Divorce is a time of high emotion and sometimes terrible choices. It is the dividing of a family into to two parts, of dividing property and money between the soon-to-be former spouses, the placement of children with the now separate parents. It is a highly technical area of law which is pressed upon the parties at their most vulnerable moments. It is a mass of decisions which will govern their lives for years to come.
Similar in its impact upon parents and children is Paternity court. In 2018, almost forty percent of children were born to parents who were not married. Paternity court establishes a legal relationship between the father and the child. It also determines custody and visitation. The court assures that the child will be supported financially by setting child support and determining responsibility for the medical care of the child.
Both of these actions, the dissolution of the marriage and the establishment of paternity, can be modified while the child is growing up. Whether a person is involved in the initial determination of these issues or is faced with modification of prior decrees, the person needs to be represented by a family law lawyer. And the person needs to remember that the lawyer for “the other side” does not represent him or her.
