Family Law

Best in Class Nashville Family Law Attorneys

Family Law is commonly associated with divorce settlements, but being that divorce is so common, we wanted to expand on how we help clients in other aspects of family law. Family Law is a broad umbrella containing a multitude of serious issues ranging from civil unions, child custody, child support, alimony, adoption and more. These are cases that are meant to provide a path towards well-being and healing for the parties involved.

Sound Guidance for Adoptions, Child Custody and Support

When should you hire a Nashville family law firm for a domestic issue? In order to understand why you should hire a family law attorney for a domestic issue, let’s look at each issue individually:

Adoption: Being that the adoption process is determined by state law, hiring an experienced, local attorney can be a way to expedite an extremely complicated process. According to the law firm Wall & Wall, it is important to “understand the law before you even begin the process.”

“To avoid future complications, it is essential that an adoption lawyer be hired from the very beginning,” Wall & Wall reports, in an article entitled, “4 Reasons to Hire a Lawyer for Help with Adoption.” “Complications like the birth mother wanting the baby back, any persistent medical conditions, stillbirth or others can arise. To avoid these and tackle them effectively, it is important that the lawyer already makes provision of steps to be taken if such a situation arises. The legal documents the lawyer draws up will help avoid such complicated situations.”

In addition, Wall & Wall reports that lawyers can ensure that families wanting to adopt have more freedom in whom they choose to adopt, rather than deal with the limitations imposed by an agency. Finally, hiring a lawyer will ensure that you’ve done the process correctly, and are free to begin enjoying time with your new family.

Child Custody: Often, the most complicated part of going through a divorce is determining the custody of the children. Both parents may desire full custody, or perhaps disagree on how much time they should be allowed with their children. This can be even more complicated if one parent moves to another area of the country before or after a divorce, and it can be emotionally draining for not only the parents, but also and especially for the children.

Attorneys.com, an online resource for those seeking legal counsel, provides an excellent list of questions to ask your attorney before you hire them to resolve your child custody situation:

• What is your opinion and assessment of my child custody case?
• What kind of resolution can I expect?
• What potential problems could affect the outcome of my case?
• Will we have to go to trial?
• How long would it reasonably take to resolve my child custody issues?
• Is mediation or arbitration an option?*

  *Attorneys.com, articles “Child Custody,” http://www.attorneys.com/child-custody/questions-when-hiring-child-custody-lawyers

Child Support: While many families embark on child support agreements without the help of lawyers, many others need the assistance of an attorney to help reach a fair agreement between the custodial and non-custodial parents. Child Support Laws State by State, a resource for those going through the process of establishing fair child support agreements with their former spouses, recommends a lawyer for both the custodial and non-custodial parent:

“If you are a custodial parent, before you can receive child support payments, you must first take a number of steps. You must legally establish your child’s paternity, complete the appropriate paperwork to file for child support, obtain a court order dictating the terms of your child support payments, and if necessary, request modifications from the child support order.

Finally, if the child’s non-custodial parent cannot be located or refuses to pay child support, you must work with the staff at the Child Support Enforcement office to see that appropriate action is taken. A Nashville family law attorney can assist you with each phase of this process, helping you to navigate the system as painlessly and efficiently as possible.” *

*Child Support Laws State by State, paragraphs 3 and 4, http://www.child-support-laws-state-by-state.com/child-support-lawyer.html

In the case of the non-custodial parent, Child Support Laws State by State recommends a lawyer to advise on a fair child support payment plan, as well as how to make those payments.