Family Law

What Kind of Cases Do Family Lawyers Deal With?

Family law is the area of law dealing with almost any issue that can come up in a family. These include cases dealing with marriage, separation, and divorce. Family lawyers in Puerto Rico also handle cases concerning child custody, child support, and spousal support. These are fairly well-known types of cases that are handled by divorce lawyers also known as family lawyers. Some less well-known areas of law that are handled in family courts are:

Civil unions: There is controversy over the legal standing of civil unions. Many countries recognize these as being similar to marriage. They are often applied to same-sex couples allowing them the same rights and responsibilities as marriage would.

Domestic relations: This is a broad term that basically covers all the areas of family law. Many countries 00791 have created special courts to deal with this area, know as family courts. Along with other matters dealt with by a family lawyer these courts also hear cases about guardianship, truancy, and juvenile delinquency.

Legitimacy: Legitimacy is not often referred to even in a court of law currently. It used to have a greater impact as only legitimate children were allowed to inherit estates. Today you are more likely to hear the terms extra-marital child or love child than illegitimate child.

Finding a Divorce/Family Law Professional

When you are in need of a Divorce/Family Law professional or lawyer, you need extra effort in finding one in Humacao. Think that the process you will be going through requires an adamant character who can handle both the emotional and legal issue of divorce and its consequences for both spouses.

When separation or divorce is being talked about in Puerto Rico, most people do not want to discuss the issue. This is understandable because the hard issues behind the topic can be stressful. Usually, when two married individuals decided to enter splitsville, they call their own Divorce/Family lawyer to deal with the demands from both sides. These lawyers specialize in divorce cases and should be able to handle the hidden and depth of the legal issues for their clients.

The first step into finding one that can handle your legal proceedings can be recommended by your friends or family. They can drop names into your list lawyers who have helped them get through their divorces well.

First, build a list. Resources can come from your initial recommendations. Another good place to look for is the online directories or phone book. You can view profile online for these types of lawyers so you can investigate the cases they have handled. Pick those who knows the state laws where you are currently married or has been living in with your estranged spouse. Many separation laws differ from different states and territories and so it is important to make sure that your short listed lawyers belong to the the same state.

Working With Family Lawyers on Property Division

There are many factors that must be decided when divorce proceedings are in motion. Who will take care of the children, who will pay to support them and how the marital assets will be divided. In some cases, these decisions can be made between the two spouses, but other situations will call for the help of a professional.

When it comes to division of assets in the event of a divorce, family lawyers in Humacao can help the process run more smoothly and ensure each party gets a fair shake – and a fair share of the property and financial assets. In some cases in PR, spouses will agree on this division with only the assistance of their attorneys. In other cases, the division process may go to mediation for resolution. In rare cases where the two parties cannot agree on how the divisions should take place, the courts may get involved by mandating how the division will occur. Most spouses in Humacao County would prefer to settle up this process before the court gets involved and the control moves out of their own hands.

Community vs. Non-Community Property
The division of property will be determined first by whether the property in question is community or non-community by law. Community property will include all assets the couple collected during the marriage, including earnings and everything purchased with those earnings. Community property also includes debts that were incurred during the time of the marriage, making both parties responsible for these outstanding obligations.

Non-community or separate property includes assets like gifts or inheritances that were given to just one spouse, pensions collected prior to the marriage and a business that was started before the marriage and run by just one spouse. In some cases, the line between community and non-community property can become quite fuzzy, such as when both spouses go to work in a business that was started by one of them. There may also be some research involved in determining who the initial recipient of a specific asset was. In these situations, it is helpful to employ the services of family lawyers who can assure the division process goes as smoothly and fairly as possible.

Are Family Lawyers And Divorce Lawyers The Same?

Family Lawyers are often referred to as Divorce Lawyers. Divorce Law has become a specialized field of law. Historically, there were fewer divorces and Family lawyers handled the cases. With the increase in divorces over the past century, divorce law has become a specialized branch of family law. Although, many Family Lawyers still handle divorce cases.

Divorce Law covers all the areas that need to be discussed when a couple files for divorce. These areas include:

Child Support: Child support is the amount paid by the non-custodial parent for the needs of the child or children involved in the marriage. This can be used to cover the cost of shelter, clothing, or education. It is meant to provide the necessities the children need not as a means of supporting the custodial parent.

Child Custody: In most cases one or the other parent will be awarded physical custody of the child or children involved. While there have been cases where the physical custody was awarded jointly, this is not often the case. There have also been cases where the children were split between the two parents, but again this is not often done. The court system tries to keep children together when at all possible.

The Many Obligations of a Family Lawyer

On the surface, a family lawyer’s job may seem less stressful than that of a criminal lawyer. However, when you look deeper at the responsibilities of a family lawyer, you might be surprised at the range of services they can offer to the society. The most common of them is acting as the legal representative of the families that hire them. A family lawyer is very useful when family disputes (both internal and external disputes) burden the family they are representing. Since they deal with family issues every day, family lawyers have to become patient, emphatic, and reflective. These traits are very useful tools to use when discussing issues with family members.

Family constitution

A family constitution is not really popular because it is only useful to people with large clans and businesses to leave to the next generations of their families. In a nutshell, a family constitution consists of the values, goals, and responsibilities of the family members. This legal document can help bind the children to the family and, of the patriarch or matriarch of the family wants to, to the family business as well. The family lawyer is the one responsible for drafting and filing this important piece of family document.

Divorce

Divorce is another, uglier obligation of a family lawyer. Usually, the two parties in the divorce hire different lawyers, especially when they have conflicting interests. However,when sentiments for divorce are mutual and if there are no conflicts whatsoever, a single family lawyer can represent both parties. The latter is the easier situation of course. However, most marriages end in bitterness and sometimes even contempt and hate. People who divorce can’t help but carry that bitterness and resentment in them until the divorce. A family lawyer handling a divorce case is clever and good in making compromises.