Learn More About Family Law
Family the law is concerned about the rights and duties of marriage partners, children and other domestic relations. The city, state and federal laws can all affect families in various ways. It is quite unfortunate that most marriages today are ending in divorce or separation. When a couple decides to call off a marriage, one of the spouses will petition the court for a divorce. In this case, the court has the mandate to legally end the marriage, share the marital assets between the spouses, grant custody of any children to either or both the partners and impose spousal or child custody whenever applicable.
Before, during and after marriage, the state law may affect the family.Some areas in which the law affects the family include the following.
Pre-marriage Agreements
Courts will in general, either use community property laws or equitable distribution laws when dividing marital property, depending on whether the court is located in a community property or equitable distribution state. In states that apply community property laws, the court will divide the property halfway between the couple. In equitable distribution states, the court divides the marital property equitably which may or may not be on the 50/50 basis.
Couples who wish to draft their own property division rules may set up their formulas prior marriage using the premarital agreement or the prenuptial agreement.
Child Support and Child Custody
Courts will prefer to give the legal and physical custody of children from a marriage to both parents. The legal custody means that they have the right to make decisions on their children’s education, health, and religion. Physical custody means that a parent has the right to have the child live in their parent’s home.When one parent is given the sole custody; the court may award the other partner with visitation rights to the child at regular intervals.
Mediating In Divorce Cases
The termination of a marriage is often a stressful time for the spouse, any children and their close relatives and friends. However, the partners do not have to let the stress or any bitterness towards each other poison the divorce process.If the spouse can negotiate in good faith, the mediation process becomes more civil and less expensive and less adversarial way to dissolve the marriage.A the neutral mediator tries to strike a balance the needs of each spouse in helping them divide the marital assets, resolve child custody issues and settle on child and spousal support amount.The mediator will work with the attorneys of each of the spouse as well to ensure that both the spouses are satisfied with this arrangement.
Adoption/Foster Care
Another area that family law is applicable is in the case of adoption.The the process of child adoption can be complex and varies depending on the type of adoption, where the child comes from and variances in the state laws.