Alexandria Family Lawyer

Family lawyers handle a number of personal issues that have significant impacts on individuals’ lives. All of these matters are emotional and stressful for the clients involved.

If you are struggling with a divorce, custody battle, or wish to draft a marital agreement to avoid future conflict with your spouse, you should consider enlisting the assistance of an Alexandria family lawyer. Navigating these issues alone can be frightening. Having a legal professional on your side could provide you some confidence and peace of mind.

Marriage Dissolution in Alexandria

Divorce is a legal end of a marriage and will require the parties to enter several legally binding agreements as a part of the dissolution. Divorcing individuals may need to find ways to divide their jointly held assets, create schedules for minor children, and determine whether one party owes the other alimony.

None of these issues are easy to work out. Spouses will often have strong feelings about what they believe is fair in their case. Additionally, the process involves many complicated and technical requirements, including specific paperwork and appearances in court. Fortunately, speaking to an experienced lawyer in Alexandria may guide families to help navigate each step of their divorce.

Determining Child Custody

State law includes two types of child custody, legal and physical. Jointly held legal custody means the parties make decisions related to important issues in their children’s lives together, while sole legal custody means just one parent makes such decisions independently. Matters that a parent with legal custody may be involved in include but are not limited to education, medical treatment, and religious affiliation for the children.

Physical custody relates to where the parties’ children live. Parents may share physical custody, or one parent may have physical custody while the other has visitation rights.

Courts can make rulings related to custody when the parents disagree about what would be best for their child. The judge will always attempt to make the best decision for the children rather than for either parent. Speaking to a lawyer in Alexandria could assist anyone with questions regarding child custody or other family matters.

Drafting Marital Agreements

Marital agreements include cohabitation agreements, prenuptial agreements, postnuptial agreements and marital settlement agreements. A prenuptial agreement is one that the parties enter before taking their vows. These legal contracts can set the terms for property division, spousal support, and certain other matters if the individuals choose to end their marriage.

There are many different reasons why spouses would choose to enter one of these agreements. A marital agreement may help the individuals protect inheritance, safeguard assets for a party’s children from a prior marriage or prevent a future divorce from causing damage to a party’s business or interest in a company.

There are legal requirements for both premarital and post-marital agreements. It is crucial that the individuals fully disclose all of their financial information before entering a marital agreement. Courts will enforce a legally valid agreement unless it is incredibly unfair or unconscionable, so it will be necessary for both parties to speak to a local attorney when discussing one of these contracts.

Schedule a Consultation with an Alexandria Family Attorney

Family lawyers provide legal counsel for some of the most emotional matters that the law involves. No one should have to face these issues without experienced legal representation.

Remember that the results of a family law case can impact you for many years into the future. If you and your spouse or former partner are involved in a divorce, custody dispute, or any other family law issue, contact an Alexandria family lawyer today.