If you look online or in the phone book under attorney, you will find pages and pages of options available to you. There are criminal defense attorneys, divorce lawyers, personal injury lawyers, and corporate attorneys just to name a few.
Life is very intricate and every aspect of it requires someone who can care specifically for each of them. Take for example, the human body. You wouldn’t go to your dentist because you were experiencing pain in your foot. Or, you wouldn’t expect to be able to receive cancer treatments from an optometrist. Another example is your automobile. If you want your battery changed, you wouldn’t go to a windshield repair company. In the same vein, you wouldn’t expect your tire guy to be a transmission company.
It is the same idea with law. You can’t expect one person to be able to know every single thing about the law; it’s too complicated and there is simply too much information for one person to be able to assimilate. That’s why there are people who choose to focus on one aspect of the law only. Today, we will be discussing the family law profession; what is covered under that category and why you should choose a family lawyer over a general lawyer when dealing with family issues.
What Falls Under the Family Law Category?
Family law covers every aspect of family life – from getting married to divorce and everything in between.
- Marriage
- Each state has age requirements. North Carolina requires a person be 16 years of age to be married with parental consent. To get married without parental consent, the legal age is 18. There is a provision for someone as young as 14 years of age to get married in the case of pregnancy. For this kind of marriage to occur, a court order must be provided.
- Same sex marriage. Some states still ban same sex marriage. As of October 10, 2014, North Carolina legalized same sex marriage.
- Children
- Adoption
- Child custody
- Child support payments
- Child emancipation
- Foster care of a child
- Child abuse
- The accountability of parents’ dealings towards their children
- Divorce
- Divorce proceedings
- Alimony
- Division of property
- Women’s reproductive rights
- Abortion
- Birth control
- Artificial Insemination
- Surrogacy
- Domestic violence issues
Is It Time To Hire a Family Law Attorney?
In some cases, family issues can be resolved internally. At times, however, there are situations in which a family law attorney is needed. If you’ve been accused of domestic violence, especially if you’ve been arrested for this, you will need an attorney. When going through a divorce, most couples need divorce attorneys on their side.
A family law attorney will be able to give you insight into what your rights are any situation. They will be able to guide you and be there for you to tell your side of the story and make sure your rights aren’t abused.
Whatever family situation you’re dealing with right now, having a family law attorney on your side is extremely important. Call our law offices today to find out how we can be of help to you.