Wednesday, April 14, 2010

3 Simple Tips to a Divorce Attorney

When nothing else would help rebuild your marriage and when everything else seems to have failed you then divorce is the only available alternative to make the most of the years to come by. Sadly for you and for me there are quite a lot of divorce attorneys Staten Island out there and most are only eager to collect their fee irrespective of what the outcome of your divorce is. So if you want to make the best use of your divorce then it is prudent that you find the best divorce attorney out there. Here you will find three tips that you will have to look for when choosing your attorney to represent you legally in the court of law.

1. Credibility When choosing a divorce lawyer Staten Island make certain that you look for an attorney who is well respected and has made a niche for himself in the field of divorce law. Check the success rate of the attorney. If he or she has a success rate that is well over 95% then he or she will charge an extravagant fee. But remember that it will be well worth the investment. Make sure that you also do a research on how long the attorney has been practicing and try talking to a few references to find out about the attorney's prowess in a court room. The last thing you need in a divorce case is an attorney who is a complete push-over.

2. Closure Time & Out-Of-Court Settlements Most attorneys are well reputed for the time they take for the closure of a case. Let the attorney that you choose have an impeccable closure time. You can also find respectable attorneys who are well known to settle a divorce case on out-of-court basis. This is very crucial since it would save a lot of time and money for you if you are footing the legal charges. Look for an attorney who is a force to reckon with and who can gain the best settlement without having to take the case up to a judge. Since these fall under domestic or civil disputes, such cases are never brought before a jury. Still, an attorney who can negotiate the best out-of-court settlements should be the one that you invest on.

3. Costs & Fees When you meet your attorney for the first or even during the second time, make certain that you ask for a complete break-up off all the charges and costs that will be involved during the entire procedure. The last thing that you need after a successful divorce case is for your attorney to come up with a bill that would make you sell all the settlement assets and your mother's inheritance put together. The initial meeting is the time for you to clarify your questions about the costs involved. Don't let this particular topic slide by and regret it later with all the hidden charges that come up on your attorney's bill! So here are three solid tips that you need to remember before you choose a divorce attorney Staten Island. Do your research well and let your friends and family also recommend a few attorneys. Choose the best and choose wisely. Let the divorce attorney bring peace and not pain after your divorce is settled.

A Divorce Attorney Can Help Both Parties

Love is a funny thing. When you are young, it seems to consume your every thought and you can not wait to spend every moment of your day with the person that you love. You likely think that the love that you feel will last forever and you will not be one of those couples that end up nearly hating each other after years of marriage. Many lucky couples do spend their entire adulthood staying happily married. However, other couples take a wrong turn and wind up ending things because their love has faded or other circumstances have arisen.

If you are one of the couples that have decided that it is best to end your marriage, you might be wondering where you will go from here. If you have just made the decision to end things, you are probably feeling quite disoriented from everything that is running through your mind. One area where you can get help however is in the divorce process by hiring a divorce attorney Staten Island. You likely have many other things on your mind such as where your life will go from here and also in wondering how you will deal with all of the emotions that seem to be flooding your mind. The last thing that you will want to deal with is the technicalities of the divorce, which is why many people choose to hire this type of attorney.

Another reason why people choose to hire a divorce attorney Staten Island is because they know that they and their partner will be unable to reach a settlement on their own and will need to mediator to make any progress and get everything settled. When you have decided to get a divorce, the last thing that you will probably want is for the process to drag out because you and your spouse can not reach an agreement on the settlement. This type of attorney has dedicated their career to these types of cases and should be able to help you and your spouse reach a settlement that you can both live with, or can also help you get all of the things that you want of the settlement.

Things can also get tricky if you and your spouse have an accumulation of things from before you were married and after you were married. This is because the property laws are different in many states, so it really depends on the state where you live to determine how the things will be divided. A divorce attorney Staten Island can help sort all of this out for you and can help make sure that you get all of the property that should rightfully be yours.

Choosing a Good Divorce Attorney

Going through a divorce is a devastating thing for most people. It is one of the worst times in anyone’s life. It is an emotional time, not knowing what your financial status will be until it is over. Whether you want to or not, it is critical that you find an excellent divorce attorney Staten Island. Your financial stability depends on it. However it is not always as easy as it sounds. You need to find the best there is, and often it will take some research in order to find someone who will represent your best interests.

When you first start your search, create a list of attorneys that you may be interested in. Make appointments with each of them and then interview each one. Make sure you are speaking to the attorney that will handle your case and not a law clerk or paralegal. Most divorce attorneys will not charge for this initial consultation because they realize they are being interviewed.

Ask them how long they have been in practice and what their success rate is. Ask for references from past clients and speak to them. Also ask them what their fees are and what they include. Find out if you can get questions answered during the procedure without them billing you for every microsecond that they talk to you.

A good divorce attorney Staten Island will welcome and answer any question that you have. He or she above all understands what is at stake and will do everything in his or her power to get you what you deserve.

Most divorce attorneys do not charge for the initial consultation. However if the attorney is highly sought after, there may be a consultation fee. You may want to consider paying this fee because the attorney did not get his or her reputation for losing cases.

When you first start your search for a divorce attorney Staten Island, you can start with your local phonebook. Another option is to ask friends and family who have suffered divorce for their recommendations. Personal recommendations can carry a lot of value if you trust and respect the person giving their opinion.

Get a Divorce Attorney to Fight For You

What if you choose the wrong divorce attorney Staten Island? Imagine the losses you could face and on top of it, the trauma of going through the divorce! How would you feel if the lawyer you hired was more interested in making money out of your problem rather than listening to your problem with empathy?

Qualities Of A Divorce Lawyer

If you do not want to double your emotional trauma, it’s better to put in some efforts in contacting the best divorce lawyers in town. They would assist you with regards to the custody of your child. Besides, they would solve your property division problems and help in either reducing or increasing your child support. In short, they would be ready to help you in whatever way you like, not mentioning the hundreds of dollars you would save in due course of time.

Starting Your Search For An Attorney

Before you go hunting for divorce attorney Staten Island, ask a few questions to yourself:

•Do you both agree with the divorce?

•Is the divorce proceeding expected to go peacefully or requires negotiation?

•Has your relationship turned so bitter that you cannot tolerate each other?

Remember; divorces are of different types and so are the divorce attorneys. Therefore, it’s important that you recognize the type of situation you are in and begin looking for a family law attorney accordingly.

Once you come across a seemingly suitable online divorce attorney, it’s time to fix a meeting with him or her. Only then can you tell whether that particular attorney is right for your case or not.

Interacting With The Attorney

While talking to your divorce attorney Staten Island, see whether you are comfortable discussing your problem with him or her. Personality also tells a lot about an individual. When you first meet the person who claims to be knowledgeable about law, you can make out whether he has substance or not.

Well, for those who don’t want to rely on only intuition, it’s good to list out a few questions and ask your attorney. Observe how and what kind of answers they give. The questions can be related to the lawyer’s experience, the number of similar cases they have handled in the past, their present case load, their fee, what they think about your problem, options available, and likewise.

Divorce Attorneys Get Alimony

Divorce is the true feature of today’s times. There are more couples divorcing rather than staying together. it is because of this reason why there happens to be necessity of alimony and divorce attorneys. Divorce is painful, however, if one out of the couple is dependant financially on the other partner this divorce could also prove to be disastrous. It could mean that this person has been left with no mean to fend for herself/himself. This means this person ends up being totally unsecured and may be left a beggar. This is where alimony becomes important.

Alimony and divorce attorneys Staten Island need to be competent and strong willed. These also need to understand personal problems of their client and help them get through difficult legal procedures of divorce without causing too much stress. At the same time these lawyers need to insure that their client’s interests are well protected and that they do not end up being shortchanged.

Alimony and divorce attorneys Staten Island can be found through the internet, here through websites, you will gain to the best attorneys in your geographical area. You will also find out details about their prior experience, their previous clients and whether or not they have been satisfied with their services. Through the internet, you will be able to check out almost all details of the attorneys, which makes it simpler for you to hire the best of them.

Procedure of divorce is relatively simpler, however, with alimony at times it is necessary to establish that the person was dependant on the other for financial security, otherwise, it is difficult to gain alimony. Again the earning partner is not very ready always to part with his money, no wonder, this makes it difficult for the dependant person to sustain himself. Here alimony and divorce attorneys can prove immensely helpful.

Things become complicated in case of those couples where that has been a history of domestic abuse or dominance of any type. This is when the attorney may have to bring forth to the notice of the court the facts of such a case, which can result in the abusive partner also paying compensation, in case of serious abuse, such a person could also end up with being punished for his crimes.

It is therefore very necessary to hire a sensitive divorce attorney Staten Island, who can deal with all facts and reasons for divorce. Here it is always necessary to establish facts so that there is no confusion regarding who should be paid alimony and how much. It may also be necessary to rake up financial records so that there the other party does not cheat the court regarding income so that he has to pay less than what should actually be paid.

Picking a Divorce Attorney

Selecting a divorce attorney Staten Island is a critical decision making process. The person who you hire will be responsible for obtaining or maintaining your custody rights to your children, your property interests, and depending upon the side you are one, either minimizing or maximizing your support rights. In reality, selecting a divorce attorney is also an incredibly stressful experience. Do it right and you can breath easy. Do it wrong and you will spend years making up for losses that might have been prevented.

There are a few tried and true tactics that you should be using when you select a divorce attorney Staten Island. Before you even begin, you need to identify the type of case that you will be involved in. Will you be mediating your divorce? Will you be negotiating? Or, will your case be one of those cases that goes to court and becomes a knock down, drag out divorce litigation? There are divorce attorneys who specialize in these different types of cases and you need to hire the type of divorce attorney who is best suited to the type of case that you have. If you need to deal with a knock down, drag out litigation, you do not want a mediation attorney trying to protect your interests. Likewise, if you are going through mediation, the last thing you want is a divorce attorney who will try to create issues and move you towards litigation.

So, step one in the process of selecting a divorce attorney is to identify the type of case that you have. Next, start asking people for help. Since the divorce rate in the United States is at about 50%, chances are you know at least several people who have been through a divorce. Ask about their process, how they selected a divorce attorney, and how their attorney performed for them.
After you have received the names of several divorce attorneys Staten Island that you received from asking other people, go online and start researching those attorneys and others. Many divorce attorneys have websites, write articles, and advertise on divorce portal websites. You can get quite a bit of information about how an attorney approaches cases and treats clients by reviewing their website.

Divorce Lawyers Find the Easy Way Out

All marriages do not remain forever. Arguments and disagreements over some issues can at times lead the couple towards the court of law to seek divorce. A great deal of emotional and psychological pressure is involved in divorce cases. Hence, most people are not in a position to take decisions for themselves. They get carried away and sometimes leave an important aspect of their divorce case uncontested such as alimony and regret their decision later in life.

Relying on a Divorce Lawyer New York is thereby the best way to avoid taking such wrong decisions. An expert divorce lawyer will help you take decisions and guide you throughout the legal procedure for separation. Child custody, child support, child visitation, division of assets or property, joint account with spouse and alimony are some of the issues that are often associated with a divorce case and are handled by a divorce attorney.

Also, making and filing of separation papers and other such legal documents are also taken care of by these attorneys. Being your representative in the court of law, a divorce lawyer New York fights for your rights. Hence, it is important that a good divorce attorney must be selected.

Yellow pages and the Internet are the two best sources to find a good lawyer in New York. You may also ask for references from your friends. Make sure that the lawyer selected by you has in depth knowledge of the family law so that he can handle your case effectively and with great ease. This would also ensure that your lawyer is familiar with the intricacies that are involved in the family law of the New York state.

Divorce Lawyers

Divorce is very much on the rise these days and divorce lawyers Staten Island are more in demand now then they were ever before. Almost everyday when you open a newspaper or a tabloid there is news about celebrities getting divorced from their spouses due to one reason or the other. Divorce lawyers are very much in the news and in demand these days as a result. So if you happen to be any individual and want to seek the services of a divorce lawyer you need to find out certain things before your hire their services. The first thing which you must be aware of before hiring a divorce lawyer is that their services are very expensive. Be prepared to tackle this, if you want a divorce lawyer to work for you.

Divorce lawyers Staten Island can be difficult for any one to hire first due to the enormous number of cases that they have to handle and second it can be difficult to seek appointment with them. So, one must make sure that they are looking at the right places, if they are serious about hiring the services of a divorce lawyer to handle any kind of divorce cases. There are several law firms operating in the United States that have divorce lawyers working for their clients. Getting a divorce is a hard decision for any one to make and if some one decides to get a divorce they must make sure that they seek the services of an efficient lawyer who will handle their case.

The client must make sure that they discuss the case openly and freely with their divorce lawyer or any other lawyer that they hire to do the legal work for them. The person just needs to find out the capability of the lawyer and if this is found to be efficient, there is no reason why one could not hire the services of a divorce lawyer. Divorce cases where custody of children and division of assets are not involved are relatively easier to fight for divorce lawyers of any kind. However if a divorce case involved for lawyer to fight about child custody and division of assets, then the case can become lengthy and many legal issue may have to be dealt with this.

Uunless the divorce lawyer Staten Island has complete knowledge about all the facets related to the case, he or she will not be able to make a strong legal point about the case. One thing people need to make sure about a divorce lawyer before hiring their services is to find out his track record. Surely one would not like to hire the services of lawyer who does not have a good track record of settling divorce cases favorable for clients.

Making a Divorce Easier

Divorce is a painful and extremely difficult process. Knowing how divorce attorneys Staten Island function and understanding the court’s role in a divorce can help to make this transition smoother and easier, however.

Divorce laws govern the dissolution of a marriage. Every country has its own laws regarding divorce and, in fact, divorce laws can vary from state to state or province to province within a nation. Knowing your jurisdiction’s divorce laws can keep a bad situation from becoming worse, and save you future turmoil.

In the United States, divorce laws and divorce attorneys Staten Island, in general, provide two basic forms of divorce: fault based and no-fault based. However, even in some jurisdictions whose divorce laws do not require a party to claim fault of their partner, a court may still take into account the behavior of the parties when dividing property, debts, evaluating custody, and support.

Fault-based divorces can be contested and may involve allegations of collusion of the parties, connivance, or provocation by the other party.

In a no-fault divorce, the dissolution of a marriage does not require an allegation or proof of fault of either party. Forty-nine states have adopted no-fault divorce laws, with grounds for divorce including incompatibility, irreconcilable differences, and irremediable breakdown of the marriage. New York is the sole exception divorce laws there still require a proof of fault.

About 95 percent of divorces in the US are "uncontested," because the two parties are able to work out an arrangement concerning property, debt, children and support issues. When the parties can agree and present the court with a fair and equitable agreement, approval of the divorce is almost guaranteed. If the parties can’t work out their differences, divorce attorneys Staten Island govern the fair and equitable disposition of these issues.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

You NEED a Family Law Attorney

If you live in New York and you are going through a divorce you need to hire an experienced divorce attorney staten island because you will need legal advice. Hiring an experienced and dedicated attorney is the best option if you are looking at paying alimony, fighting for child custody, and much more. There are five grounds for divorce in this state, as well as jurisdictional and venue requirements.

When you hire a family law attorney staten island for a child custody issue you are making a good decision. There are multiple factors that courts look at when considering custody which an attorney can help you with. The court process can be very stressful on children as well as the parties. When you use a professional staff experienced with divorce they can help you understand the court process and advise you of your rights throughout the entire process.

When you are going through a divorce you may have problems with mediation and agreeing to certain things in the divorce like the amount of money you have to pay or should receive for alimony and child support. You might feel you deserve custody also. Mediation is when you will sit with a court appointed professional staff that will try and make the both of you come to agreements about the divorce. Mediation is required in many New York counties in divorce, child custody cases, alimony and property division, as well and other states around the nation. An attorney can help you work through agreements and possibly bypass the mediation process in the courts. Alternately if you hire an attorney who also a certified mediator, you get the benefits of both legal advise and/or mediation services, depending on your needs.

Hiring a family law attorney staten island can help you come to agreements with your spouse during the divorce process. You do not want to fight and be bitter through the process because it can cause you to lose rights. However, if one of the parties is impossible to work with then the judge may recognize this. An attorney can help make the process more fair when it comes to alimony payments and if you even have to pay anything, child support and visitation and more.

Child Custody Hearings Should Have a Lawyer

Being a parent can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. The unconditional love between you and your child is probably one of the most unique and amazing things you have ever known. When conflicts arise between you and the other parent of the child however, the situation may escalate to such a level that you may end up in a court hearing for any number of reasons, including a child custody hearing or a child support hearing attorney staten island.

If you and the other parent of your child will be going through a court hearing regarding your child, you might want to consider hiring a family law attorney staten island. These legal professionals can help you navigate the type of court hearing you are going through and can help make sure that you are properly portrayed during the hearing.

If you are going through a child custody hearing, it will probably be one of the most stressful and difficult times of your life. It will be difficult and stressful because both you and the other parent of your child will likely both be fighting for custody of the child. Just the fear of losing custody of your child may be enough to raise your stress to an unhealthy level, and if you do not know what to expect during the hearing, it may put your emotions over the top. A family law attorney staten island will be able to inform you of what to expect during the hearing and can help make sure that you are properly portrayed during the hearing, which can be the difference between being awarded custody and losing custody of your child.

The court will likely consider many factors during your custody hearing before determining how custody will be split and to whom it will be awarded. One of the main factors that the court will probably consider during the hearing is your parenting ability. With this in mind, it can be extremely beneficial to have a family law attorney on your side that will be able to portray your parenting abilities in the best light. Keep in mind, the other parent of the child will probably also be trying as hard as they can to gain custody, so having a legal professional on your side that has experience in these types of cases can be crucial.

Picking the Best Family Law Attorney

Deciding which you should have represent you in your family law case is an extremely important decision and one that can be the difference between getting a fair result or a poor one. Here are some criteria that will allow you to improve your chances of hiring the best family law attorney staten island for your case.

Experience and State Bar Board Certification

There is no substitute for experience when it comes to divorce attorneys staten island and you should only consider hiring an attorney who is very experienced in the field of family law. Frequently people will hire a general practitioner, thinking that divorce cases are routine and uncomplicated and that any lawyer will do. This kind of thought is a major error. Ideally, you want a lawyer who is board certified in family law by the State Bar. This is a certification held by attorneys staten island who have, by experience and knowledge, established that they are worthy of acknowledgment as experts in the area of family law. In most states this is an highly difficult certification for a lawyer to obtain.

Satisfied Previous Clients

The best way to decide which lawyer is right for you is to hear from that lawyer’s past divorce clients. If you know someone who has been a client of a particular lawyer they can tell you what it was like to be represented by that attorney. The fact is that some attorneys are simply better at satisfying their clients than others and the only certain way to find this out is to hear from previous clients.

A Plan for Handling Your Case

It is usually an error in a family law case for a lawyer to apply a "one-size-fits-all" approach. In other words, some lawyers use the exact same approach on every single case, disregarding the facts or nuances of your particular situation. This is generally a mistake. What you want is a lawyer who, at the outset of the case, creates a personalized plan for how your case will be handled. You wouldn't use a shotgun if you were trying to kill a mosquito and you wouldn't use a flyswatter if you were trying to kill a bear. You would use the best tool for the given situation. Your case should be handled in this same way.

Make it Go Smooth with a Family Law Lawyer

Smoothing things over becomes an unpleasant task for many amateurs in divorce cases, a task that these people are not usually prepared to face. Bitter words and harsh times can create even more uncomfortable, awkward and very tense situations or environments for the parties involved and even for those around them. Having a professional family law attorney staten island who can help to fix these situations and draft and create fair, just settlements for divorced couples can be invaluable to these couples as they go through the divorce process.

Strangely, when one thinks of a family law attorney Staten Island, they often think of those lawyers we have seen on television that have sinister ideas and intricate plots to destroy the lives of their opponents. What one will discover if they spend any time at all with any attorney is that this is simply not the case. The vast majority of attorneys are committed to discovering what is fair and implementing a settlement that reflects this. A family law attorney is not interested in taking a bad situation and making it worse. This does not benefit them at all and goes against the sense of fairness and equality that they fight to protect. A family should never go through a divorce alone, without the counsel of a professional to guide them through what can become ugly situations and hard times.

Especially if there are children involved in the divorce, these situations can become bitter messes from the very beginning. Former couples sometimes spend countless dollars and a great deal of time trying to decide who is going to have custody of their children after their divorce. What is often forgotten in situations such as these is: what is best for the children? A family law attorney will bring their expertise in these situations and past experiences in similar cases in helping the family decide what is best for the children.

Many families face the unpleasant requirement of putting their children through a messy divorce when the parents cannot get along or stay married to each other any longer. When divorce seems inevitable, the parents will usually fight often, be miserable and create tense situations inside the home, which their children often pick up on. So, getting divorced may be the best thing for the children in some cases, as nobody wants their children to grow up in these circumstances. A messy divorce, however, will often create the very thing the parents were trying to avoid, a tense and uncomfortable situation for their children. Having a family law attorney Staten Island to help the parents through these troubled times will help to smooth the situation and create a fair and calm environment for the children.


Mediate Your Divorce

Staten Island family law cases are governed by the rules of the Superior Court. Under those rules, parties must attempt to mediate before going to trial. A family law mediation usually takes place at the office of a third-party, neutral family law attorney with whom the parties contract to help resolve the issues of their case. This attorney must be experienced in the nuances of Seattle family law so that he or she may advise each side as to how a judge is likely to rule if the case went to trial. The parties usually remain separate from each other during the mediation, and the mediator travels back and forth between each party’s station with offers and counter-offers from each side.

Not all counties in New York State require mediation. Nevertheless, it is generally a good idea to at least attempt mediation before incurring the stress and expense of trial. Paying a Staten Island family law lawyer to appear at trial can be very costly, and court trials are quite stressful. Furthermore, when parties separate, there is usually already a lot of stress in the relationship. The parties do not make good decisions about one another and sometimes hold onto animosity that keeps them from making agreements. Unfortunately, this stalemate can lead to less than desirable consequences, and your lawyer will have to charge you to argue for you in court.

However, it is also not wise to jump to settlement too soon. Often parties in Staten Island family law disputes “just want things to be over” and will settle before making an informed decision.

Hiring a Family Law Attorney

Family law attorney Staten Island is an area that involves family relationships and issues. It can encompass anything from adoption finalization to divorce proceedings. No matter what type of family matters need to be decided, an attorney who specializes in this area of law will make the process a little easier.

A Staten Island family law attorney should be well versed in all areas of family law. Major life changes often take place as a result of the decisions made in these cases, and an experienced, compassionate staff can help clients survive the emotionally taxing process and win the case. It is important to choose a lawyer and firm that will handle each client on an individual basis, taking the time to get to know the client and family and understand the extenuating circumstances of each unique case.

A Staten Island family law attorney will be experienced in the various aspects of family law. The most common cases handled in this area are divorce settlements, where a competent attorney is essential to protect the rights of the client and ensure the settlement is fair and reasonable. Divorce is one of the most stressful events a person may ever experience, but the right lawyer can make that difficult time a little easier to handle.

Child custody is often an element of divorce proceedings and can be very emotional and stressful for all parties involved, including the children. It may be difficult to determine where the children should be raised - and who should raise them - when parents split up. When the parents cannot agree on this issue, it is up to the court to decide where the children should live. This is usually done in the "best interest of the child", although this can be difficult to determine. An experienced Irvine family law attorney can help ensure that a child custody case goes as smoothly as possible and that the rights of his client are firmly protected during the process.

Making Divorce Work for You

Everyone has horror stories about the Staten Island divorce process. People say that it takes years. People talk about spending huge and unexpected amounts of money on Staten Island family law firms. You hear about many instances where the divorce has harmed relationships with children, family, and friends. Many find that child support payments cause them to live as frugally as students until their children’s emancipation. Post-divorce problems can linger for years, even for a lifetime.

In a mediated divorce, the two divorcing parties meet with one mediator (usually, but not necessarily a service offered by family law firms). You meet with a family law firm a number of times. The family law firm will to address and try to resolve the issues in your divorce. family law firms hired in this capacity do not represent either of the parties. The Staten Island family law firms must be (and must be viewed by the parties as) an impartial, objective, fair third-party.

A mediated divorce (using advocate lawyers at relevant points) is the Camry of divorces. It’s solid, safe for the most part, and it can do almost everything you want. But the collaborative divorce is like a Prius. It has the most advanced resources at its disposal. It’s groundbreaking, and it can turn a sometimes dirty process into something that is a lot better for the environment.

The Family Law Issues

Adoption makes up a smaller, but significant area of family law attorney staten island. In adoption, some or all of the rights of the original parents are terminated, and the adopting family gains these rights in family law court. Family law attorneys in these cases handle negotiations with birth parents or the state, and finalize any agreements among the parties.

Paternity is yet another area of family law attorney staten island . Paternity cases determine the biological parents of a child and establish these parents’ rights and responsibilities with regard to the child. As traditional marriage becomes less common, paternity suits and related child support and custody cases are on the rise.

Civil union litigation are an emerging area of family law, as traditional marriage has been joined by civil unions as a legal option. Family law litigation staten island that may arise related to civil unions include the dissolution of civil unions, adoption and child custody issues and property and legacy issues.

Our aging population is also giving rise to an increase in guardianship and power-of-attorney actions regarding elderly relatives no longer able to manage their affairs. Family law attorneys can help the adult children of elderly parents settle disputes and collaborate in the long-term care of their loved ones.

Family law is a dynamic and growing area of the law and parties in family law actions would be well-advised to become as well-informed concerning the subject as possible to better be able to ask and answer questions of their family law attorney.

Family Law Covers A Lot

Family law attorney staten island matters represent a sizable chunk of any jurisdiction’s docket and can be among the most emotionally charged matters seen in court.

Family law attorney staten island deals with family related issues and domestic relations, including marriage, divorce, paternity, child and spousal support, child custody, adoption, long-term care for elderly parents, civil unions and other related matters.

Divorce and child custody attorney staten island cases make up the vast majority of family law cases. Family law requires that a divorce must be certified by the court system to become effective. The terms of the divorce are usually determined by a family law court, and may take into account prenuptial agreements or postnuptial agreements. A contested divorce may be stressful to the spouses and lead to expensive litigation in family law courts regarding issues such as child custody, spousal and child support and property division. Less adversarial approaches to divorce settlements have recently emerged in the practice of family law, such as mediation and collaborative divorce, which use a cooperative process and sometimes a single attorney working for both parties to come to an agreement.