Divorce & Family Law
Family Law covers the relationships between family members and domestic partners, including marriage and divorce law . The family unit includes parents, husband and wife, children, grandparents, relatives, step-parents and step-children as well as domestic partners. Common family law issues include premarital relationships, engagement, annulment, marriage, adoption, paternity, child custody, child visitation, child support, emancipation, juvenile law and delinquency, divorce, alimony and support, division of marital property and domestic violence issues. Mediation is a growing area of Family Law which provides “alternative dispute resolution” rather than going through long court battles. Mediation is frequently used to settle disagreements over custody of minor children, parenting time with minor children, child support, spousal support and allocation of debt and distribution of property.
Categories
There are several factors used by a court in order to make child custody decisions.
The Best Interests of the Child Standard
The courts in every state use the "best interests of the child" standard to award child custody. The standard generally tries to find the optimal mix of factors that...
Children born to unmarried parents create a host of child custody and child support issues. While the identity of the mother is usually obvious, it's not always as clear when it comes to the father. Family law governs and provides guidance. Questions of child support and custody /visitation...
As the rate of divorce rises, so does the number of child custody cases that are being filed in America’s courtrooms. Child custody cases can become complex as they are agreements to be worked out between parents in a difficult, usually adversarial situation. It is best to learn in advance about...