Best Attorney, Earns 10 Out Of 10 Stars, Positive Results
“When I first got a call from DCF Department of Children and Families, it was a very difficult time in my family’s life. My wife was at the hospital at that time. And at first I thought it was some sort of a scam to get our social security numbers. So I refused to talk to them.
Also in the back of my mind, I had an idea that I really should not talk to anyone without proper representation. And I looked for a lawyer online so I would be ready in the future if it is really DCF and there were allegations against me. And this was a very scary experience in addition to all the stress I had at that point.
All of a sudden, I was at the mercy of a nameless bureaucracy because somebody maliciously and anonymously made a false report against me. And that was extremely scary. So the first report the DCF got against me, it was against me, not my wife. The first report was against me. It was an anonymous report and it was extremely scary.
I ended up missing a lot of work in addition to having to take care of my kids, because my wife was in the hospital at the time. And it was extremely anxiety provoking. And it was an anxiety that I had to try and push aside and put a happy face in front of my children so they don’t know how worried I am that I might lose them. It did affect my sleeping. It affected my eating. It affected my wellbeing. It pushed me into great anxiety and depression, which affected my work as well. Our family relies on my income only. And this happened during the corona crisis so the jobs and economies were uncertain. So in addition to corona, all the family problems, there was a potential of me losing my kids. And at that point, it was very hard to cope and deal.
My biggest fear was losing my kids to a nameless bureaucracy. I have heard horror stories about people losing their kids to DCF who were not at fault in any way for trivial reasons. And that was basically my biggest fear. I was hoping for quick resolution, but the outcomes could have been anything from me losing my kids to defend myself at a great cost to me, to having people involved in my life and examining every part of my parenting and my personal life, which is something I definitely did not want.
Eventually I decided that I really need to be represented by a lawyer. So I went online and I searched for DCF lawyers in Massachusetts and not that many lawyers actually specialize in DCF. I spoke to three lawyers, but Attorney Seaver was by far the best recommended online, and seems to be specializing specifically on DCF cases, as opposed to more broadly on family law. So I decided not to take any chances. My children are definitely worth it.
I went with the Attorney Seaver. He seemed by far the most capable out there. I spoke to him on the phone. He was very reassuring and prompt. He gave me all the ways to communicate in right away, including his personal cell phone number to call at any time. He spoke to me about everything that this process will entail in great detail. And he gave me a plan of action of how to tackle this problem, a way forward, which filled me with a bigger sense of certainty. It removed some of that uncertainty that I felt at the beginning of the process. He gave me a bit of sense of familiarity.
Attorney Seaver was very helpful and reassuring both in terms of legally fighting for me and in terms of letting me know that everything will be okay. After talking to Attorney Seaver, I felt some of the dread disappeared. I felt well-represented. I felt more informed about what is likely to happen. I felt that I had somebody on my side who knows the process, who knows the law and that I will not be taken advantage of or neglected or run over by DCF.
During the investigation, Attorney Seaver did everything he said he would do. He was always available. He was there at every phone call. And before the phone calls, to prepare for the phone call, he made all the scheduling. He talked to DCF on my behalf to make sure that everything was said before the interview. At one of the interviews, when my wife was interviewed, another allegation came to light during the interview.
Somebody else, hearing of the first complaint, made a complaint against my wife. And he took care of that problem without any extra charge, even though it’s two complaints versus one complaint. He took care of that problem. He talked over with DCF. He scheduled another interview. He found out what the complaint was about, which helped my wife prepare for that next interview, as opposed to being just surprised and ambushed. And this was great help in our case. It shows that Attorney Seaver was really on top of his game and will not let us be ambushed.
He took care of us. And because he did not ask for extra money to represent my wife as well as me, that made me feel like Attorney Seaver really cared about me and my family and that he was not trying to basically take advantage of my desperate situation, but was really out to help us.
Eventually both allegations against me and my wife were found unsupported, and we have Attorney Seaver to thank for that. He really made sure that DCF was sticking to the rules. They knew I was represented with a top of the line lawyer. And I believe that really put a little bit on defensive and gave them a message that they… And let them know that they better play by the book and not try and put anything over us either to cover themselves or take advantage of us in any way.
Also importantly, I believe that DCF and especially the lead social worker involved really appreciated the fact that Attorney Seaver, being familiar with what DCF was looking for and exactly what the procedure was and what was needed, was able to greatly expedite the process and help them in their finding to find the allegations not supported. I believe having Attorney Seaver by my side really helped make entire process faster, easier, and more straightforward for DCF as well as for me. And that helped them get out of my life faster.
Anyone who gets contacted by DCF, I would highly suggest not talking to DCF without first talking to a competent attorney, such as Attorney Seaver, and be represented at each point, be prepared before each interview and be represented at each point of the process. It’s extremely important to get DCF out of your life and out of family’s life. The fee or whatever costs you pay in attorney fees is nothing compared to the pain, anxiety, time spent, stress of dealing with DCF and God forbid the risk of having your kids taken away from you. It’s just not worth it.
On a scale of one to 10, I would give Attorney Seaver 10 because he was there at every step of the way. He really knows the process. He has done this for many years, and there’s really nothing I could think of to improve at this point. Had my children being taken away from me, they probably would have been devastated. They would have cried. They are very young and they don’t understand what’s going on very much. And they’re still very much attached to their parents, especially me.
And if they had been taken away, I am not sure how they would handle it. And had they been away for any period of time, I’m not sure how well they would remember me, being so young. I honestly don’t know. And I don’t know whoever takes my children in, would it be an orphanage or foster care? How well they will take care of my kids. Would they be separated? Would those people be kind to them? How well would they be taken care of? I honestly don’t know. It scares me just thinking about it. And what would be devastating, my wife would be devastated or my parents and her parents would probably take it extremely hard, my elderly parents.
Because my children are my life, there is no amount of money I wouldn’t pay to make sure that they’re with me. There is no price high enough to make sure that my children are with me, that my life is with me because they are my life. They are my world. And any involvement in DCF would have cost me, would have cost them, would probably give them emotional trauma, would affect them for the rest of their lives. It would ruin their lives forever. It would ruin my life, but my life is not important and I can always make more money. The risk is not worth it.
The amount of money needed to make sure, to minimize all chances of securing your kids’ future, of securing their mental wellbeing, of making sure that they’re well taken care of by you, that they stay happy, that they have happy childhood and not a traumatized childhood. No price is too high to ensure that. It really isn’t. So if anybody is hesitating on hiring Attorney Seaver due to cost, I will say, just do it. You have to do it. Not being represented by a very competent attorney during this process is just risk not worth taking.”
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