Family law is the area of law that addresses family relationships. Specifics of the law will vary depending on the situation, but generally the aim is to protect each individual’s rights within the context of family.
Some of the most common areas of Family Law include:
Family law consists of a body of statutes and case precedents that govern the legal responsibilities between individuals who share a domestic relationship. It includes both creating family relationships and breaking them through divorce and termination of parental rights. Family Law matters are quite often emotional. For that reason individuals involved in family law cases are strongly advised to hire an attorney. Family lawyers are involved in very personal aspects of their client’s lives.
Family law addresses adoption, contested custody of children, as well as the resulting child support obligations that result. Family-related legal issues can also apply to non-married couples, same-sex couples and other domestic partnerships. It must be proven however that a legal relationship was in place. Because family law is the practice of law that relates to relationships and children, it can be one of the most emotional areas of law.
Most of the time family law matters will be dealt in one of the following ways. For child custody or child support disputes, the best choice is for two parents to settle the matter out-of-court and peacefully. That of course is not always possible. In that case the differences will be settled in what is known as Family Court; The final choice would be mediation. Mediation is when couples take disputes to a mediator in order to avoid the stress of court.
Domestic violence is another aspect of family law. The potential for domestic abuse is not limited to relationships between current or former spouses and their children. Domestic violence can have very serious impacts on a victim or victims, but can also subsequently affect other family-related issues such as divorce or child custody, for this reason it can still be considered family law. It should be noted in these cases that because these instances do involve violence it can also be considered a criminal offense and thus a matter of criminal law. Judges will not hesitate to assert jurisdiction to protect an elderly family member, someone in a dating relationship, or even a roommate. When allegations of abuse are made, the court will typically issue a restraining order to prevent further contact.
With respect to property division at the time of divorce, Michigan has laws in place to determine the rights of the parties. Couples of all types who do not agree with the default laws in Michigan can “opt-out” by hiring a lawyer to draft a prenuptial agreement. As long as the parties involved to do not do anything to violate the terms of the agreement (such as fraud) courts will abide by the “prenup” upon divorce. The assets and shared property will be split according to the agreement.
Your lawyer should supply you with advice on whether you should take your case to court and how strong your case is. Your lawyer should take you through every step of the process of filing papers or a lawsuit. For document creation or review, you can expect that your family lawyer will create a legally binding agreement that has clear terms you can understand. If you have to go through negotiations or go to court, there is no guarantee that the outcomes will be ideal for you, but having a family lawyer on your side will give you the best information and chance of winning your case.
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