Family law is not something you should tackle alone. The most important thing in your child custody case is to find a good attorney. Most people will start looking with a quick internet search; Googling something like “Florida child custody lawyer” or “Florida family law attorney”.
There is nothing wrong with starting out your search this way. The problem is many people end it there as well.
They find an advertisement for a Florida child custody lawyer, check out their site, and then hire them at the first meeting.
It’s a risky way to approach such an important decision.
Finding the RIGHT attorney is vital in this process.
They really can make the difference between winning and losing.
So how do you find the best child custody lawyer in Florida, or whatever state you reside in?
Here are a few good places to start:
1. See if you have any attorneys in your area who are members of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. These attorneys are experts in family law and tend to be some of the best and most dedicated out there.
2. If you have issues with a vindictive or abusive ex, you can check out local domestic violence meetings for support and advice. Many of these women have had extensive dealings with family law and the courts. They can be a wealth of information about attorneys and judges in your county.
Once you’ve picked a few family law attorneys who you think might be good, do a little research on them. Check the state bar association website to see if there are any infractions against them.
Google their name and see what comes up. (Sidenote: You should also do the same for your judge, if you already have one assigned.)
If you still think they might be a winner, interview them and ask probing questions about family law and your specific case. One thing you should ask them is how busy they are with their current caseload and what is the expected time to return calls and messages. Most lawyers are notoriously bad at this and you need to know, if something comes up, how much support you’ll have available, and how quickly.
When looking for a qualified child custody lawyer in Florida, or whatever state you reside, remember, a little extra research will put you miles ahead of the game.
By: Joan Baker
What is a family law attorney and why are they necessary? It is even more crucial you are familiar with these experts of family law since it seems strong families are becoming less and less in our modern day.
Here is a fact that is unfortunate but all to often becomes reality in 2010. When a mother and father gets a divorce and the family is divided the costs go way up. When all home expenses are shared by the man and woman the burden of making a living is also shared.
After a divorce everyone’s standard of living is lowered due to the fact that two separate households, versus one, has to be maintained. The state courts are then given the duty, unfortunately, of dividing the resources that used to support one family unit into two parts.
Its usually impossible to do this equally because many things the couple owned together cannot be simply cut in half. For instance a home cannot be sawed in half thus enabling each former spouse to get a half of it. This especially is true when there are children involved. The needs and expenses of the children involved changes from each passing year. The costs involved in raising elementary aged kids are much lower than the costs in raising teenagers.
In addition to that problem the circumstances of the adults involved changes. The income of the person ordered to pay child support or alimony, be it the father or mother, can drastically go up or down as time goes on.
And we have not even touched the issue of child custody including outlining visitation rights. With the divorce rate as high as it is in 2010 it does not take a genius to wonder why family law courts are always packed and system is overloaded. It is impossible to navigate all the courts, red tape, and legal documents with the help of an expert who deals with those things for a living.
Hopefully you understand the reason why a family law attorney at law is necessary when dealing with these sticky situations. These types of attorneys specialize in the field of law that deals with all family related issues and relations of the domestic nature. These fields include anything having to do with marriage, civil unions, domestic partnerships, abuse, legitimacy, adoption, divorce, marriage annulment, alimony, and child support payments.
The better they are familiar with each subject the better they are at winning the case (though really nobody ever wins when it comes to these types of cases). Many family law attorneys specialize in a niche somewhere within this giant field that gets bigger every year. One family law attorney will likely be more adept at marriage contracts than divorce proceedings. Another one might be excellent at property division while another attorney in the same general field will excel in nullity.
Depending on your needs it is a good idea to ask a prospective family law attorney what he or she focuses on and decide if that area of expertise is what you require.
Hopefully you never need a family law attorney but if you do you now know exactly what they do and how you can use them.
By: Wesley A Barras
