Family lawyer refers to an attorney who deals with family-related legal affairs and issues. Such family members include parents, legal guardians, spouse, children and even cousins. Family law is a specialized field of law, which mainly deals with domestic affairs and family related matters. This branch of law exclusively concerns itself with family matters pertaining to family, domestic violence, marriage, divorce, adoption and even death and funeral arrangements among others. Family lawyers are highly experienced legal professionals who specialize in family-related legal issues.
The concept of family law practice pertains primarily to family related civil matters. It also includes issues pertaining to wills, trusts, estates, property, family relationships and procreation. Such family lawyers are recognized by the State Bar Association of Texas as being qualified attorneys in the state. Such lawyers may be called upon by any individual or group to give legal advice and represent them in legal proceedings. This usually requires them to have a master's degree in family law practice from an American Bar Association accredited law school and at least five years of relevant experience.
Such lawyers generally work with a team in order to best represent their clients. Such lawyers hold a master's degree and thus work as adjunct faculty to another faculty member, such as an attorney. Most family lawyers hold at least a bachelor's degree and thus many do not need to hold further degree or learn more additional bar exam after having gained a law license. Such license is necessary only for practicing law in a particular jurisdiction. Family lawyers may also work with some other licensed attorney on a part time basis.
Many family lawyers are also associated with some non-profit legal organizations, which can offer much needed social service to help the needy, especially when it comes to family law cases. They work with the community in an attempt to resolve local social, economic and legal issues. These attorneys also work in self-defence organizations to help prevent crime. In many instances, these attorneys help clients choose the right legal representation, as well as offering essential advice and guidance to help the client achieve their best interests.
In a family lawyer's courtroom, there is usually an associate judge who presides over the cases of all parties involved. This judge has tenure and is selected by the court. Attorneys work with this same judge to assist in resolving the matter.
Family lawyers must therefore have a thorough understanding of local court procedures. They must also be familiar with the local laws regarding child support, spousal and child abuse, landlord and tenant issues, and so on. Many family lawyers also deal with criminal law matters and have their own private investigators and surveillance teams to gather information on opposing counsel, their methods, strategies and so forth. Private investigators can be quite costly to hire, so family lawyers often save money by using their free time to help out with the legal issues in the household.
One of the most common areas where family lawyers find clients is divorce and family court cases. A typical divorce involves one party pulling away from another and seeking a decree of separation. Family lawyers can handle many different issues relating to a divorce including property division, financial settlements, marital debt, child custody and juvenile issues.
Divorce can also involve issues involving prenuptial agreement (also known as prenup). This document outlines the details of the marriage contract prior to the marriage. It is highly recommended that if a prenup was signed, it is incorporated into the divorce proceedings. A family lawyer can review prenuptial agreement and advise their client, whether the marriage was entered into correctly and whether it should still be incorporated into the divorce case. Divorce courts are now requiring that both spouses enter into prenuptial agreements before a case can proceed to the hearing stage.