Family law

Family law

Law that deals with family-related issues such as spousal abuse, legitimacy, adoption, surrogacy, child abuse, and child abduction.

Industry: Legal services

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Family law

Guardian

Legal services; Family law

A person appointed by a judge in a special court proceeding who is legally responsible for the care of another person because that person is unable to handle his or her affairs, whether that be ...

Mediation-arbitration (Med-Arb)

Mediation-arbitration is a combination of mediation and arbitration. Parties work to come up with their own agreements, but give a neutral third party the authority to make a decision if mediation is ...

Ex parte protective order

Legal services; Family law

When certain acts of domestic violence have happened, the victim may ask the court for a 20-day order for protection. These requests are generally heard ex parte - without the other side present.

Full legal representation

Legal services; Family law

When you hire an attorney to represent all of your interests in a court case. This means the attorney will deal with all issues in the case on your behalf. The attorney files all documents in court, ...

Ex parte

Legal services; Family law

Whenever the judge hears from one side only. Generally, ex parte communications are prohibited because they can be unfair and violate due process. Both parties must have the right to tell the court ...

Physical custody

Legal services; Family law

The right of a parent to have the child(en)actually live in their home. There are two types of physical custody arrangements: primary physical custody and shared physical custody.

Legal custody

Legal services; Family law

The right and obligation to make major life decisions such as where the child goes to school, which doctors he or she sees and how money relating to the child is handled. There are two types of legal ...