Non-Married Parents

Black Hills Mediation and Law provides top-notch service, resources and support with their experience in family law. Lorie Melone has experience in solving issues involving custody, guardianship, take off the child support and more!

Little girl feeling sad while her parents are arguing in the background.

Co-Parenting Outside of Marriage

Co-parenting can be difficult enough—without having to worry about the law. Many parents don’t realize all of the rights and resources available to them—even if they aren’t married. This leaves many people feeling powerless, but at Black Hills Mediation and Law, Lorie Melone will make sure that you have access to the most current, meaningful, and helpful information so that you can stay educated on the best ways to solve your dispute in the quickest and least painful way possible!

Custody Agreements

When negotiating primary care and custody arrangements, the judge will defer to the best interest of the child which includes the following factors: parental fitness, stability, primary caretaker, harmful parental misconduct and separating siblings. The court does not necessarily favor a mother over a father, it has to do with those factors. South Dakota Parenting Guidelines were updated and went into effect June 2022.
Family Problems. Cute Little Girl Suffering From Parents Arguing, Sitting On Floor With Teddy Bear, Feeling Abandoned And Lonely
A young girl stands with a teddy bear and smiling at camera. Beautiful girl with parents stands in the office of a lawyer.

Child Support

In most cases, the judge will not deviate from the law as far as child support guidelines, and if they do, they must be held accountable with a legal reason for doing so. Child support is an obligation that utilizes an equitable share of income and resources for the child. Orders are established in accordance with South Dakota Legislature, and is determined by monthly income and number of children.
Cropped shot of a businessman drawing a dividing line between a father, his children and their mother

Shared Parent Agreements

In situations where the parents have share parent agreements, there are formulas that must be utilized to calculate the child support to be provided by each parent. Take advantage of our online resources page to learn more.
Close up of mother hands covers hands of little daughter

Mediation Services

Of course, not all disputes are solved amicably, so please reach out to learn more about our mediation services.

For more information, forms and resources, visit our resources page.