The varied areas of family law cover many needs of the typical family, but many people immediately think of divorce attorneys when someone mentions it. That’s far from all that the area of family law addresses.
Divorce
Let’s address the one thing that everyone knows about family lawyers for handling divorce. When a couple decides to dissolve their marriage, they must file legal paperwork on a specific schedule. In some states, they must first file for a trial separation.
Each of these steps requires formal legal paperwork and court filings. In some cases, complex divorce proceedings require many court dates and filings. Divorce cases that involve businesses, property, and children or pets need many filings, each to address a different aspect of the dissolution. Negotiations for setting alimony and child support occur before the court dates.
Adoption
On a happier note, family attorneys also handle adoptions, the creation of a family. The lawyer may assist a couple or a single person in locating an adoption agency and filing the appropriate paperwork to transition the child from status as a ward of the state to the son or daughter of the adoptive parents.
Surrogate Births
The area of family law also includes helping individuals or couples who choose to have a child via a surrogate mother. When a family embarks on the surrogacy journey, they need to file paperwork before or after the child’s birth that states that the surrogate mother rescinds any parental rights to the child. This remains true whether the intended parents use a traditional or a gestational surrogate.
Pre- and Post-nuptial Agreements
When a couple marries, one or both may want to protect the assets with which they entered the marriage. They may also want to protect one another in a legal manner beyond estate planning. A pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreement can do this by enumerating the settlement a person would receive in a divorce or if the other party died suddenly. This option provides an iron-clad contract that other family members cannot contest, unlike a will or trust.
Orders of Protection
Turn to a family lawyer when you need to obtain a victim protection order (VPO) to stop an abusive or harassing individual from contacting you. Matters of family law also include protecting abused children, and a family attorney represents the child in juvenile proceedings.
Finding a Local Family Lawyer
Regardless of the family-related need, you can find family attorneys in Sun Valley, Idaho, who can help you. Whether you want to adopt, protect yourself or your child, or you need to divorce, a lawyer who specializes in family law can help you.
