Family Law Topics

What is Family Law?

Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations which include, but are not limited to:

1. The nature of marriage;
2. Issues that may arise during marriage such as spousal abuse, child abuse, adoption, legitimacy;
3. The termination of the relationship and such matters including divorce, annulment, property distributions, alimony and child custody, visitation and child support awards.

Family law attorneys can assist people with prenuptial agreements, divorce, paternity, child custody and child support, and in some instances, adoption. When you are faced with an important decision pertaining to a family relationship, seek the legal advice of one of our experienced attorneys.

In some instances, many couples find it advantageous to consult an attorney about entering into a premarital or prenuptial agreement. This is useful as it allows them to work through financial issues and the potential disagreements that can be created prior to marriage.

A Premarital/Prenuptial Agreement (referred to as “prenup” for short) is a written contract between two people drawn up before marriage. It generally details any and all property either party owns (along with any debts) and what each person’s property rights will be after marriage. Also, a prenuptial agreement may state what is to be done about property distribution should one of them die.

A divorce is the termination of a marriage by legal action, requiring a petition for dissolution by one party. The major issues in divorces are division of property, child custody and support, alimony (spousal support), child visitation and attorney’s fees.

An annulment differs from a divorce as it is a judicial statement that there was never a marriage. An annulment means that the individuals were never united in marriage as husband and wife. An annulment declares that a marriage, which appears to be valid, is actually invalid. There are two kinds of invalid marriages. A void marriage is one that was invalid from the very beginning. The major grounds for a void marriage are incest, bigamy and lack of consent. A voidable marriage is one that can be declared illegal but continues as valid until an annulment is sought.