FAQs

You should always have a DCF Lawyer present when speaking to DCF. DCF involvement can have serious consequences for you and your children. DCF will give you a parent pamphlet after speaking to you. Inside this parent pamphlet it states that you are entitled to “counsel at anytime.” Heed DCF’s advice, if DCF tells you that you need a lawyer, you need a lawyer.

The ONLY cases Attorney Seaver handles are DCF cases. He is an experienced, trusted lawyer that has been successfully fighting DCF since 1991 throughout Massachusetts. Throughout his career, Attorney Seaver has handled thousands of DCF cases similar to yours.

Attorney Kevin Seaver has been recognized by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly as an “expert in DCF law.” He is a New York Times Lawyer of Distinction with a 10/10 Avvo Rating and over 300 five-star ratings on Google My Business, BBB, Yelp, Lawyers.com, Facebook, and Avvo. Mr. Seaver was named Avvo top contributor award, Avvo Clients Choice award, and Birdeye best Law Firm. Attorney Seaver will create a strategy and plan to get DCF out of your life. Mr. Seaver fights for his clients, making sure that DCF does not bend or break you and your families’ legal rights. But don’t take our word for it, read our client testimonials.

The first step in retaining Attorney Seaver as your lawyer is to agree upon contracts term, this includes the cost, and payment methods.

The second step is to sign the fee agreement and releases. There different types of fee agreements.

Flat Fee:

A flat fee is a fee where you pay a flat amount and nothing more. This means that you and the lawyer you are retaining agree on a fee and it does not change during the course of representation. This means that if the case ends in a week or goes on for months, you pay one amount and you know exactly what that amount is. This fee is recommended because during a case a client is the best ally in terms of information. Why does that matter some may ask? A flat fee again, means that you pay one set amount. The importance of that is you have complete and unfettered access to your lawyer and you are not constantly getting billed for it. Phone calls, emails, office visits, and DCF Home Visits, it’s all included in your one flat rate.

Hourly Fee:

Some clients choose to retain an Attorney on an hourly basis. This is not recommended. Many people on an hourly fee agreement hesitate to communicate with their attorneys. The reason being is every second of communication is being billed. That bit of information you’re not sure if it’s important or not might come too late to your Attorney’s ear if you’re not willing to call on the phone for a couple of minutes knowing you’re paying for it. Again, this kind of fee agreement is not recommended.

IQualify Loan:

We understand that sometimes finances can be tight. It’s not always easy to round up money for a fee agreement right up front and you may need some help. If friends and family are unable to assist you, we can. We have signed on with a program specifically designed to help clients pay for their legal services from our office. This program is called IQualify Loan.  We send you a quick application similar to any loan application and then IQualify reviews it and gives you an offer depending on your credit worthiness. If an offer is provided to you, you can accept it and paying it back is as simple and easy as paying your phone bill every month. Please do note that not every person is offered a loan and many factors play into being offered one or not. Nothing is guaranteed to be available.

In Massachusetts, there are different kinds of fee agreements that you can choose from when retaining a lawyer. It depends on the type of case. Each case is separate, distinct and apart because every family is unique. The cost will depend on your case and what stage of litigation you’re in.

It does not matter where you live. Attorney Seaver represents ANYONE involved with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.

Attorney Seaver represents ANYONE involved with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.

There are many serious consequences, they may include but are not limited to any of the following:

1. Termination of your parental rights
2. Adoption of your children
3. Placement of your children in foster care
4. If you have more than one child, DCF may place your children into separate foster homes.
5. Limiting or elimination of your visitation
6. Loss of employment
7. DA referral, which may lead to criminal charges and possible jail time
8. Your name being placed on the DCF central registry as a perpetrator of child abuse and or neglect
9. Entry into your home without a search warrant (if you allow them).
10. Anything you say can and will be used against you (DCF is not your friend nor your neighbor please be quiet!)

Attorney Seaver’s 10 things:

1. Ask for identification
2. Ask what the allegations are and who they are against
3. Take the accusations seriously
4. Always be courteous and remain calm
5. Tell DCF politely that you’d like to speak to Attorney Seaver before you speak to them
6. Ask to reschedule a further meeting with DCF so that you may exercise your legal right to “have counsel present at any time”
7. Don’t let the worker interview you or your children without representation
8. Let the worker see that your children are clean and safe with no visible marks or bruises.
9. You and your family members should NOT sign any documents DCF presents to you until Attorney Seaver has reviewed them.
10. Stay silent, DCF will continue to ask you questions but you must be vigilant so that you and your children do not speak to DCF without Attorney Seaver present. Be courteous, but be firm but not speaking to DCF when they knock on your door.

Attorney Seaver handles ANY type of case that involves the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.

It is never too late to hire Attorney Seaver if you are involved in any way with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.

The Law Office of Kevin Patrick Seaver accepts the following methods of payment:

-Cash

-Checks

-PayPal (Debit/Credit Card)

-IQualifyLoan (Application Required)

DCF will not retaliate against you. The DCF parent pamphlet encourages you to hire “counsel at anytime”