Despite the importance of family lawyers, most of us aren’t clear about the types of cases they deal with and when to seek one. There are a number of scenarios where a family lawyer can be useful to keep up with your problems and manage your family affairs.
What Does A Family Law Firm Do?
As the name suggests, they serve you to handle the family issues which have moved towards a legal aspect and are no longer manageable by the family itself. They help you get through with legal concerns that involve your family members. This may include disputes, separations, negotiations, and lawsuits. Most of the legal firms dealing with family laws offer their service in below-mentioned cases.
1. Marriage And Divorce:
There can be several issues concerned with the marriage life that can lead you to a family lawyer. If you and your would-be spouse own certain properties, a business, or any other significant income, you may consider getting a prenuptial agreement. You have the liberty to put together the agreement terms by yourself but will need separate attorneys to represent it before the court and get it finalized.
Apart from this, the most common issue that family lawyers handle is dealing with separation. When couples run into a situation where marriage is difficult to hold any longer, they reach out to divorce lawyers to dissolve their marriage. It’s not just stressful mentally but involves a lot of legal complexity as well, for which you need an experienced attorney.
2. Child Custody:
Once the spouse decides to get separated, one of the important questions is who will get to live with the child. As a parent, you need to have legal custody offering you the right to live with your children or visit them in proper timeslots and have an equal say in decisions concerned with their education or health care. In some cases, the parents may be comfortable enough to go for nesting options as well, which again will require a proper legal procedure, handled by your family lawyer.
3. Child Support:
According to the law, both parents have an equal responsibility in contributing to the expenses related to the childcare. This may include expenses for their education, health care, food, and shelter. The amount to be contributed by each parent depends on various factors such as who owns the custody, their income status, and their contribution during the marriage period. It is solemnly decided by the family court and you cannot predict it beforehand. It’s better to have an experienced attorney to represent your points before the court to get a favorable decision.
4. Spousal Support Or Alimony:
It can be defined as the payment amount that one of the spouses needs to offer the ‘disadvantaged’ partner to provide them financial stability even after the marriage is legally over. Just like child support, the alimony depends on several deciding factors such as their employment status, age of the partners, their health status, and their contribution to marriage while their relationship lasted.
5. Domestic Violence:
In the case of domestic abuse, it’s advisable to consult a trusted family lawyer with complete openness to get started with the legal procedure and help you out of the situation. You need an attorney to keep you safe from any further misconduct or prevent you from any false allegation that your partner may have imposed on you.
6. Adoption:
Family law is also applicable in case of adoption. You might want to consult with your lawyer to make your adoption legal and avoid any future consequences. Depending on the type of adoption, the number of legal procedures involved may vary.
Family matters are serious concerns and need to be handled carefully. With so many family lawyers in Brisbane, or wherever you reside, you should look for the one that is well experienced and is emotionally available too. Another thing to consider while looking for the right candidate for your family issues is to check for a dedicated set of skills and expertise.
For instance, you are looking for separation, go for an exclusive divorce lawyer, rather than any common family lawyer. This may have a great impact on driving the legal decisions in your favor. Look for all the available options and evaluate them thoroughly before you finalize one.
