Global Law Experts
Discover top Family law experts around the world. Connect with independent lawyers. Explore recognized Family attorneys on Global Law Experts.
Family law governs the legal relationships between individuals, including marriage, civil unions, domestic partnerships, and the rights of children. This practice is essential for navigating life’s most significant transitions, providing the vital framework for Matrimonial Agreements, Child Custody arrangements, and the equitable distribution of assets. Attorneys in this field manage the intersection of statutory requirements and deeply personal circumstances, ensuring that rights are protected while minimizing the emotional and financial toll of legal proceedings.
Global Law Experts connects you with premier family specialists who possess the empathy and legal acumen required to handle sensitive domestic matters. These practitioners are established experts within their own fields, offering the tactical foresight needed to draft enforceable Prenuptial Agreements, navigate the complexities of No-Fault Divorce, and advocate for the “Best Interests of the Child” in contested placements. Whether you are expanding your family through adoption or restructuring your estate following a separation, they provide the strategic advocacy and compassionate guidance needed to reach a resolution in any legal forum.
Every GLE member is independently vetted by practice area and jurisdiction.
Beyond divorce, family lawyers handle a wide range of domestic legal issues including paternity actions (establishing legal fatherhood for support), adoption and surrogacy, and domestic violence restraining orders. They also manage guardianship cases for minors or incapacitated adults and draft pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements to protect assets. In many jurisdictions, they also handle Child Protective Services (CPS) defense, representing parents who are at risk of losing their children due to allegations of neglect or abuse.
Physical Custody refers to where the child actually sleeps and lives; a parent with “primary physical custody” provides the child’s main home, while the other parent has “visitation.” Legal Custody refers to the right to make major life decisions for the child regarding education, religion, and non-emergency healthcare. It is very common for parents to share “Joint Legal Custody” (making decisions together) even if one parent has “Sole Physical Custody,” meaning a parent can lose the right to live with their child but still retain the right to veto a choice of school or surgery.
While you are not legally required to have a lawyer, hiring one for “limited scope” representation is highly recommended to review the final settlement agreement. Even if you and your spouse agree on everything, a lawyer ensures the legal language actually reflects your intent and prevents you from accidentally waiving rights to future assets, like a portion of a pension or retirement fund that you didn’t realize was marital property. A lawyer can draft the paperwork to ensure it passes the court’s strict formatting rules, preventing your case from being rejected by the clerk for technical errors.
Unlike child support, which often follows a strict mathematical formula, spousal support is largely discretionary and based on a “balance of hardships.” Courts typically look at the standard of living established during the marriage and the disparity in income between spouses. Key factors include the length of the marriage (longer marriages often yield longer support), the age and health of the parties, and whether one spouse sacrificed their career to raise children. In some states, “fault” (like adultery) can also play a role in increasing or decreasing the award.
Yes, but you must act immediately because changes are generally not retroactive—you cannot wipe out debt that accrued while you waited to file. A lawyer files a “Motion for Modification” based on a “substantial change in circumstances,” such as an involuntary job loss, a disability, or a significant change in the child’s needs. They present evidence to the judge to prove the income drop is legitimate and not “voluntary underemployment” (quitting a job to avoid paying), ensuring the new order reflects your actual current ability to pay.
A Prenuptial Agreement (“Prenup”) legally overrides the state’s default divorce laws, allowing you to decide in advance what is “separate property” versus “marital property.” It protects pre-marital assets (like a business or inheritance) from being divided upon divorce and can limit or waive future alimony payments, protecting high-earning spouses from massive long-term liabilities. Additionally, it forces couples to have transparent financial conversations before marriage, often preventing the very money disputes that lead to divorce in the first place.
A lawyer works to value the business and determine what portion of it is “marital property.” If the business was started during the marriage, the non-owner spouse is often entitled to a share of its value. Instead of selling the business (which destroys its value), a lawyer typically negotiates a “buy-out” where the business-owning spouse keeps the company but pays the other spouse cash or gives them other assets (like the house) of equal value. They also hire forensic accountants to ensure the owner isn’t hiding profits to artificially lower the company’s value.
Grandparents’ rights are limited and harder to enforce than parental rights due to Supreme Court rulings (like Troxel v. Granville) that presume fit parents have the right to decide who sees their kids. To win visitation, a lawyer generally must prove that the grandparent had a pre-existing “substantial relationship” with the child and that denying visitation would cause the child actual harm. These petitions are most successful when the child’s parents are divorced or deceased; if the parents are married and both object to the visitation, the court rarely intervenes.
Beyond divorce, family lawyers handle a wide range of domestic legal issues including paternity actions (establishing legal fatherhood for support), adoption and surrogacy, and domestic violence restraining orders. They also manage guardianship cases for minors or incapacitated adults and draft pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements to protect assets. In many jurisdictions, they also handle Child Protective Services (CPS) defense, representing parents who are at risk of losing their children due to allegations of neglect or abuse.
Physical Custody refers to where the child actually sleeps and lives; a parent with "primary physical custody" provides the child's main home, while the other parent has "visitation." Legal Custody refers to the right to make major life decisions for the child regarding education, religion, and non-emergency healthcare. It is very common for parents to share "Joint Legal Custody" (making decisions together) even if one parent has "Sole Physical Custody," meaning a parent can lose the right to live with their child but still retain the right to veto a choice of school or surgery.
While you are not legally required to have a lawyer, hiring one for "limited scope" representation is highly recommended to review the final settlement agreement. Even if you and your spouse agree on everything, a lawyer ensures the legal language actually reflects your intent and prevents you from accidentally waiving rights to future assets, like a portion of a pension or retirement fund that you didn't realize was marital property. A lawyer can draft the paperwork to ensure it passes the court's strict formatting rules, preventing your case from being rejected by the clerk for technical errors.
Unlike child support, which often follows a strict mathematical formula, spousal support is largely discretionary and based on a "balance of hardships." Courts typically look at the standard of living established during the marriage and the disparity in income between spouses. Key factors include the length of the marriage (longer marriages often yield longer support), the age and health of the parties, and whether one spouse sacrificed their career to raise children. In some states, "fault" (like adultery) can also play a role in increasing or decreasing the award.
Yes, but you must act immediately because changes are generally not retroactive—you cannot wipe out debt that accrued while you waited to file. A lawyer files a "Motion for Modification" based on a "substantial change in circumstances," such as an involuntary job loss, a disability, or a significant change in the child's needs. They present evidence to the judge to prove the income drop is legitimate and not "voluntary underemployment" (quitting a job to avoid paying), ensuring the new order reflects your actual current ability to pay.
A Prenuptial Agreement ("Prenup") legally overrides the state's default divorce laws, allowing you to decide in advance what is "separate property" versus "marital property." It protects pre-marital assets (like a business or inheritance) from being divided upon divorce and can limit or waive future alimony payments, protecting high-earning spouses from massive long-term liabilities. Additionally, it forces couples to have transparent financial conversations before marriage, often preventing the very money disputes that lead to divorce in the first place.
A lawyer works to value the business and determine what portion of it is "marital property." If the business was started during the marriage, the non-owner spouse is often entitled to a share of its value. Instead of selling the business (which destroys its value), a lawyer typically negotiates a "buy-out" where the business-owning spouse keeps the company but pays the other spouse cash or gives them other assets (like the house) of equal value. They also hire forensic accountants to ensure the owner isn't hiding profits to artificially lower the company's value.
Grandparents' rights are limited and harder to enforce than parental rights due to Supreme Court rulings (like Troxel v. Granville) that presume fit parents have the right to decide who sees their kids. To win visitation, a lawyer generally must prove that the grandparent had a pre-existing "substantial relationship" with the child and that denying visitation would cause the child actual harm. These petitions are most successful when the child's parents are divorced or deceased; if the parents are married and both object to the visitation, the court rarely intervenes.
Global Law Experts is dedicated to providing exceptional legal services to clients around the world. With a vast network of highly skilled and experienced lawyers, we are committed to delivering innovative and tailored solutions to meet the diverse needs of our clients in various jurisdictions.
Global Law Experts is dedicated to providing exceptional legal services to clients around the world. With a vast network of highly skilled and experienced lawyers, we are committed to delivering innovative and tailored solutions to meet the diverse needs of our clients in various jurisdictions.
Send welcome message
