What is family law III?

Defined, family laws are the laws that encompass legal issues that confront families. These issues can be divorce, custody matters, child support, adoption, paternity concerns, abuse and spousal support. Family law can also encompass mediation, annulments, protection orders and pre and post-nuptial agreements.

When seeking restitution or resolve through family law courts you do need to hire a good attorney and question the attorney concerning his experience in practicing family law. Question the attorney concerning what likes about practicing family law, what the challenges are and what skills are needed to practice family law. There are always changes in laws and an attorney needs to be aware of the changes and trends in family law. Is the divorce attorney aware of these changes and can he use them to protect his clients.

Most attorneys find themselves playing a counselor role when working with clients and family law cases. Divorce is a highly stressed and emotional time and helping clients work though family issues takes care and dedication. It is a challenge when one or both parties are not fully honest or forthcoming concerning possessions, plans and actions and the reasons for the divorce. To navigate through the complications of family law, it is important that you know what part the judge will play in your case and how you can best present your custody, abuse, support or divorce case.

An attorney can guide you through these questions but if you choose to defend yourself in family court you do need to be prepared to answer hard questions that relate to custody, spousal support and child needs. Follow court protocol, speak when spoken to and address the judge only if you are asked a direct question. Be honest when working through family laws. Whatever you do, do not circumvent family laws, lie to the judge, or hide assets. The latest trends in family law include Collaborative Law or a structured process that provides divorcing couples with family law issues an alternative to litigation.

By using collaborative law you can keep control of your situation and use your attorney when engaging in group meetings, negotiations and discussions to help resolve family matters. Collaborative Law is designed to resolve issues without going to court and family law can work well in this forum.

DISCLAIMER: This is not legal advice, and should not be construed as legal advice or relied upon as legal advice.
Neill Marangi -  nmarangi@pacbell.net

Responsibilities of a Divorce Attorney

A divorce attorney represents clients in divorce or marriage dissolving actions in the court and provides various legal services. A competent divorce attorney needs expertise in the field of family law and mediation. Interview attorneys to find out how knowledgeable they are concerning expectation form the courts in your jurisdiction and if they can use this knowledge to your advantage. Use an attorney whose practice is devoted to divorce law.

The first responsibility of a divorce attorney is to develop legal documents that notify the person who is being divorced that proceedings are in process.  Then the attorney files a summons and complaint in the appropriate court. Once these documents have been received back from the spouse, a response answering the claims and presenting any defenses to the claims can be issued. A divorce action is determined after the summons, and both the complaint and the responsive motions are filed with the family court.

Attorneys for the divorcing couple determine if the divorce will be non-contested or contested. Non-contested divorces indicate the couple agrees to the divorce and there will be no issues.  A contested divorce may involve a trial or a hearing before a judge. Property issues, custody and support will be discussed, written down and placed before the judge. The divorce attorney will act for the client in either a contested or non-contested divorce.

In a non-contested divorce the divorce attorney will instruct his client to gather personal and financial information. The parties will sit down and partition possessions, spousal and child support and child custody. A settlement contract is drawn up by the divorce attorney that outlines the rights and responsibilities of each party. At that time, if both parties do not agree to the settlement, the divorce becomes contested, new documents filed and a trial or hearing will commence with the judge determining allocation and custody.

DISCLAIMER: This is not legal advice, and should not be construed as legal advice or relied upon as legal advice.
Neill Marangi -  nmarangi@pacbell.net

Questions for a Divorce Attorney

A divorce attorney will guide your through the stress and complications of a divorce and help bring divorcing couples to a resolution. Before hiring a divorce attorney you need to ask several questions.

1. How many divorce cases do you have experience with.
2. Were any of those cases settled out of court?
3. Do you practice Collaborative Law?
4. Do you know my spouse or his attorney?
5. Are you familiar with state and local Family Court judges?
6. Can you negotiate child support, spousal support and settle property issues?
7. What are your fees and do you have associates that need to be paid?
8. How do you prefer to be contacted?

Best Answers

Finding the right divorce attorney will be a very important decision. A competent divorce attorney needs to have considerable experience handling divorces cases and have relationships with other attorneys in the area and be familiar with the judge who will preside over your divorce case.

1. Hire a divorce attorney whose primary practice is Family Law or Divorce Law. Avoid hiring an attorney who strictly practices tax or business law and works on divorces part time. 
2. Directly ask how many divorces the attorney has handled and find out if he/she has managed complicated divorce cases or cases similar to yours. 
3. It is a good rule to interview at three or four divorce attorneys before you decide and hire one. Employ an attorney who has at five or six years divorce court experience and knows family law.
4. Collaborative Law can save a great deal of money for divorcing couples. Make sure this is an option. If the attorney does not deal with collaborating law, interview another attorney. 
5. Write down every possible asset and liability and give a copy to your attorney. This is the best way to determine how assets can be divided, how complicated your case will be, and how all properties, support and custody can be negotiated. 
6. Most attorneys will give you the first brief consultation at no cost. Subsequent meetings and needs will generally be charged at a retainer rate. In other words a flat fee will be worked out; a portion paid to the attorney to begin your divorce case and the final amount due at the conclusion of the case. 
7. In today’s electronic world, attorneys often require that a client correspond via email. You can generally reach an attorney through his paralegal and calls are usually returned within twenty four hours.

Your divorce attorney will represent you in filing all papers, negotiations, and speaking before the judge if necessary. Your divorce attorney needs expertise in the field of family law, divorce law and mediation. After hiring an attorney sit down and give full disclosure of all your assets, liabilities and side of the divorcing story. Avoid those divorce attorneys who seem overly confident or who seem distracted and distant. You need someone who will give you complete and caring answers during this stressful, emotional and sad time.

DISCLAIMER: This is not legal advice, and should not be construed as legal advice or relied upon as legal advice.
Neill Marangi -  nmarangi@pacbell.net

Responsibilities of a Divorce Attorney

The divorce attorney files a summons and complaint in the appropriate court. These are legal documents that advise the person who is being divorced that proceeding are beginning. Once the documents have been received, a response answering the claims and presenting any defenses to the claims can be issued.

A divorce action is determined after the summons, complaint and the responsive motions are filed. Both attorneys for the divorcing parties then determine if the divorce will be non-contested or contested. Non-contested divorces mean the couple agrees to the divorce. A contested divorce may involve a trial or a hearing before a judge. The divorce attorney will act for the client in both cases.

In a non-contested divorce the divorce attorney will instruct his client to gather personal and financial information. The parties will sit down and partition possessions, spousal and child support and child custody. A settlement contract is drawn up by the divorce attorney that outlines the rights and responsibilities of each party. If the parties do not agree to the settlement, the divorce becomes contested and a trial or hearing will be the result with the judge determining allocation and custody.

DISCLAIMER: This is not legal advice, and should not be construed as legal advice or relied upon as legal advice.
Neill Marangi -  nmarangi@pacbell.net

What is a divorce attorney?

Hiring a divorce attorney to mediate and handle your divorce is an important decision; you will spend a great deal of time with this attorney and they will have accesses to all your financial, marital and possibly private affairs. The divorce attorney will represent you in any divorce actions in court.

Find a divorce attorney who has, at the very least, experience in family and divorce law through training or hands-on experience and is licensed through your state. You should research and interview attorneys to find out how knowledgeable they are concerning what to expect from the judges in your jurisdiction and if they can use this knowledge to your advantage. Find an attorney whose practice is basically in divorce law.

Hiring a competent divorce attorney requires that a potential client find out what former clients have to say about the attorney. You can do this by looking on the web or asking previous clients. You need to communicate with your attorney. If you do not feel that you relate to the attorney or cannot get responses to your calls and emails, this is probably not the attorney that you want to hire. Investigate attorney fees. Some divorce attorneys will do a first consultation for no charge and subsequent visits will be charged an hourly rate or at a retainer rate. Request detailed invoices.

Make sure you are comfortable with the attorney and feel that he is competent and able. If you cannot definitely answer, yes to these questions, keep searching. The divorce attorney will meet with a potential client to discuss the facts of a potential divorce case and information and details will be gathered by the attorney to determine if there are grounds for divorce.

Every state has different laws that specify divorce rules. The divorce attorney should also provide an outline of the procedures and specify responsibilities of his client at the initial hiring meeting.
DISCLAIMER: This is not legal advice, and should not be construed as legal advice or relied upon as legal advice.
Neill Marangi -  nmarangi@pacbell.net

Solving family law issues

The first family law issue to confront when divorcing is to know the rules of the Family Court and the power of the judge. The family court judge has the power over decisions for divorcing couples. Family laws are designed to resolve issues that could not be handled curing mediation or negotiations.

These include marital property, visitation and child custody and spousal support. When working before a judge whether by yourself or with a California divorce attorney, make sure you have the facts and proof of what you want. A judge can make an informed decisions on family law concerns only if the entire story is told. All negotiations should be written down and presented to the judge. He will mediate, but his basic duty is to preside and make the final decisions.

Most family law judges are fair and competent when presented with all the facts.

DISCLAIMER: This is not legal advice, and should not be construed as legal advice or relied upon as legal advice.
Neill Marangi -  nmarangi@pacbell.net

Rules of Family Law II

The first rule of family law and divorce is mandatory disclosure. These disclosures are filed shortly after the respondent answers and counters or are in agreement to the divorce terms. Disclosures must include all financial papers including bank account statements, retirement accounts, credit card statements as well as titles to homes and vehicles. It is against the law to hide assets in a divorce case.

The second rule involves interrogatories that need to be filled out. Interrogatories are questions that both parties must answer and you need to respond to each question fully. Third is the request for admissions which include information about custody issues, questionable documents and financial support. Fourth is the deposition phase which includes discussions about topics of contention form custody to financial issues.

Depositions are taken under oath in front of a judge, recorded by court reporters and filed with the court.

DISCLAIMER: This is not legal advice, and should not be construed as legal advice or relied upon as legal advice.
Neill Marangi -  nmarangi@pacbell.net