Frequently Asked Questions For A Family Law Attorney

Because most of the cases they handle include marital discord, family law attorneys are most commonly referred to as divorce lawyers. But like other areas of legal practice, family law is much larger than a single subject. It involves many other domestic matters related to family obligations and disputes. To give you a better understanding of this growing legal field, we've come up with five answers to questions a family law attorney commonly receives.

Is There A Difference Between A Divorce And An Annulment?

When one or both spouses attempt to dissolve a marriage, there are two possible outcomes. The most common one is a divorce, which puts an end to a legal marriage. However, if the court finds that the union was not legally valid, it may just grant an annulment. A legal decree, an annulment treats the union as if it never happened. Bigamy, fraud, or coercion are just a few of the reasons annulment is granted.

What Does Child Support Cover?

When one parent retains primary custody of a child or children, the other parent may be ordered to provide monetary support. Although the custodial parent makes the payments, it can only be used for things the child needs, including:

- Food, clothing, and shelter
- Medical and dental care
- Educational expenses

If the custodial parent uses child support for any other purpose, the non-custodial parent may notify the court.

How Is Alimony Calculated?

Also known as spousal support, alimony consists of regular payments made to a dependent spouse. Since they make more money, a supporting spouse is often asked to pay a certain percentage of his or her monthly income in alimony. The dependent spouse may receive these payments until he/she is either remarried or achieves financial independence.

How Is Child Visitation Determined?

When children are involved, it is up to the court to make a decision based on their best interests. After custody has been established, the ex-spouses can discuss vitiation rights. Experienced attorneys can be invaluable for both sides during this sometimes contentious process. As long as they can come to an agreement, there may be no need to get a court order regarding visitation rights.

Do I Need A Family Law Attorney?

Although it is technically possible to represent yourself in family court, it is very rarely done. Why? In addition to the incredible amount of stress and strain these cases almost always cause, they can also be confusing from a legal perspective. Matrimonial law is not written in stone, so judges tend to err on the side of caution. They often encourage both sides to come to an agreement rather than making a firm decision. As a result, a spouse that does not have legal representation will be at a distinct disadvantage during negotiations, including negotiations of child custody and other important issues.

An experienced family law attorney can help protect your rights and pursue your interests during an emotionally trying time.

Five Good Reasons to Get a Family Law Attorney

Family law attorneys are more than just divorce mediators. These domestic relations specialists also deal with a range of domestic issues, including domestic violence, child custody, child support, spousal support, adoption, and surrogacy.

Divorce

If you've ever known someone who has gone through an ugly divorce, then you know how bad things can get, especially without proper legal representation. In many cases, alternatives such as mediation aren't nearly as effective as having a representative of the law fighting for your rights. Attorneys that specialize in domestic relations are exactly the types of legal experts that you need to fight for your rights should you or your spouse decide to dissolve your marriage.

Domestic Violence

Most people aren't aware that family law attorneys handle cases involving domestic violence. Whether you want to bring charges against your legal spouse or former partner or you want to legally fight allegations of domestic abuse, these types of cases fall under the jurisdiction of a domestic relations lawyer. These legal experts will walk you through the entire process, from filing the restraining order and helping to enforce it, to fighting to recoup any damages or loss that you may have incurred.

Child Custody

In many instances of divorce, there is often a subsequent legal battle over who should have custody of the children. Family law attorneys specialize in handling these types of cases with the intent of helping to place the children in the best possible environment, which should be the most important goal. The lawyers are also there to help ensure that your visitation rights are honored.

Child Support and Spousal Support

Much like child custody, child support and spousal support are often byproducts of a divorce, although they may not always go together. Child support is typically sought by a parent of a minor child in an effort to help with the financial responsibilities associated with raising that child. On the other hand, spousal support, sometimes called alimony, is typically sought by a spouse who is seeking financial independence upon the dissolution of a marriage. Whether you need child support, spousal support, or both, family law attorneys work to get you the most amicable solutions in your case.

Legal Separations

Depending on the family law firm, the attorneys may take on legal separation cases. Often confused with divorce, legal separation is not an end to a marriage, but a court order enabling couples to live separately while remaining married. The court order details the rights and duties of each spouse, allowing both parties to work out any financial, personal, or emotional issues that have had an effect on the marriage. Fairly uncommon, legal separations may entail issues of property division, child custody, child visitation, and spousal support, and the complexity of these conditions and the relevant state laws usually require the expertise of an attorney.

What Are Child Custody Rights?

Child Custody Rights are granted by a family court judge to one or two of the parents, grandparents, step-parents, or legal guardians. In custody cases, the courts usually favor the biological parents.

Custody rights are determined based on the best interests of the children. These rights specify who will have physical and legal custody of the child as well as who will make the payments for child support.

The rights to the custody of a child may be given to only one parent or legal guardian or be shared by both parents. In about 70 percent of cases, primary custody rights are granted to the mother of the child. Fathers are less likely to win custody of their children because of the notion that mothers are better caretakers of children.

About 20 percent of cases award joint custody, in which both parents enjoy an equal amount of custody over their children. In this child custody arrangement, parents are allowed by the courts to divide for themselves the custody rights as long as neglect or abuse is not involved.

Custody rights entail both legal and physical responsibilities of the parents. Legal custody rights allow a parent to make major decisions on things that are involved in his or her children's life such as religion, education, and healthcare. Physical custody rights allow a parent to the child stay with him or her for good.

Barring major disagreements in the wishes of each party, parents can easily determine their rights to custody of their children. However, when both parties cannot reach an agreement, mediation is necessary. Mediation refers to the process that involves intercession of an independent third party to aid parents in making decisions about their custody rights. It can help speed up the process of coming to an agreement of both parties. Once an agreement has been reached and approved by the court, the terms of this agreement can be immediately implemented. If disagreements still ensue, a court hearing will proceed to determine who gets which rights.

During the custody hearings, the judge will consider several factors before making a decision. Usually, courts depend on a psychologist's expert testimony, which evaluates options for custody rights by examining a number of important factors. Some of the factors that a judge looks into include the age of the child, past behavior of the parents at home, preference of the child on who will take care of him or her, stability of the parents' home, the amount of time a parent can devote for taking care of the child, and the parents' ability to finance the child's needs. Children may be invited in the court hearings to testify or to speak privately with the judge.

Preparing for a Child Custody Case

Child custody cases can be grueling for all persons involved. You should make your best effort to resolve custody amicably, either directly with your ex or through a legal or mediation process. Be sure to explore all possibilities for joint custody. You should act exclusively in the best interests of your child, and, toward that end, you should minimize the impact of a contested court case. Even if your child will have no direct part in court proceedings, the tension will undoubtedly impact your child at least in an indirect fashion.

If amicable settlement is impossible, then prepare yourself. You must honestly believe that your having sole custody of your child -- at least physical custody, and perhaps legal custody as well -- is firmly in your child's best interest. As a corollary, you should believe that your ex gaining custody will in some way be detrimental to your child's welfare -- and you should prepare hard evidence to back that up. Don't battle for custody out of spite; you must be objective.

You can be sure that your ex will be formulating similar strategies, so take a long, hard look at your own parenting skills, as a third party might view them. How has your ex, or a best friend or relative, criticized your parenting in the past? Be prepared to field questions in court about any behaviors or specific instances in which your parenting skills could be called into question. If you're still engaging in any activity that could be seen in a negative light, then stop. Be ready to call in witnesses who will confirm that you have modified any negative behaviors or activities.

You must be brutally honest about yourself and your own flaws. No parent is perfect, and your ex will expose every last little blemish in your character, exaggerated or not, in an effort to make that point. After taking such a personal inventory, you may find there is still room for compromise; you can always contact your ex before your court date and try to settle beforehand.

Otherwise, you will need to gather concrete evidence: documents, school records, police reports, doctors' reports, phone logs, bank statements, plus testimony from friends, witnesses, experts, home evaluators, and others. You will need evidence both supporting allegations that you will be making against your ex, and defending against any allegations your ex may be making about you. The evidence should be concise; you don't want to burden the court with an excess of paperwork, or annoy the judge with extraneous details.

It is unlikely that you will survive a custody battle without a lawyer. Your lawyer should specialize in family law, with particular experience in contested custody cases. If you're already working with a lawyer whom you like but who does not have this particular kind of experience, then hire a co-counsel who does. Since custody laws vary from state to state or jurisdiction to jurisdiction, be sure that your lawyer has experience in your jurisdiction; hopefully, he or she will be well familiar with the court where your case will be heard, and with the presiding judge. If your lawyer has a history of success arguing cases before your judge, then you stand a good chance of success as well.

It may be worthwhile for you and your ex to together hire an independent evaluator or mediator to assess your case and make objective recommendations to the court. Even if a mediator can't help you and your ex reconcile your positions, he or she will at least give the court a head start.

Finally, stay calm and focused. Blowing up in court will only harm your cause. Even if your ex exaggerates your flaws or introduces questionable evidence, respond calmly, with hard evidence. Take a "time out" if necessary. And stay focused on your child. You must focus on your child's welfare at all times, and let the court know that you only want what is best for your child.

Child Custody Law

The Judge of the RI Family Court can award either sole legal custody to a parent or may award Joint Legal Custody to both parents. The issue of legal custody is completely independent of the issue of visitation. RI Visitation Rights are beyond the scope of this Rhode Island Law Article. Please Consult with Rhode Island Child Custody Lawyer David Slepkow about the facts of your case.

Sole Legal custody

Sole Legal Custody means that a parent can make all important and major decisions concerning a child's health, welfare and upbringing without consulting with the other parent. These major decisions include religious, educational, medical and general welfare decisions. The parent with sole custody of the child will also have physical placement of the child. The parent with sole legal custody has complete access to medical, educational and other records related to the child.

Joint Legal Custody

Joint Legal Custody means both parents should be involved in major / important decisions concerning a child's upbringing, education, medical and religious welfare. Theoretically, both parents with joint custody have equal rights in making important decisions regarding their child or children. Both parents have full rights to access all medical, educational and other records pertaining to the child. In order for joint Custody to be feasible, the parents must have some level of communication and respect for each other to allow them to co-parent.

Physical Placement - Physical custody

The Court must also award to one parent physical placement of the child or children. Physical placement is where the child will be living on a day to day basis. Physical placement is also commonly known as "physical custody" The parent who does not have physical custody of the child will have reasonable visitation rights. The parent with physical placement of a minor child has the right to receive Rhode Island Child support from the parent who has visitation rights. Child Support is typically determined by the Rhode Island Child Support Guidelines

Shared Physical Placement

Shared Physical placement (Shared Physical custody) is when the child splits time residing with both parents. Shared Physical placement is relatively rare in Rhode Island. In some instances the child may be placed with one parent for half the week and then the other parent the other half of the week. Some parents will alternate weeks or months. This type of arrangement is usually only done by agreement of the parties and is rarely ordered by the Court Absent an agreement.

Split Physical Placement

Split physical Placement is when one child lives with the father and one child lives with the mother. It can also be when the children are split in away so that at least one child lives with a parent and at least one child lives with mother.

If the Parents cannot agree to Legal Custody, Physical Placement or Visitation, then The RI Family court must determine what is in the "best interest of the child" This is very subjective and analytical standard.

It is advisable to contact a Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer or a RI Family Law Attorney to get legal advice concerning the facts and circumstances in your case.

Child Custody Law Overview

The field of family law governs all types of interactions within the family. One area of family law that may be important to many is child custody. Child custody determines the rights of both parents to not only visit with children, but also make important decisions in the child's life. Many people might not be aware that there are two different and important aspects to child custody: legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody refers to the parent's decision-making authority for important decisions in the child's life. Such decisions include education, medical care, and religious upbringing. Physical custody refers to where the child resides.

In many cases, throughout the divorce process, the parents might have come up with their own parental custody agreement. These agreements are typically ratified by the courts, but courts are not bound by these agreements and may reject these agreements. Courts are not bound by parental agreements because the courts have an independent responsibility to determine what arrangement is best for the child's welfare. Allowing courts to have the power to reject parental agreements is important to the court's ability to determine what is in the child's best interest and create custody arrangements that are best for the child.

Parents have two options for sharing care and control of their children. This first option is for one parent to have sole physical and legal custody while the other parent will have visitation, or access, rights. Usually, with sole custody, legal and physical custody will not be split. If one parent has sole custody, he or she will typically have sole legal and physical custody. However, sole custody comes with certain limitations. An example of these limitations is that both parents are prohibited from belittling, or bad-mouthing, the other parent.

The other option is for the parents to share joint legal and/or physical custody. Under joint custody, the time the child spends with each parent is not required to be even. The child may spend more time with one parent and the custody arrangement could still be considered to be a joint arrangement. It is easier for the legal and physical custody to be shared in a joint custody arrangement.

During a child custody battle, parents might not only be fighting amongst themselves, but might also have to defend against third parties who believe that the best interests of the child include that third party having custody. In this situation, biological and adoptive parents have superior rights to all third parties. This includes grandparents or other family members, step-parents, a nanny, or the state. Also, there is a presumption that parents are fit. In order for the state, or a third party, to gain custody of a child, that third party must show that the parents are unfit as parents. When determining custody, the court's main goal is to promote the arrangement that is in the best interest of the child.

Once a custody arrangement is in place, a modification of that arrangement is hard to come by. During a custody modification, courts still seek to promote the best interest of the child. However, the party seeking to modify the custody arrangement must not only show that the modification is in the best interest of the child, but must also show that there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances.

What Are Child Custody Rights?

Child custody rights are granted by a family court judge to one or two of the parents, grandparents, step-parents, or legal guardians. In custody cases, the courts usually favor the biological parents.

Custody rights are determined based on the best interests of the children. These rights specify who will have physical and legal custody of the child as well as who will make the payments for child support.

The rights to the custody of a child may be given to only one parent or legal guardian or be shared by both parents. In about 70 percent of cases, primary custody rights are granted to the mother of the child. Fathers are less likely to win custody of their children because of the notion that mothers are better caretakers of children.

About 20 percent of cases award joint custody, in which both parents enjoy an equal amount of custody over their children. In this child custody arrangement, parents are allowed by the courts to divide for themselves the custody rights as long as neglect or abuse is not involved.

Custody rights entail both legal and physical responsibilities of the parents. Legal custody rights allow a parent to make major decisions on things that are involved in his or her children's life such as religion, education, and healthcare. Physical custody rights allow a parent to the child stay with him or her for good.

Barring major disagreements in the wishes of each party, parents can easily determine their rights to custody of their children. However, when both parties cannot reach an agreement, mediation is necessary. Mediation refers to the process that involves intercession of an independent third party to aid parents in making decisions about their custody rights. It can help speed up the process of coming to an agreement of both parties. Once an agreement has been reached and approved by the court, the terms of this agreement can be immediately implemented. If disagreements still ensue, a court hearing will proceed to determine who gets which rights.

During the custody hearings, the judge will consider several factors before making a decision. Usually, courts depend on a psychologist's expert testimony, which evaluates options for custody rights by examining a number of important factors. Some of the factors that a judge looks into include the age of the child, past behavior of the parents at home, preference of the child on who will take care of him or her, stability of the parents' home, the amount of time a parent can devote for taking care of the child, and the parents' ability to finance the child's needs. Children may be invited in the court hearings to testify or to speak privately with the judge.

Child Custody Made Easy helps parents facing a child custody case deal with the painful battle. We are a group of experts and legal professionals and we provide professional and legal information on child custody, child support, visitation rights, parenting agreements, helping children during divorce and more.

Child Custody Law Overview

The field of family law governs all types of interactions within the family. One area of family law that may be important to many is child custody. Child custody determines the rights of both parents to not only visit with children, but also make important decisions in the child's life. Many people might not be aware that there are two different and important aspects to child custody: legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody refers to the parent's decision-making authority for important decisions in the child's life. Such decisions include education, medical care, and religious upbringing. Physical custody refers to where the child resides.

In many cases, throughout the divorce process, the parents might have come up with their own parental custody agreement. These agreements are typically ratified by the courts, but courts are not bound by these agreements and may reject these agreements. Courts are not bound by parental agreements because the courts have an independent responsibility to determine what arrangement is best for the child's welfare. Allowing courts to have the power to reject parental agreements is important to the court's ability to determine what is in the child's best interest and create custody arrangements that are best for the child.

Parents have two options for sharing care and control of their children. This first option is for one parent to have sole physical and legal custody while the other parent will have visitation, or access, rights. Usually, with sole custody, legal and physical custody will not be split. If one parent has sole custody, he or she will typically have sole legal and physical custody. However, sole custody comes with certain limitations. An example of these limitations is that both parents are prohibited from belittling, or bad-mouthing, the other parent.

The other option is for the parents to share joint legal and/or physical custody. Under joint custody, the time the child spends with each parent is not required to be even. The child may spend more time with one parent and the custody arrangement could still be considered to be a joint arrangement. It is easier for the legal and physical custody to be shared in a joint custody arrangement.

During a child custody battle, parents might not only be fighting amongst themselves, but might also have to defend against third parties who believe that the best interests of the child include that third party having custody. In this situation, biological and adoptive parents have superior rights to all third parties. This includes grandparents or other family members, step-parents, a nanny, or the state. Also, there is a presumption that parents are fit. In order for the state, or a third party, to gain custody of a child, that third party must show that the parents are unfit as parents. When determining custody, the court's main goal is to promote the arrangement that is in the best interest of the child.

Once a custody arrangement is in place, a modification of that arrangement is hard to come by. During a custody modification, courts still seek to promote the best interest of the child. However, the party seeking to modify the custody arrangement must not only show that the modification is in the best interest of the child, but must also show that there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances.

If you have legal questions about child custody, you should get legal help.

Child Custody: Do We Have To Have An Evaluator?

Courts don't like to make child custody orders. No matter how they rule, one member of the couple is going to be unhappy. To most parents, the thought of not seeing their kids on a daily basis is a cause for grief.

Courts, too are conscious that they could make a terribly wrong decision. A child can be injured or killed if he or she is inadvertently dropped into an abusive environment. There is nothing a judge can do within 1 final hearing to get all of the information he needs to make a perfect custody order.

Besides, a lawyer's training does not include much psychology. Attorneys do attend seminars to find out what the latest thoughts on child custody are. However, much of the child custody issue is based on facts, and facts can be hard to come by when a warring couple are trying to prove that they are Mary Poppins incarnate, and their ex is the spawn of the devil. independent custody evaluators can take the time to gather important information on the child's life.

Others rely on guardians ad litem, custody evaluators or CASA to do objective research about your child's life. Some parents hire private psychologists to do independent evaluations. When they have finished interviewing teachers, baby-sitters, coaches, friends and relatives, and studying school reports and doctor's and dentist's records, the evaluators make a report to the court. The judge usually reads the report, and unless there is something startling and new at the final hearing, makes its findings part of the final decree.

Some judges are willing to personally hear what all of the witnesses have to say. If your judge is not inclined to hire outside help to help her with the child custody issue, she will listen to what all of the witnesses have to say at the final hearing. She will be looking for information about the child, and won't be happy with witnesses who stray into personal opinions.

If you call someone to the stand in a child custody case, it is best if they actually know something objective about the child. It isn't very interesting to the judge that all of your friends and relatives think you're a good parent. The judge assumes your friends and relatives like you, and want you to win. However, specific instances involving the child and the other parent might be useful if they illustrate something about the child or the parent involved to give the judge a clearer picture of the family's dynamics.

If your grandmother gets on the stand to say that your ex isn't worthy to spend time with his own children, she'd better have been there to observe an incident that proves her point. Otherwise, Granny is just voting for you in a popularity contest, and the judge will discount her opinion. He won't think much of you for dragging her there to testify in the first place, either.

Judges are particular about what information they can consider in child custody cases. One of the biggest reasons they appoint evaluators is to cut down on the hours they would need to listen to all the possible testimony about the child's life first hand. Giving the evaluator the wrong impression could cost you time and money you'd rather not spend. Mostly, however, you want to behave in a way that will make the evaluator, and eventually the judge, conclude that you are a mature, responsible adult who can be trusted with the care of your children.

About Traffic Violations Laws

Traffic violations or moving violations relate to any kind of law violation committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is moving or parked. The common traffic violations come under infractions or misdemeanors. The serious ones, can, however, be even considered as felonies.

The non-moving and moving traffic violations are the two kinds of traffic violations. Most traffic violations are looked upon as minor criminal offenses. However, there are those of serious nature too- like 'driving while intoxicated' or DWI or 'driving under the influence' (of alcohol and/or other drugs) or D.U.I. Again, there can be minor mechanical or speeding violations that can have serious consequences. This may even be leading to the license getting suspended if several infractions are there over a short period of time. The fine that is listed on the face of the ticket issued for traffic violation may quite frequently require to be paid. There also rises the possibility of the vehicle insurance premiums increasing.

The common moving violations or traffic violations that may require legal action are:

• Exceeding of the speed limit or speeding (this is the most common violation).
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• Driving too slowly, particularly in a left hand lane.
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• Running by ignoring a stop sign or red traffic light.
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• Not yielding to another vehicle with the right-of-way.
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• Failing to maintain a single lane.
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• Crossing over a center divider.
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• Not using seat belt when it is compulsory.
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• Failing to stop at a crosswalk for allowing pedestrians to cross.
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• Failing to stop for a school bus while children are boarding or exiting.
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• Driving in a car pool lane when it is illegal to do so.

The serious among the moving traffic violations are drunk and reckless driving, road rage, street racing and vehicular homicide.

The non-moving traffic violations usually involve illegal parking, parking in a posted non-parking zone or at an expired meter.

There can be civil traffic violations and criminal traffic violations. A civil traffic infraction is a non-criminal charge that can be disposed of by payment of a civil penalty, requesting a court hearing, or election of a defensive driving course. On the other hand a criminal traffic offense may be such offenses like D.U.I./DWI, fleeing a police officer or leaving the scene of an accident. This requires a court appearance unlike most civil traffic violation cases where court appearances are rare except when the violation involves serious bodily injury or death of another person. Criminal traffic offenses carry with them criminal penalties that can include fines, court costs and even jail terms.

In all traffic violations cases the services and help of a Traffic Violations Lawyer becomes quite a necessity. You need to check out from the attorney directory the concerned lawyers specializing in traffic violations. It is important that a traffic violation lawyer is contacted before appearing at court with regard to the traffic violation or speeding violations. It is only the traffic violation attorney who will be able to properly assess the current situation you may be in and advise with aim to bring about professional resolution to the traffic violation.