you are reading this on your phone. Everything in this part of the site works at any hour, and nothing reaches us until you press send.

One-minute checkWorks now
What is this about?

Conflict check first. The other person's name is checked before you share anything private, so you never sit down with a firm that already represents them.

Your payment planAutopay on
$3,500Retainer, 4 payments

$875 paid, $2,625 to go. No interest.

  • Oct 1$875
  • Nov 1$875Scheduled
  • Dec 1$875Scheduled
  • Jan 1$875Scheduled
Card ending 4417Change date

Payment plans. Split any fee into monthly payments and move a date yourself when a paycheck lands late.

You press send. Then?

  1. 1Renee checks the other person's name against every past and current client, the same day.
  2. 2She calls you within one business day to offer a time, in person, by phone or by video.
  3. 3You sit down for your first hour with an attorney. You leave knowing your options and the likely cost.
  4. 4If you hire us, a written fee agreement, and your case starts on the route above.
Your caseSigned in as Jenna Keller

Keller and KellerButler County case 2026-DM-0418

  1. First conversationAug 4
  2. Petition filedAug 19
  3. Temporary ordersSigned Sep 9
  4. Paperwork and a planYou are here
  5. MediationBooked for Oct 21
  6. Final decreeOct 19 at the earliest
  • Domestic relations affidavitDone Sep 22
  • 2025 tax returnUploaded
  • Last three pay stubsDue Oct 10
  • Parenting class certificateDue Oct 17
Drop pay stubs here or take a photo with your phone. Encrypted, and only your legal team can open them.

Client portal and secure upload. The route from the top of this page, showing where your case is and what is due next.

Four names on your file

You keep one attorney from your first meeting to your last. When your attorney is in court, the paralegal picks up.

Claire Aldridge

Founding attorney

Kansas bar 2007. U.S. District Court, District of Kansas.

Nineteen years in family courts. Takes the contested custody cases.

Tobias Reed

Attorney

Kansas bar 2016, Missouri bar 2017.

Ten years. Adoptions, child support and parenting plan changes. Meets clients in Spanish or English.

Dana Whitcomb

Mediator

Kansas Supreme Court approved domestic mediator since 2014.

Former school counselor, which shows in how she runs a room.

Renee Park

Paralegal

Certified paralegal, twelve years in family law.

Keeps your documents, deadlines and court dates straight. Usually the voice you hear when you call.

Facts to look up yourself

  • LicensedEach attorney is admitted and in good standing with the Kansas Supreme Court.
  • InsuredMalpractice insurance, $1 million per claim.
  • Founded in 2011One office in Andover, family law only, since the first day.
  • Admitted to practiseAll Kansas state courts, including the Butler and Sedgwick County district courts.
  • Fees in writingA signed fee agreement before any work, with unused retainer refunded.
  • ConfidentialWhat you tell us in a first meeting stays private, even if you do not hire us.

Client reviews

Google reviews appear here once the firm's profile is connected, exactly as clients posted them. We never ask a family law client to review us.

Each excerpt shows the reviewer's name as posted, the date, and a link to the full review on Google.

The evening before your first meeting

You open a drawer and pull out what you can find in one evening. Some papers are missing. That is normal. We book about two weeks out, so call before you feel ready.

Into the folder

Photo ID, and a way to pay the $150 fee by card or check.

Plain-language guides

Kansas divorce, start to finish

One spouse files a petition in the county where either of you has lived for 60 days, and Kansas requires 60 days to pass before a judge can sign the decree. In between come temporary orders, financial affidavits and usually mediation. Most of our uncontested cases finish in two to three months.

How child support is worked out

Kansas uses a worksheet that combines both parents' incomes, then adjusts for health insurance, childcare and the parenting schedule. The result is a starting point. A judge can move away from it only for reasons written into the order.

What a protection from abuse order does

It orders someone to stay away from you, your home and sometimes your children, and it can set temporary custody. A temporary order can be granted the day you file. A hearing follows within about three weeks, where the judge decides on a final order of up to a year.

The questions on your first call

Is the first meeting free?

It is $150 for an hour with an attorney, credited to your case if you hire us. A first meeting about a protection order is free.

How long will my divorce take?

Never less than 61 days in Kansas. Uncontested cases usually finish in two to three months, contested ones in four to twelve, depending on how much is disputed.

Will I have to go to court?

For an uncontested divorce, often only once and briefly, and sometimes not at all. Most contested cases settle in mediation before a trial.

Do we both need our own attorney?

We can only represent one of you. The other person may hire their own attorney or represent themselves, and we explain that choice to them in writing.

Is it private if I do not hire you?

Yes. That is why we ask for the other person's name first: if we already represent them, we tell you before you share anything and suggest other firms.

When you pull into the lot

You drive up North Main Street, just north of the turnpike, and look for a single-story building. Clients come from Andover, Augusta, El Dorado, Rose Hill, Derby, Towanda and east Wichita, and we file in Butler and Sedgwick counties.

Street map of central Andover, Kansas, showing North Andover Road, 13th and 21st Streets and the Kansas Turnpike, with the office marked on North Main Street © OpenStreetMap contributors Open directions

300 N Main St, Suite B
Andover, KS 67002

You park in the lot behind the building. The side door has no steps and opens straight into our waiting room.

  • Monday8:30 to 5:30
  • Tuesday8:30 to 7:30
  • Wednesday8:30 to 5:30
  • Thursday8:30 to 5:30
  • Friday8:30 to 1:00
  • Saturday and SundayClosed

Closed on court holidays. Meetings in English or Spanish, and an interpreter for any other language at no cost to you.

Get directions(316) 555-0142

After hours

If you are in danger, call 911. A local domestic violence advocacy program can help you file for a protection order, and the national domestic violence hotline answers at any hour. Our voicemail is checked by 8:30 every business day, and clients with a hearing that week can reach their attorney directly.

A single mug of coffee with milk on a dark, weathered wooden table, seen from above

Coffee, water, tissues, and a meeting room with a door that closes.