What is family law?
Family law deals with marriage, divorce, alimony, child custody, child support, paternity, protection orders, and adoption. Attorneys with experience in family law issues are known as family lawyers.

What is divorce?
Divorce is defined as the legal dissolution of a marriage. Issues associated with divorce include alimony, division of assets/debts, child custody, and child support. If you are looking for help with your divorce, choosing an experienced family lawyer is the first step.

What is alimony?
Alimony is payment from one spouse to another for support after a divorce or during a separation. There are three types of alimony: permanent alimony, temporary alimony, and lump sum alimony.  Alimony is determined through income, length of marriage, fault, and other various factors.

What is child custody?
Child custody deals with who has custody of the children after a divorce or separation. There are two types of child custody: legal custody and physical custody.  There are four types of legal custody:  sole custody, joint custody, shared custody, and divided custody. If you are involved in a child custody battle, you may want to seek the advice of a family law attorney.

What is child support?
Child support is payment from one spouse to another for support of the children after a divorce or separation. Child support payments are determined by several factors, including the needs of the children, income of the parent with custody, income of the parent without custody, and the standard of living before the divorce.

What is paternity?
Paternity deals with who is recognized as the father of a child. Paternity can be important when trying to establish child support payments and visitation rights.

What is adoption?
Adoption refers to the process by which an adult becomes the legal parent of a child who is not his or her biological offspring. There are five types of adoption: international, independent, identified, relative, and agency.

Do I need a family lawyer?
The decision to hire a family lawyer is a personal one. However, since many of the issues surrounding divorce, child custody, child support, and adoption are complicated, it may be helpful to have the advice of an experienced family law attorney.