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What Is Family Law?

Family law is an area of law concerned with dealing with family disputes, children, divorce, and other issues that do not fall under criminal or civil disputes. Family law can involve dealing with issues between family members or people in close personal relationships. Finding the right resolution in a family law case can be more complicated than other legal issues because the people involved may have to continue a personal relationship after the dispute. An experienced family lawyer can help resolve family law matters for the best possible outcome.

What Types of Cases Do Family Law Attorneys Handle?

Family law cases can involve many complex disputes between family members, parents with children, or making sure children are cared for. Some types of family law cases include:

• Divorce
• Property division
• Prenuptial agreements
• Child custody matters
• Child support
• Parental rights
• Spousal support
• Domestic violence
• Adoption
• Guardianship
• Child abuse
• Estate planning
• Domestic partnerships
• What Are Common Issues in a Divorce?

Divorce is one of the most common family law issues and can involve other family law disputes after the divorce. After a marriage, the married couple may have involved their lives with shared real estate, bank accounts, and having children. After a dissolution of marriage or legal separation, they have to determine how to separate their lives again. Common issues in a divorce can involve:

• Child custody and visitation
• Child support
• Alimony or spousal support
• Division of property
• Pet custody

If the parents are able to cooperate in a separation, they may be able to decide the terms of the divorce on their own. However, when disputes arise, they may need a family law lawyer to represent them in their divorce case.

What Are Different Kinds of Child Custody?

There are different types of custody, including legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody involves making decisions about the child’s upbringing, including making decisions about the child’s healthcare, education, and religion. Physical custody is where the child spends their time. Legal and physical custody can be shared jointly between the parents or divided.

How Can I Get Sole Custody?

If a parent has sole legal custody, they can make the legal decisions for the child without the agreement or input of the other parent. If a parent has sole physical custody, the child lives primarily with the custodial parent, and the other parent may have visitation rights. Joint physical custody means that the child shares time between both parents. Courts generally consider it to be in the child’s best interests to have involvement with both parents. However, if one parent is considered unfit or absent from the child’s life, the court may consider granting full custody to one parent. If the other parent is seeking full custody or trying to take away joint custody, a family attorney can represent you in court in child custody cases.

How Can I Get Child Support?

Child support is generally determined based on the state child support guidelines. There are several factors that determine the amount of child support, including the income of the parents, parenting time, the needs of the child, and other children involved. In most cases, the custodial parent, where the child spends the most time, is paid support by the non-custodial parent. In other cases, the court will not require either parent to pay support if they are making equal contributions. If you are supposed to be paid child support and the other parent is late on payments or not paying the full amount, you can contact the court or your state child support agency to enforce the court orders. The state can garnish wages, seize tax refunds, or put a lien on property to make sure the othe r parent is paying what they owe. A family law firm can help you deal with child support issues.

How Do I Enforce Child Visitation?

A visitation schedule provides for when the noncustodial parent can visit and spend time with their children. If the custodial parent does not want you to visit, or keeps delaying visits, you can go to the court to enforce the child custody orders. A parent cannot refuse visitation on their own, even if the visiting parent is behind on child support.

How Long Does Adoption Take?

There are different types of adoption, including private adoption or adoption through your state foster care program. Adoption through the state may first require qualifying as a foster parent. After a child is placed in foster care, the process of legally adopting a child can take about six months. Private adoption may have additional restrictions and could take up to two years. International adoption can take longer and parents looking to adopt an infant may have to wait years before a child becomes available.

What Is Family Court Mediation?

Family court mediation is a type of alternative dispute resolution. Mediation involves a neutral, third-party mediator who works with the parties to come up with their own way to resolve a dispute. In family court, child custody and visitation mediation may even be ordered by the court before the court tries to resolve the dispute. Mediation can be beneficial because parents can come up with a plan that works for them and helps resolve the dispute in a constructive way. Instead of adversarial litigation, mediation can help the parents remain on better terms because they have to continue communicating with each other while caring for their children.

Can I Appeal a Family Court Decision?

If you are not satisfied with the way the family law judge decided your case, you may be able to file an appeal. There is generally a limited amount of time to file an appeal after the court issues a final order. There is a limited basis for filing an appeal and it can be more complicated than the trial court case. A family law attorney with experience handling family court appeals can give you legal advice on how to file an appeal for the greatest chance of success.