subject: What Does An Attorney Do With Family Law? [print this page] A family law attorney focuses on several different aspects of family law, such as divorce, child custody, child support, marriage, adoption and other issues such as domestic violence and same sex couples. Family law also deals with issues of paternity, infertility, guardianship, emancipation, along with grandparent visitation and custodial rights. If you want to change your name or become a foster parent, a family lawyer is who will be able to help you.
When Do You Need an Attorney who Specializes in Family Law?
If you are getting married and want to have a prenuptial agreement, getting a divorce and need help with the division of property and custody of children, are having trouble with a former spouse and child support obligations, or are considering adopting a child, you will need to turn to the advice of a family law attorney. If there is any question about parental rights and parental liability, a family law attorney will also be able to help you with that. If you have been living together with someone for a long time and have not been married, there could be the issue of a common law marriage, so there may be some legal issues if the two of you decide to part ways after a long period of sharing the same residence. Depending on the state you live in however, the laws surrounding common law marriages and partnerships may vary.
How Do You Find an Attorney for Family Law?
When you are looking for a family law attorney, you should start with your local phone directory, as there are many different lawyers listings in the yellow pages. If you cannot find the lawyer you want there or decide to look for more information about a specific lawyer you may have in mind, turn to the Internet, because many lawyers have websites for their firms where you can find out more information about them and the types of cases they have handled.
Things to Remember
There are some family law attorneys that specialize in only an aspect or two of what family law actually handles. For instance, one family law attorney may only focus on divorce and child custody, while others may focus on adoption and name changes. One divorce attorney may choose to help men instead of women.
It is very important you take time to find a family law attorney that will be able to help you with your specific case, so if you would rather use a specialized attorney than a generalized family law attorney, more research time should be allotted to finding the right lawyer. If in the middle of a divorce, both spouses should have a completely separate attorney to avoid dealing with a potential conflict of interest.
The two attorneys should speak together rather than having the spouses speak together, to avoid potential conflict between the two parties. If you suspect the other people involved in your family law case may be talking to the same lawyer, change legal counsel right away and look into legal malpractice lawyers as well.
