Family Law

The legal dissolution of a marriage is emotional taxing. The process of divorce can seem daunting, you need a lawyer to help show you your options and evaluate your situation. We will help represent you through the divorce process. We will advise you on your legal grounds for divorce be it:

• Irreconcilable differences
• Lack of support
• Living apart
• Confinement to a mental hospital
• Cruelty or Abuse
• Abandonment
• Adultery
• Felony conviction
• Mutual dissolution

Divorce
Divorce, or dissolution of marriage is a legal process in which a judge or other authority dissolves the bounds of matrimony existing between two persons, thus restoring them to the status of being single and permitting them to marry other individuals. The legal process for divorce may also involve issues of child support, and child custody, though these matters are usually only ancillary or consequential to the dissolution of the marriage.

In many cases divorce settlement can be handled out-of-court with Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). This form of mediation can even lead to better settlements and saves on long court proceeding. Our goal is to make sure your divorce is as painless as possible while giving you the settlement you deserve.

After the filing of the divorce, we will help you reach the best possible settlement. Settlement issues involving divorce can include:

• Separation of property and assets
• Tax matters
• Alimony aka spousal support
• Child custody
• Child support

Child Custody
Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are sometimes used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent’s duty to care for the child. Residence and contact issues typically arise in proceedings involving divorce, or dissolution of marriage. In most jurisdictions the issue of which parent the child resides with is determined in accordance with the best interest of the child.

Child Support
In family law and government policy, child support or child maintenance is the ongoing obligation for a periodic payment made directly or indirectly by an (”obligor”) to an (”oblige”) for the financial care and support of children of a relationship or marriage that has been terminated, or in some cases never existed. Oftentimes, but not always, the obligor is a non-custodial parent.

Depending on the jurisdiction, a custodial parent may pay child support to a non-custodial parent. Typically there is no gender requirement to child support, for example, a father may pay a mother or a mother may pay a father. Where there is joint custody, the child is considered to have two custodial parents and no non-custodial parents, thus a custodial parent (obligor) will be required to pay the other custodial parent (oblige).