Family law issues encompass many different types of legal matters. Family law is sort of an umbrella term for practice areas that deal with families or family members who are involved in conflicts that require legal action. Many people automatically think family law involves divorce help, which is true, but there are other things besides divorce that are categorized under family law issues.
Child custody
One common type of case that many family law providers see is child custody cases. A divorced couple has to decide who will receive primary custody, when each spouse will have the child, who is the primary decision maker, etc. If a couple cannot make a decision, they have to take their case to a judge who will make a decision based on many factors. For roughly 5% of custody cases, the issue is resolved after a custody evaluation.
Child support
If the child in the divorce case is still considered a dependent, all parents are then responsible for financial support of that child. A dependent is usually someone who is under the age of 18. In the majority of child support cases, the parent who spends the least amount of time with the child is the one paying child support to the parent who spends more time taking care of the child. The amount paid is usually decided upon by a judge and is determined by the income of the parents paying the child support.
Division of assets and property
When a married couple separates, they usually have shared assets that now need to be divided between the two. If an increase of money or property happened during the marriage, they must share the assets. They usually have equal rights to most of their shared assets, so a decision needs to be made about who gets what. In Florida, this is governed by Equitable Distribution. This means the assets in a divorce are divided fairly, not necessarily 50/50.
If you are experiencing any of these family law issues, it’s important to ask a family lawyer for help. You should not go through these tough issues alone, and a family law provider will be able to help you through them.
