A very common question that many of us wonder about is whether a divorce lawyer and family lawyer is one and the same.
To put it simply, yes they are the same as far as the responsibilities are concerned. Basically, a divorce lawyer deals with the cessation of marriage which is a part of family law per se. Now, we can say “family lawyer” is the superset and “divorce lawyer” is the subset. Family lawyers deal with divorce cases and other extremely important cases involving live-in couples, adoption proceedings, property disputes, child support cases, and so on.
Divorce Lawyers
Divorce lawyers assist married couples with confusing asset division, alimony as well as debt division, and much more. So divorce lawyers are family lawyers who also handle divorce cases and assist spouses to fight the legal battle, or mitigate disputes in an amicable way.
Family Lawyers
The term “family lawyer” provides a larger picture; it is more complete and wholesome as compared to the “ruthless litigator” or “tenacious” or “tough” image of a divorce lawyer. As soon as the term “family” is added, the stony image of a “divorce lawyer” dissolves because the term, “family lawyer” or family solicitors is somewhat subdued. People generally believe that the approach of family lawyers, as a whole, is quite modest and they try to settle things without creating much fuss or do not have a hard-hearted outlook, says Kabir Family Law.
What Do They Deal With?
There are a few terms such as “Divorce lawyers”, “Family Law Attorney” or even “Domestic Relations Attorney” which are quite often interchangeable in the legal field. Moreover, we need to understand that these titles do not suggest the capabilities of the lawyers; there is no reason to think that a family law attorney holds more authority than a divorce lawyer or a domestic relations attorney. Basically, they all are the same.
There are family lawyers who deal with cases of alimony disputes, difficult child custody situations, domestic violence issues, premarital and post-marital settlements, separation agreements, adoption cases, termination of parental rights, and the list continues. Other than all of these, family lawyers also deal with phases of mediation, litigation, and arbitration in respective cases. A family lawyer helps clients to get restraining orders. In case of enforcement of court orders, they will guide their clients through and make them understand the conditions and so on. Furthermore, they help a client who wants to change his or her name by assisting them to carry out the whole procedure of appealing in the court of law, and much more.
The terms or the titles help you to understand better who will be best suited for your requirements. However, a thorough initial groundwork is vital before choosing an attorney. Nowadays, it is very simple to find out who does what, years of experience, client testimonials, and so on… everything is available on the internet, and hence you can pretty well discern what you can expect of your attorney.