What Does Family Law Cover?

Finding the right lawyer for your needs can be difficult. After all, there are many areas of law, and therefore, many different types of lawyers. One common area of practice is family law.

Family law deals with marriage, children, and domestic situations. Here are a few situations where you may want to find a lawyer that specializes in family law.

Divorce And Annulment

Divorce and annulment are one of the most common case types in family law. Cases involving a divorce or annulment can include property distribution, child custody, on-going support, and more.

Most marriages that end go through the divorce process. In some cases, however, an annulment is an option.

Annulment is an alternative to divorce. Rather than ending the marriage, an annulment voids the marriage as though it never happened. While divorces can happen for just about any reason (or no particular reason at all), annulment can only be declared in specific situations such as no consummation, fraud, forced consent, and mental illness.

Either way, these cases can be very complicated, and emotions can run very high. A skilled family law attorney can help guide you through it to make sure that you’re protected.

Alimony

Spousal support, also known as alimony, involves one person providing financial assistance to another after the dissolving of a marriage. Not to be confused with child support, spousal support is for a person who might not be able to support themselves without the financial support of their former spouse.

For example, if one person was a stay at home parent without much job experience or formal education, they may be able to qualify for spousal support.

Spousal support is not a guarantee, and the law surrounding it is complex. This is one of many reasons why you need an experienced family law attorney.

Learn more about spousal support and alimony here.

Abuse And Neglect

Family law also covers cases of domestic violence and abuse. This could involve a spouse, significant other, and/or child. If you are in a situation of abuse, it’s important that you first get to a safe place. Once you have, reach out to a family law attorney immediately.

Child Custody, Paternity, And More

Family law deals with the custody and parental responsibility of children, even outside of divorce cases. Common examples include attaining custody of a child outside of marriage, becoming a guardian of a child you are not the biological parent of, proving parentage for child support, and more.

Finding A Family Lawyer

Because family law involves situations that are very personal and affect your day to day living, you need someone who specializes in this subject matter. At Michael T. Edwards, we have experience in all types of family law cases.

For a attorney that’s skilled in family law in Springfield, Ohio, you can trust in Michael T. Edwards.