When you said, "I do," on your wedding day, it didn't mean that you hoped your marriage works out. No, it meant that you planned on being together for the rest of your lives. A lot can happen in the remaining fifty or sixty years from the time you first walked away as husband and wife until the day one of you is laid to rest. Unfortunately, some marriages don't work out. Divorce rates are on the rise and most of those are for irreconcilable differences. It's painful enough to admit that your marriage didn't work, but when there are children involved it's worse. This is when you need a good family law attorney.

Should it come to needing a lawyer to help you end your marriage, make sure it is someone who is well versed as a family law attorney. This way you are sure that someone who knows how the system works represents you and your children. You and your spouse may be separating amicably and have already decided on a custody arrangement. But you need someone to make sure it's all lined out in the legal documentation that the courts will require.

However, while most parties try to separate amicably for the children's sake, often it can be a nasty situation all the way around. The kids are used as pawns in the parent's twisted game of revenge. A family law attorney won't only try to get what is best for his immediate client, but also what is in the best interest of the children. Both parents might want the kids to live with them full time, but one might be better suited to take on that task while the other can visit on weekends and holidays.

A family law attorney isn't only useful in helping divorcing couples pound out their settlement and custody issues. These highly skilled lawyers can help single parents with issues of child support and paternity cases. If your former spouse or partner has slipped out and left you trying to juggle the bills and raising the kids, then you are entitled to some support. If paternity is contested, they can help you get what you need to prove paternity, even if you are not seeking to support the child.

A family law attorney can help in the many facets of family life when legal help is necessary. Divorce, child custody, child support, and paternity are the most popular reasons to hire one of these specialized lawyers, but that's not all they do. If you want to add a member to your household through adoption then you need one of these lawyers to help make things easier. They don't just help take homes apart. They also help bring them closer together.