Marriage and Family Law
Posted on: 8 January 2020
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Family law deals with domestic relations and family matters. Under marriage, you might come across divorce, alimony, child custody, property settlement and annulment cases. Here is what you need to know about family law concerns under marriage:
Marriage, Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships
Marriage cases are grouped with civil unions and domestic partnerships. Marriages and civil unions can be considered similar in that they are legally recognised and share the same characteristics. Two individuals unite religiously or culturally for emotional, social, financial, spiritual, legal or religious reasons.
A domestic partnership results when two people live together for a long time and act as if they are married. Domestic partnerships are not legally recognised, but the law protects the parties just like it would the parties in a marriage or civil union.
Divorce
When two people get married or get into a civil union, they are bound by rights and obligations that exist within that union. A divorce can be filed if problems exist between the marriage, maybe because one of the parties fails to abide by the obligations and rights or there is domestic violence.
Depending on the nature of the divorce, you might be required to hire a family lawyer. If there are disputes on who is to end up with the children or how property is to be settled, you will need a family lawyer. If there are no disputes and the divorce is mutual and peaceful, you can avoid a lot of legal fees and handle the divorce privately.
Annulment
Annulment is the termination of a marriage in such a way that the marriage is considered to never have existed. You can seek the services of an annulment family lawyer if the marriage is fraudulent, is forced or is prohibited by law. You can also seek annulment services if your partner is incapable of consummation, you are underage and are married, one of the parties was mentally incapacitated (under the influence of drugs or alcohol) during the marriage, etc.
Alimony
After a divorce, one party might require financial assistance from the other; that is if the latter is doing well financially. However, the court has to consider various factors before deciding on alimony or the alimony amount. Such factors are derived from the married life of the couple and who is at fault. If the party doing well financially is at fault, the alimony amount might be high.
If you have any questions, speak with a family law attorney.