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Running Head: FAMILY LAW

Family Law

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FAMILY LAW 2

Family law is an area of practice composed of the legal relationships that families

may face. Family law involves the rules, regulations, and court procedures that encompass

the family unit. Family is a fundamental social unit composed of at least two persons whose

relationship may fall into three categories: firstly, it can be a marital relationship, secondly, it

may be a parent living with children, and thirdly, it can be brothers and sisters or persons

related by marriage or blood (Lowe, Nigel, & Douglas, 2015). As such it is common for

family cases to be personal and emotional. Matters administered by family law include pre-

marital agreements, post-nuptial agreements, separation, divorce, marital property division,

nullification of marriage, alimony, child custody, paternity, child support, visitation and

adoption. Note that family law has no specific family court; family rights are enforced by

magistrate court or high court. This paper will focus primarily on family law.

Family law begins in the union of marriage (Reimann, 2019). Marriage is a legal

contract between two consenting persons followed subsequently by the issuance of a

marriage license. A couple may sign a pre-marital agreement to govern their properties

acquired; however, in the absence of the agreement, community property regulations control

the debts and assets of married couples. Under the rules, each partner is presumed to have a

half interest in the properties acquired by the couple in the course of their marriage. Debt

incurred both before and after marriage is considered community property. Separate property

or property acquired before the marriage is not shared by half or liable to debts acquired

before or during the marriage.

In the rigors of marriage, the spouses can decide to terminate the marriage. There are

three possible ways of terminating a marriage. First is by annulment. Some marriages may be

considered null and void in case the marriage was illegal at the point it occurs whereby a

court may find the marriage by law never existed (Statsky, 2014). Second is by separation.

Separation is when two married partners decide to end their marriage and live separately.

FAMILY LAW 3

However, neither of the partners can get married again without first getting divorced. Divorce

is the legal dissolution of a marriage (Bogenschneider, 2014). Family breakdown is a

strenuous and taxing ordeal. If spouses decide to divorce or separate there are many legal

hoops to jump. They have to decide on how to divide family property, make dispositions

about the children, and agree on financial support. Not all situations call for a lawyer.

However, it is crucial to get legal advice. Married partners have to get a divorce order from

the legal court to end their marriage.

Upon the ending of a marriage, both parties may agree or the court may order for

spousal support of one of the parties to maintain their standard of living (Rose, 2017).

However, note that alimony is a separate issue from property division between the partners.

The law employs that there is correlative responsibility for partners and ex-partners to

support each other. Financial orders may fall into two categories. Firstly, by periodical

payments made from one partner to the other. The payments may be secured through a court

order in case of non-payment by the payee. The second category is by lump sum order. In

cases where the spouses have substantial financial properties, they may opt for a clean break

and a one-time financial payout is ordered by the court.

The law treats child aid differently from all the other arrangements. Each parent has a

legal financial responsibility to support their children; child support guidelines state that

parents have to complementally aid their children, children to share in the grade life of their

parents and the orders reflect the parent’s income which is reasonable and just (Larson,

2016). This is crucial as it helps to maintain the children’s standard of schooling and medical

treatment. The agreement may be entered voluntarily or through a court order; the parent

without primary child custody often pays to the primary caregiver. However, payment of

child support leads to increased attachment of non-custodial parent in the life of the children.

FAMILY LAW 4

Child custody decisions are made by the court in the best regard of the child. This is a

decision which influences where the child will live, spend time and with which parent; this

may be joint custody or sole custody (Eekelaar, 2017). Physical custody refers to the parent

who is the primary caregiver in which case the other parent is awarded visitation rights with

the child. Custody grants the power of decision-making to the parent involving education,

health and welfare of a child.

Courts divide marital property on two grounds: either by community property law or

through the pre-nuptial agreement. Each spouse may claim a fair and equal share of the

marital property which includes but not limited to: bank balances, real estate, insurance

policy, investments, shares, jewellery and other assets. Debts incurred during and before the

marriage are also included in the property division (Olsen, 2017). However, separate

properties are not liable to the division which includes property owned before the marriage,

inheritance or gifts received by either spouse, and payments made in lawsuits.

In conclusion, granting a divorce does not bring finality to the legal relationship

between the partners. The existence of children and properties held together will ensure

further contact. Many of the procedures involving marriage are complicated and restrictive.

Also, note that a couple that is legally divorced is unable to remarry. Divorce brings

damaging results to children psychologically, emotionally and financially and it affects them

long term. Sometimes parties get into fights over small things; couples especially those with

children should always try and find methods to make their relationship to work. Family law is

both extensive and intensive and it is always advisable to talk things out and settle issues

between the partners; since in dissolution of marriage and the following factors, nobody is a

winner.

FAMILY LAW 5

References

Bogenschneider, K. (2014). Family policy matters: How policymaking affects families and

what professionals can do. Routledge.

Eekelaar, J. (2017). Family law and personal life. Oxford University Press.

Larson, Aaron (4 September 2016). "What is Family Law". ExpertLaw.com. Retrieved 31

October 2017.

Lowe, N. V., & Douglas, G. (2015). Bromley's family law. Oxford University Press, USA.

Olsen, F. E. (2017). The myth of state intervention in the family. In Law and Families (pp. 3-

32). Routledge.

Reimann, M., & Zimmermann, R. (Eds.). (2019). The Oxford handbook of comparative law.

Oxford University Press.

Rose, N. (2017). Beyond the public/private division: law, power and the family. In Law and

Families (pp. 33-48). Routledge.

Statsky, W. (2014). Family law: The essentials. Nelson Education.

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