A divorce lawyer practices in civil law specializing in marital law. This field can literally saturate with life-altering decisions and emotions. As such, a divorce lawyer has to delicately but justifiably handle a broad spectrum of family-related law matters from divorce, prenuptial agreement, marriage dissolution, spousal abuse and child custody, to post-divorce support, visitation and child adoption. The range of services that a divorce lawyer can render is similarly broad, but the services needed may be tailored towards particular clienteles. Below are some common services that a divorce lawyer may offer.
Advice on marital property and divorce: Divorce lawyers advise and assist their clients on important issues related to marital property and divorce. For instance, what happens to the marital home? What happens to the marital property accumulated during the marriage, including all inherited properties, gifts, and inheritable assets?
Preparing documents for a divorce: In every state of the United States, divorce lawyers prepare divorce documents in tandem with spouses. Divorce papers include, among other things, the name and location of the hearing, information regarding children, the name of the parties, time and place of the hearing, the case number and complaint/settlement date. In many instances, divorce lawyers also prepare and file the official notification of divorce that is required to be filed with the courts. Along with this, divorce lawyers also help their clients prepare financial affidavits, custody and visitation agreements, child custody agreements, and any type of binding contract.
Counseling and representation for spouse and children: No matter what the circumstance, both parties need legal representation when going through a divorce. Many people, who have been divorced, say that their lawyers did not adequately represent them. While it may be true that one or both attorneys provided sound legal advice, they did not properly convey their viewpoint to the spouse. Therefore, it is important for both you and your spouse to thoroughly discuss your concerns with your divorce lawyer prior to signing any papers of any kind.
Other legal issues: Often, divorces occur between people who have completely different and opposing legal philosophies. For instance, one spouse might believe that child support is owed to each parent solely and that the marriage should be ended immediately. The other spouse may strongly believe that joint physical custody of the children is appropriate and should remain with the mother. Because of these conflicting legal views, it is not uncommon for there to be a lot of issues to be resolved between the spouses. It is for this reason that it is so critical that you hire a competent divorce lawyer to assist you in the resolution of your legal issues.
Restraining orders: If you are being abused, physically or psychologically by your spouse, you may be able to obtain a protection order or a restraining order against him or her. A restraining order may prohibit your spouse from coming within a certain amount of feet of you, as well as any contact with you. It may prohibit him or her from coming within a specific distance from your home, your place of work, your place of worship and other places that you frequent. In addition, the court may require that your spouse surrender all firearms, as well as any ammunition or weapons that are owned or possessed by him or her. Your divorce lawyer will be able to assist you with obtaining either a temporary or permanent restraining order against your spouse.