Our Philosophy

skilled, compassionate representation keeping in mind what matters most to you

Results

Advocacy

Ethics

Compassion

About Our Firm

At Your Path Family Law, we believe that every person facing a legal matter deserves the opportunity to create their own path to the future.


Most attorneys that handle family court matters only "know" how to provide services in one way - as contested, hourly billed, litigation. At Your Path Family Law, we know that there are a whole host of different ways to get divorced.


Choosing your attorney in a domestic relations matter is a serious purchase and an investment in your future. We think it's important that client's understand the service they are choosing, and the obligations they are undertaking when they sign up for that service. We will take time in our first conversation with you to walk you through different options for different levels of service to ensure that you are choosing the option that is right for you.


During your information session, we will discuss the type of services we provide, the scope of the work we will do for you, and whether you are eligible for flat fees.

There are three ways that Your Path Family Law provides representation to clients with a variety of budgets:


  1. Limited scope representation (also referred to as LSR or unbundled services)
  2. Full representation on an hourly basis
  3. Flat fee representation for uncontested matters

New Paragraph

Limited Scope Representation

Limited Scope Representation (“LSR”) is also referred to as unbundled legal services. LSR is when an attorney and a client have an agreement that the attorney will handle only specific parts of the client’s legal matter, while the client will be responsible for other parts.  LSR allows clients with tight budgets to ensure that they get assistance in their legal matter when needed. It is also a good option for clients that prefer to be more involved in their process by taking on greater responsibility. 


Some examples of when Limited Scope Representation may be appropriate: 


1) You have already filed a motion in the court on your own and appeared for a motion hearing. The Court set your case for an evidentiary hearing, and you have been advised that you will be held to the standard of an attorney. 


2) You and your spouse have agreed how to divide your assets, share time with your children, and have agreed on support, but you want to make sure the agreement and support orders are properly drafted and executed. 


3) You want to handle your case on your own, but you need legal coaching to figure out how the process works. 


4) You filed a motion in the court, but you are afraid to talk to the judge on your own. 


5) You need to file a motion on a legal issue but are not sure how to write it. You feel you can represent yourself in court, but you want someone to help you with the paperwork. 


Not every case is suited to limited scope representation.  Your Path Family Law will assess your situation with you to determine whether limited scope representation is a good idea for you.  Your Path Family Law may refuse to provide limited scope services to you depending on the circumstances of your case. 

Schedule Information Session

Hourly Billing for Full Representation

In some instances, particularly for post-judgment cases (where you have already been to court and have a court order, but have new issues and need to go back to court), full representation with hourly billing is most appropriate. This is for several reasons. 


The first being that the process of a post-judgment litigation can vary greatly depending on the type of issues in your case, and even the county where your case is being heard! Because the law and court rules allow parents sharing minor children to bring each other to court for any issue related to the custody, parenting time, or support of their children, sometimes, what you believe should be a simple issue post-judgment can become a very complex and lengthy litigation. 


Hourly billing permits you and your attorney to work together to best strategize the outcome for you and your family, more easily request attorneys fees from the other side (if they’ve violated a court order or behaved badly), and permits you to decide what actions are most important to you to be taken to resolve your case. If you are interested in flat-fee billing for a post-judgment matter, you should ask our intake team about our legal coaching services and other limited scope representation options.

Schedule Information Session

Flat flee billing for Full Representation

If you want your attorney to represent you in your matter from the date of the engagement, until the conclusion of the case, and for your attorney to be responsible for managing every aspect of your case, then you are looking for full representation. In a full representation arrangement, Your Path Family Law will represent you from start to finish which includes appearing in court, collecting information (also referred to as discovery), attending mediation, and preparing final orders or judgments for you as necessary.  

Schedule Information Session

Is Limited Scope Right for You?

Limited Scope May Be Appropriate

  • You are generally organized and have an appropriate amount of free time to make sure you are meeting court deadlines and collecting the information you need.


  • You would prefer to save costs by handling some pieces of the case on your own.


  • You are comfortable speaking in Court to a judge, so long as you have the right paperwork and have been coached on the law. 


  • You and your ex have equal bargaining power.


  • You and your ex have an agreement, but you want to make sure that you have put it in writing correctly, or else, the Court has previously rejected documents you attempted to file together.


  • You were able to figure out how to file for divorce on your own, but at the last court hearing, the court advised you to get an attorney.


  • You have been to family court on different issues a few times before, but this time there is an issue that is more legally complex than other matters you have dealt with in family court.


Limited Scope Likely Not Appropriate

  • You are disorganized and have difficulty keeping track of deadlines, or you do not have the time or energy to devote to your litigation and just want someone else to handle it all for you.
  • You are willing to pay more to your attorney if it means less stress for you.


  • You are terrified to speak in Court and would prefer someone else do that for you as much as possible.


  • You have unequal bargaining power with your opposing party, or there is a history of domestic violence in your relationship.


  • You and your ex cannot agree on anything. If you say the sky is blue, they will say it is purple.


  • You looked at the forms to file for divorce, and they seemed to be in another language!


  • English is not your first language.


Is Limited Scope Right for You?

Limited Scope May Be Appropriate

Limited Scope Likely Not Appropriate

You are generally organized and have an appropriate amount of free time to make sure you are meeting court deadlines and collecting the information you need.

You are disorganized and have difficulty keeping track of deadlines, or you do not have the time or energy to devote to your litigation and just want someone else to handle it all for you.

You would prefer to save costs by handling some pieces of the case on your own.

You are willing to pay more to your attorney if it means less stress for you.

You are comfortable speaking in Court to a judge, so long as you have the right paperwork and have been coached on the law. 

You are terrified to speak in Court and would prefer someone else do that for you as much as possible.

You and your ex have equal bargaining power.

You have unequal bargaining power with your opposing party, or there is a history of domestic violence in your relationship.

You and your ex have an agreement, but you want to make sure that you have put it in writing correctly, or else, the Court has previously rejected documents you attempted to file together.

You and your ex cannot agree on anything. If you say the sky is blue, they will say it is purple.

You were able to figure out how to file for divorce on your own, but at the last court hearing, the court advised you to get an attorney.

You looked at the forms to file for divorce, and they seemed to be in another language!

You have been to family court on different issues a few times before, but this time there is an issue that is more legally complex than other matters you have dealt with in family court.

English is not your first language.

Our Team

With experience and compassion, our team is dedicated to helping our clients and our community. 

Rachel Gruetzner Kelley

Owner & Managing Attorney

Rachel Gruetzner Kelley dedicates 100% of her practice to family law matters. Family law is not only her job, it is her passion. 

Read Full Bio

Renea Gillum

Senior Attorney

Renea has been practicing as a family lawyer since 2010.  She is a fierce advocate for her clients and will be primarily responsible for helping clients in Wayne, Oakland, and Washtenaw County matters.

Read Full Bio

Laura Nieusma

Associate Attorney

Laura communicates compassion and understanding to clients as she provides clarity for throughout the entire process of working with our firm.

Read Full Bio

Sarah Bolen

Associate Attorney

Sarah is a dedicated legal professional committed to serving her community. Sarah has been practicing family law in the Kalamazoo area since 2020.

Read Full Bio

Celly Ceballos

Managing Paralegal

Celly was born and raised in Miami and is fluent in Spanish. She is sweet but can be fiesty! She cherishes her family and has personal experience with custody disputes as a child and adult, which makes her an excellent resource to clients with these same concerns. She lives in Kalamazoo with her family, and only complains about winter once or twice a year.

Ashley Noelle Salsman

Client Relations Specialist

Ashley has over 12 years of experience in law firm administration and as a paralegal. You will speak with Ashley when you call for an information session. She supports potential new clients taking the first steps on their legal path with our firm.

Ian Kelley

Office Assistant

 Ian Kelley is one of our office assistants at Your Path Family Law, and enjoys the fact that his wife is also his boss. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a background in family studies and social-emotional learning.

Rayah Harper

Magic Maker

We call Rayah our magic maker because that is what she does at our office - makes magic happen! Rayah assists our Managing Attorney, among many other duties. Rayah is originally from Holland, MI, and has a soft spot for animals, stemming from spending a lot of her childhood enjoying her grandparent's farm! She is the ultimate cat lover and is into dance and music. She enjoys traveling and reading when she's not glued into the most recent crime show / documentary or court case trial streaming on YouTube. 

Bethani Rodriguez

Legal Assistant

Bethani is the dedicated legal assistant to Attorney Renea Gillum. Based in Kalamazoo, she's a devoted mother of two and a cat lover. Bethani finds joy in nature, art, photography, video games, and music - logging 214,092 minutes of listening on Spotify last year. She is also our resident green thumb!

Isabel Collins

Junior Paralegal

Isabel grew up in the Kalamazoo area and received her bachelor's degree from Grand Valley State University. She is a trained paralegal who assists our attorneys, particularly on high conflict cases and matters that require extra detail and attention. Isabel enjoys painting, music, and buying new plants (that she does not have room for). A fun fact is that Isabel loves Judge Judy!

Information Session

Sound legal advice is based on years of training, hard work, and passion, as well as familiarity with the law and the courts. You’ll find all that and more at Your Path Family law. 
Schedule Now