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Family law is the term applied to the laws and rules developed regarding family relationships. Family law rules define not only the relationships between members of a family but also between a family and society as a whole. More than any other area of the law, family law reflects the values society shares regarding how people who are related should treat each other. When you are faced with an important life decision regarding
a key family relationship, the advice and assistance of a family law attorney often proves crucial to your understanding of the issues involved and your satisfaction with the ultimate outcome of your family law matter.
Typically, family law attorneys assist people in making and breaking family relationships. Specific areas of representation include marriage and relationship planning, divorce, paternity, child custody, and child support and adoption.
Marriage
Marriage is a legal and business union as much as it is a romantic one. Because marriage is a legal and business arrangement, it may be wise to consult with an attorney about the advantages of premarital or prenuptial agreements. Many couples find it helpful to work through financial issues and the potential disagreements such issues can create before entering into a marriage.
Divorce
Divorce is a method of terminating a marriage contract between two individuals. From a legal standpoint, divorce restores an individual's right to marry someone else. The process also legally divides marital assets and debts and determines the care and custody of the children. Each state addresses these issues differently. However, most states follow the same basic principles and use relatively uniform standards.
In some states you need to prove fault, commonly referred to as grounds, to obtain a divorce. However, the majority of states allow at least one form of no-fault divorce in which the spouses are not required to prove that the other caused the breakdown of the marriage. If no-fault grounds for divorce are available in your state, either you or your spouse may obtain a divorce, even if one of you does not consent to the divorce.
In some states both fault and no-fault divorce are available.
In most divorces, the primary issues to be decided are alimony or spousal support, property division, and, if there are children, child custody, visitation, and child support. When spouses agree on how to resolve these issues, they can usually obtain a divorce quickly. However, in many cases, divorcing spouses have disputes regarding their post-marriage financial arrangements and the care and custody of their children. Property
division and alimony are often hotly contested issues in divorce proceedings, but the early advice of a family law attorney may be able to impact the ultimate result favorably.
Child Custody and Visitation
The care and upbringing of children following divorce is often an ongoing source of conflict for divorcing parents. In Florida, the term Residential Responsibility refers to the parent with whom the child resides which is often referred to as custody. Parental Responsibility refers to the right to be involved in the major life decisions involving the child regardless of where the child resides.
Child Support
Parents have a legal obligation to financially support their children. That obligation usually lasts until the child reaches the age of majority or becomes self-supporting. An order for child support may be entered during a divorce or paternity proceeding and may be modified thereafter upon a substantial change in circumstances of one or both of the parents or child.
A parent who fails to remain current on his or her child support obligations may face significant penalties including incarceration for failure to pay support. Every state has a child support enforcement office that works with the family court to suspend professional or business licenses, take away driver and recreational licenses, require payment of future owed sums in advance, or place non-paying parents in jail when child
support obligations are overdue. Because of the state specific requirements involved in child support, parents can benefit from the advice and involvement of a family law attorney at our firm when child support issues arise.
Conclusion
Family relations create a host of legal consequences. Whether you are contemplating marriage or divorce or are seeking to enforce rights against a parent of a child born out of wedlock or to enforce a modify an existing order, a family law attorney at our firm can explain the laws that apply to your particular situation and help you to make the best choices for you and your family.
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