Five Ways a South Auckland Family Lawyer Can Help You
South Auckland Family Lawyer – Help When You Need It
Family law is an emotive area of law. It needs sensitivity to deal with the complex issues which are often unpleasant aspects of life. A South Auckland family lawyer can provide a major role in supporting people or and families with life’s most challenging situations. The range of legal services is broad and helps people to work through the legal processes to have as fair an outcome as possible. The topics can affect the wellbeing of children, assets, legal relationships, and the safety of individuals. Here is a look at some services offered by a South Auckland family lawyer.
1. Relationship Property Matters
Relationship property refers to any assets earned or gained during the life of that union. It also includes any outstanding debts.
The South Auckland family lawyer will advise clients on the division of assets and payment of debts.
While assets should be split equally, that refers to the total asset value, not individual asset classes being shared. Therefore, the lawyers will assess any and all properties, shares, savings, and major assets like boats or vehicles. It also includes any family businesses.
They lawyers will agree a total value and help their clients to share the assets. This may involve a trade-off for example if the mother wants to own the home for children to stay in, she can forego some savings.
A family lawyer can also prepare a Relationship Property Agreement at an early stage in the union so that both sides know what they will be able to claim if there is a separation. This is particularly useful if one or either party is bringing significant assets to the relationship.
2. Care of Children
The care of children is often the most difficult part of a separation for either parent. However, the law is clear. The care of children is the paramount issue, not a parent’s feelings or desires.
A family lawyer will explain options, rights, and obligations like child support payments.
They can help in drawing up Parenting Arrangements which lay out who, how, where, and when either parent has access to the children. A formal agreement like this will define the living arrangements, when the other parent can visit or host the child, and how major decisions will be made.
3. Protection Orders and Family Violence
A sad reason that people consult a family lawyer is because of threats and actual domestic violence. Whether on children or a spouse, family violence must not be tolerated. A family lawyer will offer support both compassionate and practical actions. This can include getting Protection Orders for anyone at risk of harm.
On the other hand, someone may have a Protection Order against them. Their lawyer can defend that client and argue why the Order should not be in place.
Other ways they help people is with Associated Orders. These can be an Occupation Order which says who can live in the family home, or a Furniture Orders that details who can use household items.
4. Adoption and Surrogacy
Many couples want to adopt a child, but it is a difficult path. A family lawyer will explain the process and requirement for adoptive parents. They can then help them with the adoption application process.
When the papers are completed, the lawyer can file them and subsequently represent their clients in the Family Court.
Sometimes, people may want to adopt children from overseas. This might be because their children are residing in a foreign country, or from compassionate reasons such as refugee children. Cross-border adoption involves at least two sets of laws so is even more tricky to navigate. Look for a law firm like McVeagh Fleming that has multi-lingual lawyers.
Surrogacy is another area of family law. A lawyer will advise on the complexities of surrogacy, such as parental rights, agreements to know or even meet parents, and court applications for parentage orders.
5. Child, Youth, and Family Matters
The safety and care of children often needs legal intervention. Examples include when Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children) is investigating a family or intervening in its life.
Other aspects can be welfare applications for parents, or caregivers as well as children. The lawyer will represent their client in court proceedings.
Supervision and guardianship are other challenging areas. The family lawyer in south Auckland can help with applications for or responses to orders about the care or guardianship of children.
Conclusion
A South Auckland family lawyer can help with much more than representing a client in court.
They will advise and can negotiate on relationship property settlements so that their client has a fair and equal share of the total, net assets.
They can secure the care and safety of children or a spouse getting a range of orders including Protection, Occupation, and Housing.
They can handle the legal separation and dissolution process up to and including court appearances.
And much more.
If you need help with any of the above contact McVeagh Fleming in Manukau city centre. They have a South Auckland family lawyer who can help you. You can find more at their website.