Avery County Family Lawyers

Serving North Carolina, Boone and the High Country since 1987

The founding attorney and partner of Epperson Law Group, James L. Epperson, has served in the Navy JAG Corps before founding his family law practice in Weddington and Charlotte, North Carolina. In his work with the Navy, Attorney Epperson represented servicemen and women through courts-martial cases, as well as handling high-stakes negotiation for the release of Navy service members from foreign captors in the Middle East. This high-stress work has prepared him for the stressful and emotionally trying world of family law, where he provides counsel and litigation services, as well as mediation and arbitration, for those facing divorce, custody...

Deirdre A. Farrington is a family law attorney and NCDRC-certified family financial mediator in Boone, North Carolina. She accepts cases in Watauga County and surrounding counties, including Ashe, Alleghany, Avery, Mitchell and Yancey Counties. She is a member of the North Carolina State Bar, the Watauga County Bar Association, the Virginia State Bar, and the Florida Bar Association.

Brian W. King is the senior partner and managing attorney of King Law Offices, PLLC. He has been practicing law for more than a decade, and is a lifelong resident of Rutherford County. Brian is a member of the North and South Carolina bars, and maintains active cases in both states. Brian is a graduate of Campbell Law School and completed his undergraduate degree at University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In 2009, Brian became a North Carolina Certified Family Law Specialist. He is one of a small select group of North Carolina Family Law attorneys who have achieved this distinction....

Divorce is tough. There’s no way around it. Divorce is stressful, intensely emotional, and overwhelming. It is the perfect storm of problems, from determining child custody arrangements, divvying up assets, and untangling previously tangled lives.

There’s where I come in. I’m Dustin McCrary, a divorce lawyer focusing on the needs of divorce and separation, child custody, child support, alimony and spousal support, property distribution, and domestic violence. And I’m here to help.

My clients would tell you that I have the natural ability to put them at ease. I have a calming presence and genuinely care about every person I meet. I’m...

Patrick McCroskey is a Board Certified Specialist in Family Law and an American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Fellow. He limits his family law practice to complex matters surrounding separation and divorce. As a Certified Family Financial Mediator, Patrick provides services to other family law attorneys and their clients through mediation, and to the community at large in his capacity as Buncombe County Certified Parenting Coordinator.

Since 2007, Patrick has been continuously recognized by Best Lawyers in America, and named the Family Law Lawyer of the Year for Asheville in 2015, 2017, and 2020. He has been named to North...

Janet Amburgey is a Board Certified Specialist in Family Law. Since graduating from Appalachian School of Law in 2008 she has focused her practice exclusively on family law matters, assisting people through family chaos, ensuring the protection of their rights and property and helping to blend and expand families. She has represented clients in divorce and separation with issues surrounding child custody, child support, alimony, and in property settlement matters. She also assists families through adoption, name changes and protects parents and children in both domestic violence matters and DSS matters. Janet believe’s problem-solving is a primary responsibility...

Scott Lippert was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He and his wife moved to North Carolina to start practicing law in 2013. He began his career in private practice before becoming a prosecutor in Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba Counties. Scott left the District Attorney's Office to partner with his wife and Richard Beyer to form Beyer & Lippert. Scott has served on several local boards and committees within the North Carolina 25th Judicial District. He is a State Board-Certified Specialist in North Carolina Criminal Law. Scott lives in Morganton with his wife, kids, and dogs.

Joel C. Harbinson attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated in 1977 with an A.B. degree and from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law in 1979 with a J.D. degree. He has been self-employed since 1979 as a criminal, domestic, and personal injury attorney in Taylorsville. In addition, Joel is a certified mediator in Superior Court cases, receiving accreditation from the N.C. Dispute Resolution Commission in 1998, and is a certified arbitrator in District Court cases. Joel is the former President of the 22nd Judicial District Bar Association (1987-1988, 1999-2000) and a...

Christopher B. "Chris" Reinhardt is a native and life long resident of North Carolina. He is a second generation attorney, his father being an accomplished real estate attorney in Durham, North Carolina. Chris was admitted to practice in 2003, North Carolina and has practiced in the Asheville area since being admitted. Community: Chris is currently the Legal Counsel for Daniel Boone Council of the Boy Scouts of America serving all of the 14 western most counties of North Carolina. Chris is a Past-President of the Brevard College Alumni Advisory Board, which he has been a member of from...

Over 28 years of experience representing clients and assisting them in resolving their legal matters. We have the knowledge skill and expertise to tackle even the most complex cases. I understand that being involved in legal matters and having to call an attorney can be a confusing and daunting task. We are here to assist you, to answer your questions and to guide you through the legal process and to make it as easy and quick as possible.

We will not give you advice that merely prolongs the matter and increases your costs. I recognize...

Tanya is an experienced attorney dedicated to providing representation to clients with matters involving family law, and estate planning. She earned a law degree from Campbell University School of Law. She is a member of the Buncombe County Bar Association and the North Carolina Bar Association. She is committed to providing excellent service to her clients and positive experience.

At the family dinner table while I was growing up, we enjoyed vigorous argument and debate as much as the food. Even as a child, I loved finding out all of the facts. Going to law school seemed a natural choice. After graduating, I immediately headed to New York to work for a large, international law firm. I learned a tremendous amount. But something, or someone, was missing. You. And me. I realized that I wanted to be collaborating with my clients, that all those facts, all the research, all the arguments, even the law, only made...

Jacob Ehrmann is the founding attorney at Montford Family Law. Formerly known as Ehrmann Law Office, Montford Family Law is the partnership of Jacob Ehrmann and Alex Gomes. The firm works exclusively in the area of family law. Jacob received his undergraduate degree in 1995 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated with honors in Public Policy Analysis with an emphasis on race and gender issues. Jacob then received his J.D. from the UNC School of Law in 1999. In 2000, Jacob began his legal career at Pisgah...

I am a solo practitioner in Asheville, North Carolina. I serve Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania and the surrounding Western North Carolina counties. I focus my practice primarily on family law related issues, including divorce, child custody, child support, domestic violence, and criminal law related issues including traffic and juvenile matters.

Once Anthony graduated law school he was offered a position with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago, Illinois as an Assistant State’s Attorney. In that position, he was able to gain valuable courtroom experience handling approximately 10-30 hearings a day, every day, for 18 months. As part of his duties, Anthony was assigned to the Child Protective Services Division. In that capacity, he was responsible for handling serious cases of child abuse and neglect. From initial emergency custody hearings through terminating parental rights, Anthony fought to ensure that children were not left in the...

BIOGRAPHY
Susan earned a B.A. in Psychology at Southern Methodist Universtiy in Dallas, Texas and went on to attend Loyola University New Orleans, School of Law, graduating in the top of her 2003 law school class. Susan began her legal training during law school working as a law clerk in the civil insurance defense and criminal practice areas.

Following licensure by the Louisiana State Bar in 2003, she began a private law practice in New Orleans where she focused exclusively on Criminal Law. She has gained extensive trial experience working for over 15 years as a litigator the private and public...

Mark Morris was voted Best Attorney of Rutherford County, North Carolina by the Rutherford County Daily Courier Readers Poll for 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. He practices family law, automobile accidents, criminal law and civil litigation in Rutherford, Polk, Cleveland, and McDowell Counties of North Carolina. Mark has also won the Clients Choice Award through Avvo. He fights for his clients' rights to obtain the best results possible.

Melody J. King is an experienced litigator and negotiator in Family Law where she focuses her practice on child custody and child support, spousal support, equitable distribution (property division), and divorce. In addition to litigation, Melody has significant experience in the drafting of premarital and postmarital agreements, as well as Separation and Property Settlement Agreements. Coming from a large law firm, Melody decided to open her own firm exclusively practicing in the area of family law. Melody works closely with clients to determine their specific needs and goals and to make difficult family law cases manageable for her clients, with...

Angela McIlveen is the CEO and Co-Founder of McIlveen Family Law Firm.

The first thing you will notice when you meet Angela McIlveen is that she genuinely cares about her clients and the clients of the Firm.

Maybe it’s because she remembers going through her parents’ nasty divorce when she was 6 years old. Angela knows that her parents' divorce impacted her life. Angela McIlveen remembers growing up with her dad when kids didn’t grow up with their fathers and she says it definitely shaped her life. In case you are wondering, no her mom wasn’t a bad person. Her...

The Law Office of Kelli Y. Allen provides personalized, comprehensive professional legal services. Kelli represents immigration clients worldwide. Her immigration law practice focuses on family-based visas, adjustment of status, consular processing, unlawful presence waivers, naturalization, DACA, U-visas, removal of conditions, and some non-immigrant employment visas. Kelli is a member of the American Immigration Lawyer's Association and previously clerked with the Charlotte Immigration Court. Our North Carolina elder law practice consists of long-term care planning, asset protection, establishing long-term care Medicaid eligibility without having to "spend down", preparation and submission of NC long-term care Medicaid applications, and representation before the Department...

Born and raised in Kannapolis, North Carolina, Ronnie Crisco is a proud alumnus of A.L. Brown High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Duke University with a degree in Public Policy Studies. In 2002, he received his law degree with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005. While in law school, Mr. Crisco competed nationally as a member of the UNC Mock Trial Team, assisted indigent clients through the UNC Civil Legal Assistance Clinic, and served as editor on the UNC Journal of Law and Technology.

Mr. Crisco is a Board Certified Specialist in Family...

I am originally from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I graduated Magna Cum Laude from North Carolina Central University in 2003 with a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and Psychology. I obtained my Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 2006. I than began work with Legal Aid of North Carolina. While at Legal Aid, I served as a staff attorney representing clients in housing, employment, education, and consumer matters. I also served as the director of Legal Aid’s statewide Bankruptcy team. In October of 2011, I began work with Mike Lewis Attorneys. There...

I am an attorney based in Gastonia, NC, practicing family law remotely with King Law Offices. Since I started practicing, I have devoted my energy to trying to efficiently resolve family law cases. I became a NCDRC Certified Mediator for Family Financial cases in 2017 and a NC Board Certified Family Law Specialist in 2020. Clients often come to lawyers when they are stressed or anxious. I truly enjoy helping clients and my best reward is to bring them relief from whatever legal problem they are facing. Please call for a...

Mr. Harris was born and raised in Charlotte along with his eight brothers and sisters. After attending Piedmont Open Middle, he attended and graduated from Woodberry Forest School in Orange, Virginia. Mr. Harris then attended Duke University, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Before attending law school, Mr. Harris taught ninth and tenth grade World History in Limestone, Tennessee and Rome, Georgia, where he was also a Resident Dorm Master and coached various sports teams, including the 1999 Lacrosse State Championship team.

Mr. Harris attended Duke University for law school, where he participated on a National...

Mr. McArdle has lived in Charlotte since 1979. He attended Saint Gabriel Catholic School and Charlotte Catholic High School. Mr. McArdle continued his education at the University of North Carolina. At Chapel Hill, he played on the Junior Varsity Basketball Team and served on the UNC Supreme Court. He also received recognition for being an All-ACC Student Athlete. After graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Political Science, Mr. McArdle attended law school at Campbell University.

Mr. McArdle returned to Charlotte in 1995 and has been representing clients in Charlotte and the surrounding Charlotte region since. In 2015 he became a...

To R. Anthony “Tony” Hartsoe, the law has always felt like a calling, not a job. He loves helping people through some of the toughest moments in their lives. With a family of his own and work experience that dates back to when he was 12 years old, Tony can relate to many of his clients and utilizes his knowledge to aggressively represent them with strength and integrity. He received his Bachelor of the Arts Degree from Oral Roberts University before attending Washington University School of Law. Tony graduated with a Juris Doctor Degree in 1994. Attorney Hartsoe has worked...

“Board Certified Specialist” in family law by The North Carolina State Bar – 2006 to present

Rated “AV” Preeminent (Judicial Edition), the Highest Possible Rating in both legal abilities and ethical standards reflecting the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and Judiciary – Martindale-Hubble / Lexis-Nexis – 2013 to present

Anastasia Cowan pursued her undergraduate degree at Ohio State University. She was a resident advisor, a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society, and a member of the Women’s Glee Club.

Mr. Arnold is an experienced trial attorney who has tried bench and jury trials in both North Carolina District Court and North Carolina Superior Court and has argued cases in front of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, the North Carolina Supreme Court, and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, VA. Mr. Arnold grew up in Charlotte, and attended Carmel Junior High, South Charlotte Middle, and graduated from Providence Senior High School. Mr. Arnold earned his undergraduate degree in Psychology graduating cum laude from Belmont Abbey College where he received a basketball scholarship and played varsity basketball...