Family law matters represent a sizable chunk of any jurisdiction’s docket and can be among the most emotionally charged matters seen in court.
Family law deals with family related issues and domestic relations, including marriage, divorce, paternity, child and spousal support, child custody, adoption, long-term care for elderly parents, civil unions and other related matters.
Divorce and child custody cases make up the vast majority of family law cases. Family law requires that a divorce must be certified by the court system to become effective. The terms of the divorce are usually determined by a family law court, and may take into account prenuptial agreements or postnuptial agreements. A contested divorce may be stressful to the spouses and lead to expensive litigation in family law courts regarding issues such as child custody, spousal and child support and property division. Less adversarial approaches to divorce settlements have recently emerged in the practice of family law, such as mediation and collaborative divorce, which use a cooperative process and sometimes a single attorney working for both parties to come to an agreement.