What is family law?  Family law is a particular branch of the legal field that relates to families, home life, marriage, inheritance, child custody, divorce, and similar subjects.  Cases brought to the attention of a family law firm often encompass many of these subjects, which is why most of these firms will provide an extensive menu of services to clients like you.  For instance, if you are filing for divorce, it may be necessary to speak to a lawyer about how the divorce process will impact any jointly-owned property.  You can find out how your joint assets will be split and about how that will impact matters like taxes.  It’s also important to discuss issues such as alimony, child support payments, and child custody.  You might not have considered all these issues when you and your former spouse chose to divorce, but you can’t afford to ignore these questions for long.  You need answers and so you need the services of a family law firm.

A family law firm can assist you with the adoption of children.  Blended families often have one or more step-children that the father or mother’s new spouse would like to adopt.  Adoption is one of the most important parts of creating a blended family and there are many reasons why this process should begin as quickly as possible.  There are many legal rights that a parent has with regards to their children that a step-parent doesn’t.   Public schools usually have very strict rules about who is allowed to visit a child at school or pick them early from class.  If a step-parent has no legal ties to a child, the school may be prohibited from allowing the child to leave with them.  This could become a serious problem if the legal parent is sick, injured, or otherwise unable to get the child themselves.  Similarly, if one of the children in the blended family is in the hospital and needs care, it’s usually the case that only a legal parent can authorize treatment.  It’s clear that adoption is a necessary process that should be undertaken as soon as possible after a parent remarries.

Family law and the lawyers who specialize in this practice can help children in other ways.  If it’s time to renegotiate the terms of child custody with your former spouse, then a family law firm can assist with this, as well.  The terms of child custody may need to be revisited for a number of reasons.  As the child in question gets older, their needs are going to change.  It might not be practical anymore for the child to spend alternating weekends with each parent; another arrangement will have to be reached, instead.

So what is family law?  Family law is one of the most important forms of legal practice there is and it’s the one you’re most likely to have need of at some point in your life.

Post provided by Phoenix Divorce Attorneys from the Cantor Law Group, an AV rated law firm. The lawyers with the Cantor Law Group are experts in all forms of Family Law.