Family law refers to civil cases, heard in civil court. Some states have a family law court itself as there seems to be an ever growing increase in family law cases.
There are different types of family law. It encompasses divorce, adoption, alimony, domestic violence, custody and cases concerning children’s services. Divorce, domestic violence, alimony and custody are the most common types of family law cases brought before the court.
The purpose of family law cases is, like the name suggests, to address family matters. For instance, if a couple wants to be divorced but fail to agree on how to disperse their assets acquired throughout the marriage, custody of the child/children and their marital liabilities, a petition can be filed in court for the marriage to be dissolved. The case of both parties will then be heard in court, and a decision will be made as to who should get primary custody of the child/children and who should receive what liabilities and assets.
After filing a petition the other party or spouse has a time period (based on local and state rules) in which to file a reply as well as a counter petition. If the spouse fails to respond in the given time, a default ruling can be requested by the petitioner, which allows him/her to get whatever was requested in the petition. This may not happen however, if the respondent can provide the court with good reasons for not giving a timely reply. If the counter petition is filed, the spouse who made the petition can also make a response.
A procedure rule, statues of family law and case law regulates matters of family law so that the parties involved know what should be expected. There are different rulings that match different situations, although each ruling (alimony, child support and custody among others) has rules that must be followed by the court so that a reasonable and fair distribution of liabilities, assets and any other arrangement can be achieved.
Persons can avoid family law court if they can come to an agreement on certain matters such as custody of the child/children, and marital liabilities and assets. Attorneys can draw up a settlement agreement which can then be filed in the court that will sanction the agreement. If the agreement is deemed to be fair by the court and are signed by both parties without the influence of duress, it will be incorporated into an absolute judgment by the court who will then declare both parties to be divorced.
Jhon Ford is the author of this article. For more information about family lawyers Baton Rouge please visit http://beallthies.com/about/divorce-attorney/
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