The term family law is an umbrella term which deals with many diverse aspects of any legal issues which arise in relation to married couples, unmarried couples, civil partnerships, pre and post nuptial agreements, divorce, cohabitation, legal separation and so on. This branch of law also deals with any issues which relate to children. These can range from visitation rights and contact cases, financial provision for them and also adoption.

No two cases are ever the same for a family lawyer. This area of the profession is best suited to those who are very people focussed and who have an empathy with others. Clients who visit family lawyers are often going through extremely tough times and as such may not be thinking correctly and may also be very emotional. Part of the day to day job of the family lawyer is to listen to and also at many times to give support to their client in their time of need. Obviously the lawyer will need to have excellent and astute legal skills too however as family law involves extremely emotive areas and subjects it is important that anyone planning to enter the field bears this in mind. For the client too it is important to know that the lawyer whom they are planning to visit is one who will be sensitive to their needs. Thankfully professionals who specialise in the area of family law tend to be very fair and non-judgemental so the client need not worry about beginning the legal process.

Most family lawyers would say that in the course of their work that they deal with three major areas which are children, finance and divorce. One day a lawyer could be working on a messy split where the couple cannot agree on their finances. Another day there may be a deep rooted dispute as to the upbringing of a child. Often an estranged parent or grandparents visit a family lawyer in order to find out what rights they have to see their children / grandchildren. In the UK it has been estimated that as many as 1,000,000 have been refused contact with their grandchildren according to figures provided by The Grandparents' Association.

As the majority of us will have a family at some point in our lives, so it transpires that this legal area deals with a huge cross-section of clients. From builders to bankers, at some point many of us will need to use the services of a family lawyer.

There are many family law firms in the country which will be happy to offer you help and impartial legal advice if you are experiencing hardship or problems within your family or marriage. You will be able to make an appointment for a consultation and the lawyer will help you with advice and guidance and will set you and help you on the correct way forward for you and yours.

Visiting a lawyer can be a daunting prospect but they are here to help and once you do get on the right path then you will be very glad that you did.