Family law is part of a legal practice that focuses on situations that are associated with family relationships. These situations may include child custody and divorce among many others. A family attorney that specializes and focuses on family law would represent the clients in court proceedings and other relevant legal discussions. Other cases where a family lawyer can work on include property agreements, legal documentations, and domestic relations court petitions.
Some family law attorneys concentrate on emancipation or paternity cases as long as it is not related to divorce cases. Many states and jurisdictions have the proper power in identifying the reasonable legal requirements which will be used for marriage procedures. The requirements imposed include the age of the partners applying for marriage. Various states also provided the mandate on the laws and procedures of family law cases, including divorce.
Cases Where a Family Attorney Is Needed
Divorce
When going through a divorce, people involved in the case will need to hire his or her attorney which will help them work on a settlement plan or agreement which will avoid the case from going to court. Divorce attorneys use their skills to properly divide marital property, develop a child custody agreement, calculate possible spousal support, create visitation agreements, and prepare legal documents on other marital arrangements.
Adoption
Adoption is a legal procedure that has complicated laws where the legality may differ for each state. In adoption cases, the type of adoption is additionally considered, including the child’s origin, the state laws, and other factors that can affect the adoption process. The complexity of adoption cases would require the services of a family attorney. Foster parents have the ability to legally adopt their foster children which is why they would need the expertise of a family lawyer. Nonetheless, the foster process doesn’t require an attorney to get the process started.
Child Custody and Support Payments
Settlement agreements, child custody, and child-support are cases where it can get nasty. In some cases, the court gets involved. In this case, a judge can order the decision regarding child-support and child-custody. Child custody is usually discussed alongside a divorce case where conditions may change. Support payment cases are often adjusted if there is any alteration regarding the financial situation of a child’s non-custodial parents.
Paternity
Most paternity cases are filed by the mother to help her secure her child-support payments from an absentee father. Biological fathers can also file for paternity cases to have visitation rights with the child or prove that he is not the child’s father. A DNA test would often determine the end-result of the case.
Termination of Parental Rights
There are cases when the court deems a parent not suitable to have his or her child with her. If there are serious legal reasons as to why a parent should not have a parental relationship with his or her kid, the domestic relations court may terminate the parent’s rights. Some reasons may be abuse, neglect, or abandonment. If somebody else wants to become the child’s legal parent, the domestic relations court can grant an adoption process where the parent-child relationship is legally bound.
Juvenile Matters
The domestic relations court oversees all legal matters when there are allegations of child maltreatment, abuse, or when the minors are accused of being involved in illegal activities. These matters are handled by the Juvenile Division of the District Attorney’s office. The domestic relations court can approve work permits for minors under the age of 14.
The court in each jurisdiction features a specified family law court. However, they typically operate autonomously in either country and city. Family law courts run various civil cases about divorce, marriage dissolution, legal separation, child custody, delinquency, child maltreatment, and adoption. Parental competence, legal guardianship, spousal or child support, as well as emancipation of a minor, are also handled in family law courts.
Family law often comes in contact with other legal practices. An example of how family law can become entangled in other cases is when abuse or violence is involved. Family cases where violence is involved would involve criminal investigations in the process. This might end in arrests, charges, trials, and sentencing with a probability of prison time. In cases with potential criminal activity, family courts have the task to work out a way to protect the victim and make sure that people involved with the case will have a secure environment.
