When going through a divorce, all concerned parties would need legal protection with the help of a family lawyer. Divorce is not an easy journey, most especially if there are children involved along the way. It’s a very stressful process that may also take time, that may cause intense emotional pain and suffering. That’s why you’ll need a legal representative, a family lawyer, to help make your divorce easier.
In this article, you’ll learn how a family lawyer can help you get through the divorce process in terms of legal grounds.
Legal Advocate: Provides Legal Advice
Family lawyers are the best people who can give couples legal advice about divorce. A family lawyer can expertly explain the legal grounds for divorce, such as domestic violence, disability, adultery, alcoholism, desertion, and others.
If you want a divorce based on your spouse’s faults, you must prove neglect, abuse, incurable insanity, abandonment, adultery, or other fault grounds that are recognized by the state. Your family lawyer can provide legal advice as to the validity of your situation to file a divorce.
A family lawyer will present you with other legal options or alternatives to divorce, such as the following:
- Divorce Mediation: You and your spouse will work with a neutral mediator, as a family lawyer to help you come up with an agreement. Divorce mediation is a more peaceful divorce, proceeding with reduced expenses. Also, it promotes a better relationship because it avoids a divorce court battle.
- Collaborative Divorce: It’s a divorce settlement, wherein couples agree into something, without going to court. A family lawyer should be sought by each party for the collaborative process to work. All parties, including lawyers, should sign the agreement and appear in the family court. As compared to traditional litigation, collaborative divorce is quicker and less expensive.
Help You with Child Custody
Separation or divorce raises issues with child custody rights. You probably have plenty of questions you want to raise, and a family lawyer is the best person who can answer them. If you’re thinking of going through a divorce, it’s important to know whether your children will live with you. You should know if you can still make important decisions if you aren’t granted child custody – decisions pertaining to how your child will be raised, etc.
Child custody and visitation decisions are resolved through the following ways in a divorce case:
- Informal settlement: Couple reaches an agreement on the terms of child custody and visitation, which is an out-of-court alternative dispute resolution. It is a mediation type of “collaborative law” that usually involve seeking help from a family lawyer.
- Court Decision: The court makes the decision on the party that will be granted the child custody and visitation, which is usually made by a family court judge.
Help You with Marital Property Division
Divorce doesn’t only terminate the legal partnership of two married spouses but also require division of properties. The property you owned before the marriage can remain under your name. However, properties acquired after the wedding are considered marital or community property. A family lawyer can help determine the properties that are subject to division in a divorce case.
Aside from dividing marital properties, there are also shared debts, hidden assets, insurance policies, and disputes as to who will acquire the primary residence or house. A family lawyer can help create a marital property division checklist and draft a property settlement agreement for informal settlement or for court litigation.
Here are the two ways marital property division is handled with the help of a family lawyer:
- Community Property: If you reside in a community property state, like Arizona, Idaho, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Wisconsin, or Washington, all marital property is defined as community property. When you divorce, separate property is kept by the original owner and community property is divided evenly.
- Equitable Distribution: Equitable distribution applies in all other states. A judge decides the properties that are equitable instead of splitting the property equally into two. Generally, two-thirds of the property will be given to the higher-earning spouse, while the other spouse will get one-third.
Conclusion
Divorce is a major life decision, and you’ll need the legal help of a family lawyer to answer all your legal questions and find legal solutions to your problems. A family lawyer serves as your legal advocate who can help with child custody and division of marital property. As much as possible, amicable legal solutions are sought and take traditional divorce litigation as a last resort for a better long-term relationship, less expense, and reduce the emotional turmoil of couples and their children.
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