What Does A Family Lawyer Do?

A Denver family law attorney can help any family with the various problems that arise throughout the lifetime of a family. Those problems can be divorce, child custody, child support, child visitation, domestic violence, marital assets, spousal support, restraining orders and much more. A family is the foundation of the United States and sometimes families just don't get along and need to split up.

Divorce is defined as the ending of a marriage in the presence of a court to the extent that the man and woman are no longer legally bound to each other by the same last name. A divorce is not legal unless it is certified by the court and in some jurisdictions of the country, one party or the other must prove fault in the divorce case. A Denver family law attorney can help with divorce proceedings. Going through a divorce can be physically and emotionally draining for everyone involved, including the children, if there are any.

Divorce involves more than just the division of debt and the distribution of property between the two people involved. Divorce also involves deciding on child custody, visitation rights, child support and spousal support. All of this can be done with the help of a Denver family law attorney. Going through a divorce without the helping hand of a lawyer can be a daunting task and can be ultimately impossible to obtain success. The Denver lawyer will be able to help his or her client in regards to what decisions need to be made.

Child custody is one of the most disheartening battles during a divorce because the husband and wife will use different methods of making the other look unfit to care for the children. Many people make up stories of physical and emotional abuse to tell the judge in a child custody battle. This is when a lawyer would be needed. A Denver lawyer can help the person being accused of these horrible actions get through the allegations and present their case in an appropriate manner.

Child and spousal support are not one in the same. Child support is payments that must be made by one half of the couple in a divorce case to the other half of the couple. Child support is to be used for the child's education, clothing, food, school supplies, medical bills for the child and any other necessities that the child needs to live by. Spousal support on the other hand is payments made to one spouse by the other after a divorce case has been completed. Spousal support goes towards medical bills, legal bills, food, clothing, transportation needs and much more.

If the person who is supposed to be sending the payments refuses to do so or forgets to send them they can be fined by the court or can even face time in jail. A Denver family law attorney will be able to help the party involved in the divorce case receive their payments of spousal support or child support if they are not coming through regularly. All matters involving family law can be resolved with the help of a Denver attorney.

Family Law and Children

Denver Family Law regarding children varies massively depending on the parent's relationship. When parents separate, their involvement with their children could be hugely different depending on whether they were married or not. Parents who were married will both usually have significant contact with a child, whereas the Father's rights are much diminished if they were not. The law treats married and unmarried Father's very differently.

When a married couple with children divorce, they are both legally entitled to full involvement in their child's life and in decisions affecting their upbringing. The absent parent has an automatic right to know where their child is living and to see them on a regular basis. He/she will have a legal right to certain information such as school and medical reports. These factors are designed to benefit the child, meaning they have the advantages of being with both parents.

If separated parents were not married, then the Mother has automatic parental responsibility. This means that the Father's rights are not the same as married Father's. He cannot prevent his child from taking their Mother's surname, even if he/she previously had his surname. The Father is also unable to take his child abroad on holiday, and has no say in the child's religion or school. The reality is he could have no say in the child's life what so ever. He doesn't even have an automatic right to look after his child if the child's Mother dies. Unmarried Father's are treated similarly to step-father's even though the are the biological Father of the child.

There are of course exceptions to these general rules. The law regarding unmarried Father's has changed with regards to children born since 1st December 2003. If a Father's name appears on the birth certificate and his child was born after this date he has the same legal rights as a previously married Father. Children born prior to this date actually remain the same still.

There are exceptional circumstances where divorced Father's are not given their normal rights. These will be cases where it is considered in the child's best interests that their Father does not have such as active involvement, or no involvement as all. Meanwhile there are ways in which unmarried Father's can request more involvement. The agreement of the child's Mother is the most obvious, and most Mother's are happy for the Father to have an active role. However, if the Mother does not agree it can be very difficult for the Father. They might then have to resort to getting a court order to force the Mother to allow access.

Many are surprised when they hear of the lack of rights that unmarried Father's have. The good news for Father's who will be in this position in the future is that the law has changed since December 2003. However, the difficulties to those Father's with children born previously to this are still the same as they always have been. The reason stated for both parents being involved in their child's future if they were previously married is that it is for the good of the child. Surely then, the same should apply to unmarried Father'.

(Source: Andrew Marshall)

Getting Help from A Denver Family Law Attorney

Denver Family law refers to areas of law such as divorce, child support, adoption, pre-nuptial agreements and child custody. If you are dealing with a family law issue in Denver we almost always recommend that you hire a Denver based Family law attorney to handle your case or someone who regularly appears there.

Denver family law cases are split up into three basic divisions: Domestic Relations, Child Support, and Child Protection. Domestic Relations courts hear divorce, child custody, and visitation matters. Child Support courts hear all cases regarding payment of support fees by a parent to the parent in custody of the child. Child Protection courts hear all cases of abused or neglected children.

Suburban based domestic relations claims, while filed in the same division as Denver claims, are routed to the sitting family law judge in that suburb's district. As a result, this may result in a more localized atmosphere, with judges becoming accustomed to certain attorneys.

Anyone going through a family law related legal matter should contact an experienced Denver Family law attorney to ensure that they are represented to their most beneficial legal degree.

The Differences Between Married and Cohabiting Couples

Cohabiting couples are unmarried couples who live together. There are now more cohabiting couples than ever before with over two million in the United Kingdom. The family environment in numerous of these cases is very similar to married couples, but the legal rules applying to them are absolutely different. There are a lot of differences in Denver Family Law between married and unmarried couples who live together.

Contradictory to popular belief there is not any such thing as a common law partner or other half. Many believe that after a pair have lived together for a certain period they are for all intents and purposes a married couple, but this isn't the case. They do not benefit from any matrimonial legislation ; actually the same rules apply as any one else who live together, for example two pals living as flat mates. While a married couple are treated by the law as a family, cohabiting couples aren't. This implies that if there is a split of the relationship one can't claim maintenance from the other. If one half of married couple leaves work to look after children the couple may have, and there is a divorce, the working parent will generally have to compensate the other party. This is not the case with cohabiting couples.

If the couple share a home and just one of their names is on the mortgage, then ( s ) he's the legal owner of the home. This means that if that person dies, the other party doesn't inherit the home unless stated in a will. If the couple separate the person whose name is on the mortgage will own one hundred % of the property and can sell it as they please. This will be automatically the case even if the other person has been contributing towards the mortgage or other parts of the up keep of the household, for example bills.

If a couple have separate bank accounts then neither person has any rights to the others account. This remains the case if the couple separate. While in a divorce the finances will be split according to a magistrates decision, with the separation of a unmarried couple each person will keep his/her assets. If they have a joint account and can't agree on who is entitled to what, then a court will decide. With a divorce there is not any real difference in whether the couple have separate accounts or a joint one. This is not the case with a cohabiting couple.

Something that's surprising to several is that Denver Family Law differs with married and single couples when it comes to dad's after a relationship break up. It's a lot easy for a Father who was married to his children's mum to get rights to see his youngsters. Up until December 2001 a father who was not married to his youngsters's Mother had no rights to see his children at all. This meant the ma could stop him seeing his kids without any reason. This has changed for children born after December 2001, but it is still easier for Father's's who are, or have been, married to the child's Mother.

Unmarried couples who live together can enter into a cohabiting agreement. This records assets that belong to each person, and which they share, and thus how things will be split in the unlucky circumstance of a split. It also sets out who will contribute towards particular things like mortgage or rent payments, or youngsters. Anything can be recorded in this agreement, with the most common being houses, finances and kids.

The popular belief that Family Law is the same, or very similar, with married couples and cohabiting couples is inaccurate. There are many differences between the two, something that becomes especially important in the eventuality of a separation.