The Role Of A Family Law Attorney

The realm of family law is an extremely broad category, yet also an exceptionally important one, especially in modern society. It serves an important function in arbitrating decisions regarding child custody, divorce, child abuse, and marriage. In order to get a better understand of exactly how a family law attorney might be of use to you, here is a brief explanation of each category and how it can apply to you:

Child Custody

A family law attorney will be involved in any case involving the adoption of a child, the rescue of a child from a dangerous home environment, determining the paternity of a child, settling the custody of a child after a divorce or separation. These may seem like fairly extreme cases, but they are actually relatively common. 

In the event of child custody as the result of a divorce, you will probably already have a lawyer for the divorce, so you won't need to find an additional legal specialist. However, there are many other cases where you will need to seek out the services of a family law attorney, such as if you believe that a child is in a dangerous environment or if you want to prove the paternity of a child.

In criminal cases involving the abuse or kidnapping of a child, then a family law attorney will likely be involved on the prosecution side.

Divorce

One of the most common roles for a family law attorney is to serve as the lawyer for one side or another in a divorce. They will help their client divide up property as well as discuss complex issues such as child custody and ownership, alimony, and potentially annulment.

A common misconception about divorce proceedings is they they generally do not take place in a courtroom. The vast majority of divorces consist of the two parties being divorced, their respective lawyers, and a neutral arbiter discussing the terms of the divorce and hopefully agreeing on a satisfactory division of property.

Marriage

Before getting married, you might want to consult a family law attorney in order to create a strong prenuptial agreement, which dictates a series of agreements between the two parties getting married. The main advantage of a prenup is that it can help reduce friction when the two parties are from vastly different wealth levels. It ensures that the richer party will not lose a disproportionate amount of money and property in the event of a divorce.

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