Family Law

If you think you may need the help of an attorney who is trained in family law, it's important to know which topics family law covers. Whether you need legal advice for a divorce or want to know the proper adoption proceedings, a family law specialist will give you the answers that you and your family need.

Family law refers to any of the laws of marriage and divorce, child support, alimony, paternity and adoption. In the event of a divorce, a family law attorney must work to determine which parent will have primary custody of the children, as well as how child support arrangements will be made. There are also different types of divorces (i.e. absolute divorce and limited divorce). While every state does offer absolute divorce, many attorneys and counselors recommend that couples agree to a limited divorce, or separation, where the husband and wife no longer live together but remain married. Alimony payments are also determined by a family law attorney, and can be categorized in three main sections--lump sum alimony, permanent alimony, and temporary alimony. Lump sum alimony means that the spouse responsible for the payment pays what is owed at one time; permanent alimony requires that the spouse that is paying to send payments on a regular basis to the ex-spouse, and temporary alimony only mandates that the spouse making the payments sends money to the other spouse for a specific time period.

If you are thinking about adoption, you'll need to have a family law attorney as well. Before hiring an attorney, it's best to find out as much information as possible on the laws in your state concerning adoption. Some common types of adoption include agency adoption, where potential parents adopt a child from a public or private agency (i.e. foster care), relative adoption, in which an adult who is related to the child by blood or marriage becomes the child's legal guardian, and international adoption, where potential parents adopt a child from a foreign country.

Family law is an extremely useful practice that helps families resolve important legal and emotional issues on a daily basis. The decision to hire a family lawyer is personal, but is recommended to get helpful, practical legal advice to resolve your family situations.

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