The Basics of Family Law

Family law is a composite of local, state and federal laws that govern domestic relations and family matters. Ordinarily, a family lawyer deals with cases involving divorce, child support, adoption, alimony, and visitation and child custody issues.
Among the most common family law practice are the post-divorce issues of visitation, child support, and alimony. Child support is a monetary obligation of a supporting parent to pay a court ordered amount to cover the costs of raising a child. Alimony is the court ordered provision of payments (from one’s ex-spouse to the other spouse) for the support of the recipient spouse. Visitation is the legally defined time a non-custodial parent may spend with a child , often outlined in a court adopted parenting plan. A parenting from a divorce is designed to explain both parents’ rights and responsibilities as they relate to children.
In addition to the aforementioned areas of practice, family law can also involve adoption, spousal support, guardianship, distribution of property, prenuptial agreements, foster care, emancipation, and paternity.
Family law encompasses such a broad scope of issues and has such an immense impact on individual lives that it’s important for those in need of legal representation to choose the right professional to advocate for their needs.

The Importance of a Family Law Attorney

There are many legal pitfalls that can cost you time, money, and emotional energy if you don’t have a qualified attorney helping you to mitigate them. This is especially true during divorce, where the stakes are extremely high and the outcome can affect you for years to come. A family law attorney will help you navigate through the most difficult legal situations you may have to face, whether that’s divorce, child custody, alimony, or another family law matter. During a divorce, there are many different factors that can cause the process to take longer than expected, which can cost you both time and a lot of money while it’s in process. An attorney can help you to mitigate your costs by streamlining the process and keeping you focused on the goal of moving through the divorce quickly and efficiently. Others things that can make the process more costly include many complex issues surrounding alimony and other details that come up as you go through the divorce. A family law attorney can help you to avoid these potential pitfalls as well, and help you to ensure that you receive enough money from divorce alimony or anything else you may be entitled to. What’s more, West Palm Beach divorce and family law has a number of tropes associated with it, where one partner tries to hoard assets or hide things from the other. They might also manipulate the law to their advantage, trying to move to Florida so that their assets aren’t covered under their home state’s laws, and try to avoid alimony or equitable distribution legally. A family law attorney who knows West Palm Beach laws will understand this possible scenario and do everything they can to prevent and minimize the damage you’ll suffer because of it. Finally, a good family law attorney can often save you costs on child support payments. They know the law and can help you to receive everything you are entitled to, whether you’re the person paying child support or receiving it. In either case, having a good family law attorney on your side will ensure you get what you deserve out of your divorce.

Family Law Attorney Services

An experienced family law attorney in West Palm Beach may offer a range of vital services relevant to your needs. In addition to representation during trial, these may include conducting research, drafting legal documents that represent and protect your best interests, and serving as a negotiator during mediation. The following services may also be available:
Child support: Calculation of equitable child support payments, contesting child support orders and litigation regarding the modification of existing orders all fall under the purview of family law attorneys.
Child custody: Custody arrangements can be complicated, and petitions for modifications and enforcement can extend the reach of family law attorneys.
Mediation: In contentious cases, alternative dispute resolution is often preferable to familial litigation.
Property division: Your attorney can represent you in equitable distribution hearings, asset identification, and appraisals.
Division of retirement assets: Because division of retirement funds can be so complex, it’s critical to get family law attorneys who are well-versed in this process to protect your interests.
Guardianship: This service is usually required when minor children are orphaned or a severely-special needs individual is unable to care for him- or herself.
Spousal support: There are many factors influencing alimony awards, and they can vary significantly from case to case; your family law attorney can help you devise a plan that covers your needs.
Divorce: Family law attorneys can handle contested and uncontested property division, child support and custody disputes, mediation, spousal support and the filing of final judgment packages, among other essential services.

Obtaining the Best Family Law Attorney

When selecting a family law attorney in West Palm Beach, it is important to do your research. Here are some tips on how to choose the right lawyer for you:

• Experience: One of the most important factors to consider when hiring a family law attorney is their experience in the field. In West Palm Beach, many attorneys specialize in certain areas of family law, such as divorce, child custody, and paternity cases. Make sure to choose an attorney with a track record of success in handling cases similar to yours.
• Client Reviews: Another important factor to consider is client reviews. Look for testimonials from previous clients on the attorney’s website or on review platforms like Avvo. This can give you valuable insight into how the attorney handles cases and interacts with their clients.
• Specialty Areas: It is also important to consider whether the attorney specializes in any particular areas of family law. For example, if you have a complex child custody case, you may want to choose an attorney who has experience in handling these types of cases.
• Consultation: Most family law attorneys in West Palm Beach offer free consultations. This is a great opportunity to meet the attorney, ask questions about your case, and get a sense of whether or not they would be a good fit for you.
• Fees and Billing: Finally, make sure to ask about the attorney’s fees and billing practices. Family law cases can get expensive, so it’s important to have a clear understanding of how much the attorney will charge and how they bill for their services.

Consultation with a Family Law Attorney

During the free consultation, the client and attorney should sit together for between 60 and 90 minutes. The lawyer will usually have a questionnaire or consultation sheet to be filled out by the client. The client will be provided with a binder containing the attorney’s bio and a list of websites that the client may find useful. In the meantime, the lawyer will ask further questions of the client in order to understand what issues are present and what direction the case may take. In Florida, many family law litigation cases are not filed until some form of Non-contested Divorce is attempted first. Mediation and pre-suit services are common in this area of the law. Accordingly, timeshares or custody schedules can take up quite a bit of time to talk about. Primary parenting timeshare (i.e . , where can the child live?) can sometimes be spent talking about school schedules, day care and other actions that can be taken to improve the schedule. Advocating for your children takes on many forms. Making children go to their parent’s home when they attend after school activities can be traumatic. Getting the judge to back off when he or she feels that visitation should be limited is often difficult too. The attorney will take notes, sometimes use a recording device, and will ask that the client sign a retainer agreement permitting the lawyer to proceed with the case. It is not uncommon for a lawyer to start by helping the person obtain a family law assessment of only the client (sometimes called a "Private Conflict Assessment" or "Private Child Custody Assessment"). This is often done without the children present and does not require that either parent be held out of a pending litigation matter.

Fees for Family Law Attorneys

Stated differently, a retainer is not a cost in and of itself, but a calculation of the cost of the anticipated work to be performed on your case. Retainers vary because they are a function of the attorney’s hourly rate and how much time he thinks will reasonably be needed to handle your case.
In order for an attorney to charge for his or her time, it must be reasonable. A retainer must be reasonable and cannot include more time than is necessary to complete the work that is intended. Given that, attorneys should not require you to pay a retainer that would include services with a total cost that is disproportionate to the complexity of your case. When you arrive at a reasonable retainer, the attorney will require you to retain that amount. While there are times when your retainer may be less than the anticipated time required, such cases are the exception and not the rule.
In addition to the retainer, you will receive a bill for work performed and expenses incurred on your case after your initial retainer is exhausted. In West Palm Beach, most family law attorneys have an hourly rate of between $350 and $550 per hour. As stated above, attorneys are required to charge a reasonable hourly rate for services performed.
In addition to the attorney, you may be charged for time spent by a paralegal working on your case. Generally, paralegals are billed out at a lower hourly rate than attorneys, and perform much of the same type of work. For example, rather than your attorney, the paralegal may draft a discovery demand, a Notice of Hearing, or a Motion for Continuance. She may also conduct research or prepare exhibits for a hearing with the assistance of your attorney.

Resources for Family Law Matters

Residents of West Palm Beach facing family law matters can access a variety of resources and services to help them navigate the challenges of divorce or other situations involving family law. Support groups for those going through divorce can be found both online and in-person through organizations such as the Divorce Network of South Florida. The Divorce Network offers a variety of divorce support services through its network of professionals who provide counseling, legal, financial, psychological, and spiritual assistance. Online resources for support groups can be found through website divorcecare.com and national support networks through the national support network at motherlessdaughters.com.
Legal aid and free legal assistance are also available for West Palm Beach residents facing issues related to divorce and other family law matters. Legal Aid Services of Broward County provides assistance with civil law matters to low-income Broward County residents and can be contacted through its Palm Beach County office at (561) 655-8969 . State Legal Aid is also available through the Florida Bar Association, which will put you in contact with a local legal aid office that will provide you with free legal assistance.
Online resources are also available to West Palm Beach residents to assist you with family law issues. The Family Law Self-Help Program for the 15th Judicial Circuit provides free forms, instructions, and information related to divorce, child custody, visitation, domestic violence, and paternity to be completed and filed by residents of Palm Beach County. The Florida Supreme Court Law Library also provides a guide for the pro se litigant in areas of family law and other issues related to marital and family cases in the Florida courts.
Finding the right resources to assist you with your family law matters can make dealing with them much easier. It is important to find good counsel from a qualified family law attorney if at all possible, but other resources can help to fill in any gaps.