We can help you as you engage in litigation regarding family and other domestic relations issues. Our firm can provide you with our experience and confidential service in family law.
Family Law
Family law is a general term and can describe many things. It can describe the process of adoption, a decree of dissolution of marriage and related orders, including property distribution and child custody and support orders, as well as orders regarding paternity
Adoption
An adoption is a process whereby an individual or family seeks to expand its family by adopting a person usually not a blood relative who is a minor child to become a member of that adopting family.
Dissolution of marriage or divorce
Divorces may or may not involve children. In the event that no children are involved a typical divorce if uncontested may take the form of a marriage settlement agreement and decree of dissolution. A marriage settlement agreement is a contract or agreement between the parties to divide up the property that was acquired before and during the marriage between the parties in a fair and equitable manner. In the event that the divorce without children is contested a trial usually will be held known as a final hearing at which point and time a property distribution and perhaps maintenance may be awarded under limited circumstances to the spouse. In contested dissolution of marriage cases, a final hearing will be held to determine the rights of the spouses as to the marital property acquired before and during the marriage as well as custody rights and parenting time for the two parents. A support order may also be entered requiring one parent typically the non-custodial parent to pay child support to the other parent. In very contested cases a custody evaluator or mediation may be called upon by the court.
Paternity
In instances where the mother and the father of a child
are not married and one party seeks to establish the paternity of the
father over the child, the Court may enter an order – on the assumption
that the father is determined to be the father (usually through genetic
testing of DNA). When a paternity order is in fact established as a
result of the DNA test results the Court may then enter a custody order
as well as parenting time orders over the child.