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Difference between revisions of "Introduction to Family Law"
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→Resolving family law issues
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<sup>*</sup>Orders about dividing property and debt and protecting property can come into play for unmarried spouses, but only if they've lived together in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years. | <sup>*</sup>Orders about dividing property and debt and protecting property can come into play for unmarried spouses, but only if they've lived together in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years. | ||
===Resolving family law | ===Resolving family law problems=== | ||
You can deal with family law problems in ways that don’t involve going to court. Options include: | |||
* '''Negotiation'''. | * '''Negotiation'''. You and your ex talk about your legal problems and try to agree on as many of those problems as possible. | ||
* '''Mediation'''. | * '''Mediation'''. You and your ex meet with a trained, neutral person (called a mediator) who helps you talk to each other and agree on as many of your legal problems as possible. | ||
* '''Collaborative | * '''Collaborative negotiation'''. You and your ex hire specially-trained lawyers and agree to do everything you can to resolve your legal problems without going to court. | ||
* '''Arbitration'''. | * '''Arbitration'''. You and your ex hire a trained, neutral person (called an arbitrator) to make a decision resolving your legal problems. Hiring an arbitrator is like hiring a private judge. | ||
* '''Parenting coordination'''. If you and your ex already have a plan about parenting, you can hire a parenting coordinator to help resolve continuing problems about parenting. A parenting coordinator is a neutral person who tries to help you agree on a resolution, like a mediator, but they can make a decision, like an arbitrator, if you can’t agree. | |||
For more on | For more on resolving family law issues outside of court, [[Mediation and Collaborative Practice|see our information on mediation, collaborative negotiation, and arbitration]]. | ||
If | If you can’t resolve your problems using these processes, you may have to go to court to have a judge make a decision. | ||
==Going to court== | ==Going to court== | ||