As the name suggests, a lawyer specializing in family law will work with legal cases that involve the family unit as a whole. Lawyers here can work on all kinds of processes and issues from standard everyday legal cases through to criminal cases with a family or domestic setting. Family lawyers involved in a criminal case will usually work within a specially set up family court rather than a regular one.
In some cases family lawyers will work as part of a larger general law firm as an in-house specialist and some will set up in business for themselves. In other cases a lawyer may work in general practice and work in various legal areas including family law.
The types of cases worked on by family lawyers will usually fall into four main areas. These are:
#1 Marriages, pre-nuptial agreements, post-nuptial agreements, partnerships and civil unions. #2 Divorces, annulments and asset settlement. #3 Criminal family issues such as abuse and abduction. #4 Child related issues such as paternity, custody, adoption, alimony and visitation rights.
In many cases family lawyers become much more involved in the lives of their clients than regular lawyers. This is often especially the case if there are children involved. So, for example, if you are going through a divorce and need to sort out child custody and alimony issues then a family lawyer may well talk to you and your spouse/partner and to your kids during the representation process.
If, however, you are going through an amicable divorce where you and your partner simply need help to sort out the legal ramifications then your family lawyer may not need to get so involved. In this instance they will essentially simply go through the necessary processes to make sure that your divorce is legally valid
In some cases a family lawyer will work right across the specialist area and can give advice on most any family/domestic related issue. In others a family lawyer may also work with other specialist lawyers whose services they can use in certain types of case. So, for example, a family lawyer in a child abuse case may bring a different lawyer to help out here.
Family lawyers have to work to the rules and regulations of family courts in most instances. This often means that they need to work closely with mediators and counselors that are appointed by the court or hired by the lawyers themselves. This system is perhaps most often used when divorcing parents cannot agree on child custody issues as they may then be asked to participate in some form of family court mediation service.
If you need to hire a family lawyer then you should make sure that they are adequately qualified and, ideally, well experienced in the field in which you need their help. Whenever you hire a legal professional in general you should make sure that they are able and willing to represent your best interests and in this case the interests of your family if necessary.
