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We're About More Than Divorce

Divorce & Family Law Attorney in Stayton, Oregon

Regele Law is a Salem family-law firm that works regularly with Stayton and Santiam Canyon families — Eagles parents on Third Avenue, Santiam Hospital nurses on rotating shifts, and the families still sorting out their finances years after the Beachie Creek fire. Founding attorney Stacy Regele has been recognized as an Oregon Super Lawyers Rising Star every year from 2021 through 2026. Cases get filed in Salem at the Marion County Courthouse, about 25 minutes west on OR-22. If you live in Stayton and you need a divorce, custody plan, or a modification, talk to us before you sign anything.

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Why Stayton Families Choose Regele Law

Stayton is small, and the people here know each other. That’s a real advantage in most of life — and a real complication when you’re getting divorced. Word travels. The other side’s family runs into yours at the Stayton Eagles football game or out at the Sublimity Harvest Festival, and your attorney’s job is to keep the legal process from spilling into every other part of your week.

Regele Law was built for that. Stacy Regele practices family law exclusively, has been named to Oregon Super Lawyers Rising Stars every year from 2021 through 2026 (an honor that fewer than 2.5% of eligible Oregon attorneys earn), and runs a firm that defaults to the lowest-conflict approach the situation will support. We carry a 9.1 “Superb” rating on Avvo with the Client’s Choice Award and a 4.9 average on Google. None of that is the point of hiring a lawyer, of course — the point is getting through your case with your family intact. That’s what we’re trying to do.

Serving Stayton from Salem — The Local Picture

Our office is at 1415 Commercial St SE in Salem, about a 20- to 25-minute drive west of Stayton on OR-22. From the parking lot at Santiam Hospital, you can be at our front door before lunch.

Things about Stayton that matter when you hire a family-law attorney:

  • Marion County, not Linn. Stayton is in Marion County, which means cases get filed in Salem at the Marion County Courthouse — not at the Linn County Courthouse in Albany, even though Albany sometimes feels closer for residents in the southern part of town. Lyons and Mill City further up the canyon are split between counties; we’ll help you sort out where to file.
  • Santiam Hospital is a center of gravity. The critical-access hospital on Jefferson Street is one of the largest employers in town and the closest emergency care for most Santiam Canyon residents. Salem Hospital is the larger backup, about 25 minutes away. A lot of our Stayton clients are Santiam Hospital nurses, techs, and staff — and rotating shifts complicate parenting time in ways the boilerplate parenting plans don’t anticipate.
  • The Beachie Creek fire still shows up. The 2020 wildfire that hit the Santiam Canyon hard left a long financial tail — insurance settlements, FEMA money, rebuilt-property valuation disputes, lost-rental-income claims. Years later, those numbers still show up in dissolutions. We’ve helped Stayton Eagles families rebuilding after Beachie Creek divide insurance settlements as part of the marital estate.
  • Sublimity, Aumsville, and the canyon. Sublimity is right next door — St. Boniface Catholic Church, the Sublimity Harvest Festival, the Catholic and German heritage of the area. Aumsville is west on OR-22. Lyons, Mehama, Mill City, Gates, and Detroit sit up the canyon to the east. People here move between those towns over a lifetime, and the family of one spouse often ends up in a different town than the family of the other.
  • Pioneer Park and the covered footbridge. Pioneer Park, with its historic covered footbridge over Mill Creek and the millrace, is a Stayton landmark and a common parenting-time handoff spot. We’ve named it in more than one parenting plan.
  • Catholic and German cultural threads. Many Stayton and Sublimity families have a religious tradition that shapes how they think about marriage, separation, and parenting. We respect that — and we know that a respectful divorce process matters even more when faith is part of the picture.

Family Law Services for Stayton Residents

We handle the full family-law practice. Here’s how Stayton cases tend to look.

  • Divorce. Oregon is a no-fault state. You don’t need grounds. You do need to divide property, settle support, and (if applicable) build a parenting plan. We always ask first whether a cooperative divorce is realistic. In a small town, it’s often the right call — and sometimes it isn’t.
  • Post-wildfire property issues. When part of the marital estate is a Beachie Creek insurance settlement, a rebuilt house with a disputed valuation, or a long-running FEMA claim, property division takes more work than usual. Oregon’s equitable distribution standard means “fair,” not literally 50/50 — and that gives us room to argue for what’s right when wildfire money is on the table.
  • Spousal support. Transitional, compensatory, or maintenance — the right kind depends on the marriage and the careers involved. For long-term Santiam Hospital employees, support amounts often interact with retirement benefits.
  • Child custody and parenting time. Oregon recognizes legal custody (decision-making) and physical custody (where the kids sleep). Stayton High School (“Eagles”) sets the academic calendar most parenting plans build around. For Santiam Hospital workers on three-on, four-off rotations or 12-hour night shifts, parenting time has to be drafted carefully so it actually works in practice — not just on paper.
  • Fathers’ rights. Oregon law doesn’t favor mothers. Stayton dads aren’t second-class parents.
  • Family law order modifications. Life changes — new job, new shift, a move up the canyon, a major change in income. Existing orders can be modified when the circumstances substantially shift.
  • Estate planning. Every divorce should be followed by an updated will and updated beneficiary designations. Our estate planning guide on the blog walks through what to look at.

If you’ve separated and one spouse has moved north of OR-22 toward Silverton or Mt. Angel, our Silverton family-law page covers the same Marion County jurisdiction.

How a Family-Law Case Actually Works in Marion County

Here’s the order of operations once you decide to file.

Step 1 — Residency. Oregon requires that you or your spouse have lived in the state for at least six months before filing for divorce. There’s no separate Stayton or Marion County residency requirement on top of that.

Step 2 — Filing. Marion County family-law cases are filed at the Marion County Courthouse, 100 High St NE, Salem, OR 97301. Our office is about 1,500 feet away — a four-minute walk. We file the petition, pay the filing fee, and get a case number.

Step 3 — Service. Your spouse must be formally served — by a process server, the Marion County Sheriff, or by acceptance of service if you’re on cooperative terms.

Step 4 — Response. The other side has 30 days to respond. No response can lead to a default judgment.

Step 5 — Temporary orders. If you need a temporary custody, parenting-time, support, or restraining order while the case is pending, we file motions in Salem. Marion County has a regular calendar for these.

Step 6 — Mediation. Marion County requires mediation in most cases involving children before a contested custody hearing. The county runs a mediation program and many Stayton families resolve the parenting plan there.

Step 7 — Discovery and settlement. Most cases settle. We exchange financial information, value the property (including any post-wildfire insurance or FEMA assets), and try to reach an agreement.

Step 8 — Trial. If we can’t settle, we try the case in Salem. Our blog post on how divorce works in Oregon covers it in plain English. If you’re trying to decide whether you actually want a divorce or just a separation, the post on legal separation vs divorce in Salem is worth a read.

Meet Your Stayton Family-Law Team

Stacy Regele is our founding attorney. J.D., Willamette University College of Law, 2016. Admitted to the Oregon Bar in 2016. Practices family law exclusively. Oregon Super Lawyers Rising Stars 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026.

“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 is our associate attorney. He earned his J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2022 and spent two years as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Josephine H. Mooney on the Oregon Court of Appeals. That kind of appellate background matters when a case has unusual financial issues — exactly the kind of thing that comes up when wildfire insurance and FEMA settlements are part of the marital estate. Joey leads our estate planning, prenuptial and postnuptial agreement, and appellate work.

Jason Bowen, our paralegal, has been with Regele Law since 2021. He holds a B.S. in Legal Studies from Pioneer Pacific College and is often the first person you’ll talk to.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do Stayton residents file for divorce?

At the Marion County Courthouse, 100 High St NE, Salem, OR 97301. It’s about 20 to 25 minutes west on OR-22. Linn County (Albany) doesn’t have jurisdiction over Stayton cases, even though Albany may feel closer for some residents.

What about Mill City or Detroit further up the canyon?

It depends on what side of the county line you’re on. Mill City straddles Marion and Linn counties. Detroit is in Marion County. Lyons is in Linn County. We’ll help you confirm at the consult.

How does the Beachie Creek wildfire affect my divorce?

If part of your marital estate is wildfire-related — insurance settlements, FEMA money, a rebuilt property with a disputed value, lost rental income — those assets have to be valued and divided. Oregon’s equitable distribution standard gives us flexibility, but the underlying numbers have to be nailed down first. We’ve handled this.

I’m a Santiam Hospital nurse on rotating shifts. Can the parenting plan account for that?

Yes — and it has to. We’ve written parenting plans around three-on, four-off rotations, 12-hour night shifts, and on-call schedules. Generic templates don’t work for healthcare workers. The plan needs to spell out who has the kids on the actual day each shift falls.

How long does a Marion County divorce take?

An uncontested case can be done in about 90 days from filing. Contested cases take six months to a year, sometimes longer if there’s a custody evaluation or complicated property — like a wildfire-related insurance settlement.

Can I get a divorce in Oregon without my spouse agreeing?

Yes. Oregon is a no-fault state. If you want a divorce and your spouse doesn’t, the divorce will still happen — your spouse can fight over terms (custody, property, support), but they can’t prevent the dissolution itself.

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.