503-396-4996

We're About More Than Divorce

Divorce & Family Law Attorney in Silverton, Oregon

If you live in Silverton — or out toward Mt. Angel, or up Cascade Highway past the nursery rows — and you’re facing a divorce or custody case, you already know the drive: OR-213 into Salem, every time. Regele Law is a Salem family-law firm at 1415 Commercial St SE, about 1,500 feet from the Marion County Courthouse where Silverton residents file every family-law case. Founding attorney Stacy Regele has been named an Oregon Super Lawyers Rising Star every year from 2021 through 2026 — six consecutive years, less than 2.5% of eligible Oregon attorneys. Call 503-396-4996 for a confidential conversation about your options.

Table of Contents

Why Silverton Families Choose Regele Law

Silverton is a small town. Roughly 10,800 people, one high school, one hospital, downtown murals everyone knows by sight. In a town that size, hiring a lawyer is an exercise in privacy. You don’t want your case being chatted about at Coolidge-McClaine Park on a Saturday morning or at the Oregon Garden gift shop. Hiring a Salem firm puts a useful layer of distance between your case and your neighborhood — without making you drive to Portland.

That’s part of why Silverton families call us. The rest of the reason is the credentials: Stacy Regele has been recognized as an Oregon Super Lawyers Rising Star for six consecutive years (2021–2026), an honor reserved for fewer than 2.5% of eligible Oregon attorneys. She was named one of Expertise.com’s Best Child Support Lawyers in Salem in 2022, and our firm holds an Avvo 9.1 “Superb” rating. Our office is one of the closest firms in greater Salem to the Marion County Courthouse — about a four-minute walk.

Serving Silverton from Salem — The Local Picture

Silverton sits about 25 to 30 minutes east of downtown Salem, depending on whether you take OR-213 (Silverton Road NE) or come around on OR-214. Legacy Silverton Medical Center anchors local healthcare. Silverton High School — the Foxes — runs the community calendar from football season through graduation. Silver Creek winds through downtown under a series of pedestrian and car bridges, and the Silverton Murals along Water Street and Main Street are the unofficial town map. The Oregon Garden sits at the south edge of town; Silver Falls State Park is 15 minutes further south on OR-214. Mt. Angel with its Benedictine Abbey and famous Oktoberfest is a few miles up the road.

Silverton’s economy mixes nursery and berry agriculture (the rows of nursery stock you see off Cascade Highway), Legacy Silverton hospital employment, and a steady population of Salem commuters. We’ve represented all three.

What does that mean for a divorce? It usually means three things: (1) the drive into Salem for hearings and mediation has to be planned around work, (2) any family-owned nursery, farm, or downtown business is going to need a real valuation, and (3) privacy isn’t optional.

Family Law & Divorce Services for Silverton Residents

We handle the full range of Oregon family law for Silverton residents. Here’s what comes up most often.

Divorce. Contested or uncontested. Start with our Divorce overview, or our step-by-step guide to how divorce works in Oregon.

  • Cooperative divorce — a good fit for many Silverton couples who’ll continue to share the same school, the same church, and the same coffee shop after the case ends.
  • LGBTQ same-sex divorce.
  • Spousal support — Oregon’s three categories and how they’re applied in practice.
  • Property division — Oregon is an equitable-distribution state, not a 50/50 state.

Farm, nursery, and small-business valuations. A lot of Silverton-area marriages include a family-owned nursery off Cascade Highway, a berry or hops operation, or a downtown small business. These are not assets you split with a calculator. We work with business valuators who understand Oregon agriculture and small-business cash flow, and we know what questions to ask before a number gets handed to a judge.

Child custody and parenting time. Custody hearings get filed in Salem at the Marion County Courthouse, but the actual parenting plan has to work for a Silverton High Foxes kid whose practice is in Silverton, whose pediatrician is at Legacy Silverton, and whose grandparents live in Mt. Angel. Read how Oregon child custody cases actually work for the framework. We also have specific resources for fathers’ rights and same-sex custody.

Third-party custody. Grandparents and other non-parent relatives sometimes need a legal path to custody or visitation. Oregon law allows it in specific circumstances. See third-party custody rights.

Child support and modifications. Setting an initial order, modifying an existing one when work or income changes. Our guide on modifying child support in Marion County walks through it in plain English.

Modifications generally. Parenting plans, support orders, custody — any of it can be modified when circumstances change. See family law order modification.

Prenups and postnups. Especially relevant where one spouse is bringing a multi-generational family farm or nursery into a marriage. Joey Crouch leads this part of our practice.

How a Family-Law Case Actually Works in Marion County

Silverton is in Marion County, so the mechanics are the same as for Salem, Keizer, and any other Marion County address. Here’s the short version, with the Silverton-specific notes.

Step 1: Residency. Oregon requires that you (or your spouse) have lived in the state for at least six months before filing for divorce. If you’ve been in Silverton for any meaningful period, you’ve cleared that bar.

Step 2: Filing. Petitions are filed at the Marion County Circuit Court, 100 High St NE, Salem, OR 97301. From most Silverton addresses that’s a 25-to-30-minute drive on OR-213.

Step 3: Service. The other spouse has to be formally served. In a town the size of Silverton, we’re often deliberate about how service happens — privacy matters.

Step 4: Response. Your spouse has 30 days to file an answer.

Step 5: Temporary orders. Custody, parenting time, support, and use of the family home can all be set on a temporary basis. With a parenting plan, the drive between Silverton and any other location your co-parent might live needs to be built into the schedule from day one.

Step 6: Mediation. Marion County requires mediation in most custody and parenting-time disputes before trial. Many cases settle here. We can sometimes arrange mediation that minimizes the number of separate trips into Salem.

Step 7: Trial or settlement. Most cases settle. The ones that go to trial typically involve disputed custody or a fight over a business or farm. We prepare every case as though it will go to trial.

Not sure divorce is the right next step? Legal separation vs. divorce in Salem, Oregon is a useful starting point.

Meet Your Silverton Family-Law Team

Stacy Regele, Founding Attorney. J.D., Willamette University College of Law, 2016; Oregon Bar admitted 2016. Practices exclusively family law. Oregon Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2021–2026 (six consecutive years). Expertise.com Best Child Support Lawyers in Salem, 2022. Avvo Client’s Choice Award.

“Stacy showed she actually cared about the outcome of my custody case — she exceeded my expectations immensely.” — Ryan, custody client (Avvo, April 2022)

Joseph “Joey” Crouch, Associate Attorney. J.D., University of Oregon School of Law, 2022. Joey spent two years as judicial clerk to the Hon. Josephine H. Mooney of the Oregon Court of Appeals before joining Regele Law. He leads our estate planning, prenup/postnup, and appellate work.

Jason Bowen, Paralegal. B.S. Legal Studies, Pioneer Pacific College. With the firm since 2021.

See more on our testimonials page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to drive into Salem for every court date?

For most contested hearings, yes — but not every step requires a courtroom appearance. Initial filings, document exchanges, and a lot of negotiation happen by phone, email, or video. We try to minimize unnecessary round trips on OR-213. When you do need to be at the Marion County Courthouse at 100 High St NE, we’ll coordinate timing carefully so you’re not burning a whole day at the courthouse.

My family owns a nursery off Cascade Highway. How does that get divided?

Carefully, and with a business valuation. A working nursery is an operating business with real estate, equipment, inventory (living plant stock), seasonal cash flow, and often family labor that doesn’t show up in payroll. We work with valuators who understand Willamette Valley agriculture so the number that gets handed to the judge actually reflects reality.

How long does an Oregon divorce take?

An uncontested divorce can be completed in roughly 90 days. Contested cases — disputed custody, a business or farm to value, real estate to split — run 8 to 14 months, sometimes longer.

My kid plays for the Silverton Foxes and lives with me half-time. How do I keep that working if I move?

Carefully. Oregon has specific notice requirements for relocations, and the court applies a best-interest analysis if the other parent objects. Move-away cases are some of the hardest and most fact-specific we handle. Don’t move first and ask questions later.

What’s the difference between filing in Marion County and somewhere else?

Each county has its own docket, its own judges, and its own rhythm. Silverton residents file in Marion County (Salem) — the same courthouse as Keizer, South Salem, Stayton, and Woodburn residents. If you live across the river in West Salem instead, you’d file in Polk County (Dallas) — see our West Salem family-law page if that’s you.

Can Regele Law help with an estate plan as part of the divorce?

Yes — and you’ll want one. Post-divorce, your old will, beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance, and the way your house is titled all need to be reviewed. Joey leads our estate planning practice, and we often handle these updates in tandem with the divorce itself. See our companion South Salem estate planning page for the broader overview.

Schedule a Confidential Consultation

Talk to Regele Law before you make a decision you can’t undo. Schedule a confidential consultation at 503-396-4996 or request one online. We’ll listen, explain your options in plain English, and tell you honestly whether you need us, whether you need someone else, or whether you don’t need a lawyer at all.