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The Significance Of Family Law


Family law is very significant in protecting families; a wife, a husband and their children can never be certain about what their lives will be like in the future. Whether you have a good family relationship right now or not, it is best to get family law advice from apricot law to guarantee yourself and your family security for your future.

Well-Known Specialized Fields Of Experts In Family Law

The family is the basic unit of a society. As such, families are indeed important aspects of any society and there is always a need to protect and uphold their rights, interests, and safety. And every member of each family has certain rights that also need to be safeguarded consistently.

But what happens when a family is torn apart, as is the usual case when parents decide to separate and get divorced? Most of the time, families that are experiencing some personal troubles and upheavals do not get any help or interference from the local authorities of the state where they live in.

Family LawAgain, this is the same situation when parents decide to separate. The couple will simply enlist the services of a divorce or annulment lawyer to make sure that both parties, and their children, if they have any, have their rights protected and defended properly and that all can still continue living their lives regularly even if the parents will separate.

When it comes to family law, lawyers have different specializations, divorce and annulment just being one of them. Below are the specific legal areas that family lawyers commonly specialize in and that families usually require the services of:

Divorce or Dissolution of Marriage

Divorce cases have been on the rise since the early ’90s. Couples who decide to separate legally need a divorce lawyer so that their application for the dissolution of their marriage can be properly filed and to make sure that the rights and interests of both parties are properly recognized and safeguarded.

Family Violence

Any kind of domestic abuse, which can be experienced by the spouse and/or the children, is a very serious, delicate and major case. A family lawyer will protect the rights of each family member who has been a victim of violence. A lawyer who specializes in family violence will not only ensure that the abuse victim receives justice that he or she deserves but also any assistance they need such as psychological counseling and physical or medical treatment to make sure that they can get back to their feet and live the rest of their lives in peace and in health.


Lawyers specializing in this legal area will help parents or even a single person who wishes to lawfully adopt a child within or outside their country of residence. They will provide legal advice and representation and prepare all documents needed by the interested parties to properly process and successfully complete this quite complicated and taxing matter.

Child Support

Child support lawyers will help clients, a parent or the child, receive financial support or payments, which is their basic right, as a result of the end of parents’ marriage. Experts in this legal matter will make sure that this is arranged properly and that the receipt of this benefit is continuous, as stated in the agreement or contract during the divorce proceedings.

The Divorced Person’s Guide to Social Security

Most young couples marry in full anticipation of growing old together. But life is complicated. Sometimes, as couples grow older, they grow apart rather than together. And, sometimes, they divorce. Among the many things that must be considered in a divorce, it is important to think about the future-including retirement in general, and Social Security benefits in particular. What effect, if any, does divorce have on these benefits?

's GuideIn order to answer this question, first we must consider the benefits to which married persons are entitled under Social Security. Married persons have the right to apply for:

  1. Benefits based on their own contributions to Social Security over their lifetimes;
  2. Spousal benefits based on their spouse’s contributions to Social Security, so long as they are at least 62 years of age and their spouse is receiving (or is eligible to receive) benefits. This sum can equal as much as half the amount of the spouse’s retirement benefit; and
  3. Survivors’ benefits based on their deceased spouse’s contributions to Social Security. This sum can equal the full amount of the deceased spouse’s benefit.

So, what impact does divorce have on these benefits? Far less than you might think.

First, if you earned and contributed significantly less to Social Security than your ex-spouse during the marriage, you will still have the right to receive spousal benefits based on your ex-spouse’s contributions, so long as the following conditions are met:

  1. You were married to your ex-spouse for at least 10 years;
  2. You are at least 62 years of age;
  3. You are not presently married; and
  4. Your ex-spouse is receiving benefits, or is eligible to receive benefits and you have been divorced for at least two years.

Second, if you were the higher earning spouse, you should be pleased to know that the benefits your ex-spouse receives will have no effect on your Social Security entitlement. You will receive the same amount of benefits, whether or not your ex-spouse elects to receive benefits based on your contributions. Nor will it affect the benefits paid to other family members who apply based on your record of earnings and contributions.

Finally, if your ex-spouse was the higher earner during the marriage and he or she is now deceased, you can survivors’ benefits based on your ex-spouse’s contributions, so long as:

  2. You are at least 60 years of age; and
  3. You are not presently married, or you remarried only after reaching 60 years of age.

When it comes to divorce, Social Security really is a silver lining. Under the current rules and regulations, divorce and remarriage tends to increase the total payout of these benefits, without diminishing any one person’s individual take.