Protecting Your Family Through the Law By Kevin Crenshaw, Esquire

There are few things as common to societies throughout time as the family and the law. The purpose of this article and Extension's LegalEase program is to facilitate the relationship between families and the legal system. Simply reading that phrase may have produced some anxiety, but there is no need to worry. The law is here for you and your family. Yes, you read that statement correctly. But to fully understand the logic behind family and the law, let's first consider the nature of both.

How would you define family? Families are defined as basic units in society that traditionally consist of two parents rearing their own or adopted children. However, Webster dictionaries now define a family as a group of individuals living under one roof, and usually under one head.

How does the law affect families?
While some may debate the means by which the law intercedes in society, most would agree the foundation of our judicial system is to protect and to maintain social welfare. This realization is key to understanding how important the law is to family operations. The law exists to do more than just pronounce marriages or mitigate divorces. It protects families on various levels. Considering the law and family in this way is contingent upon the assumption that families actively participate in the legal process, and such interaction extends beyond litigation. It involves educating families about their legal rights; evaluating legal issues to help families plan for their future; and being aware of how legal counsel can assist in any one of these processes.

The notion of family is evolving. Nevertheless, family remains at the core of our society and an essential aspect of our lives. Consequently, as family life becomes increasingly complicated, so do the issues faced by its members. As mentioned above, however, prior knowledge of legal issues can prevent the relationship between families and the law from becoming adversarial.

Family Law
The legal practice area of Family Law includes:

• Marriage
• Divorce
• Adoption
• Wills and Estates

Marriage
The legal requirements for a man and woman to marry vary from state-to-state. Although state laws differ, a marriage between a man and a woman performed in one state must be recognized by every other state under the "full faith and credit" clause of the United States Constitution.

Some requirements set by state law include:

• Marriage licenses being issued by the county clerk or clerk of the court along with a fee.
• Establishing the legal age of a man and woman to marry at 18, or having parental or a judge's consent to marry.
• Documented proof of immunity or vaccination for certain diseases.
• Documented proof of termination of any prior marriages by death or by a judgment of dissolution (divorce) or annulment.
• Evidence of sufficient mental capacity among parties (often this is determined as the ability to enter into a contract).
• Couples are not close blood relatives.
• Blood tests are obtained for sexually transmitted diseases.
• Satisfaction of a waiting period from the time the marriage license is issued to the time the marriage ceremony is performed.
• Performance of a marriage ceremony with witnesses and a person recognized by the state to have the authority to perform a marriage ceremony such as a priest, rabbi, or a judge.
• Marriage licenses must be recorded after marriage ceremony is performed.

Divorce
Divorce, custody, child support, and alimony are also matters of state law. In a divorce, issues of property division, child support, child custody, and alimony are decided by the judge in a trial, or agreed on by the parties. A divorce, sometimes called a decree of "dissolution of marriage", is a court order terminating a marriage.

Obtaining a divorce itself is not a complicated process. However, the advice of an attorney can be useful to determine if a divorce is appropriate as opposed to a legal separation or annulment.

Adoption
In legal terms, adoption is the process through which the natural parents' rights and obligations toward their children are terminated, and the adoptive parents assume these rights and obligations. Once a child has been adopted, the natural or birth parents are no longer responsible for their child. The obligations they have toward their child cease to exist. It is as if the natural or birth parents become like any other third party with respect to the child. The adoptive parents become responsible for the child and all the obligations and rights between a parent and child are established between them. Adoptions can vary depending on the relationship of the parties to the child and the circumstances of the adoption itself. Legal counsel can help to guide one through this process to ensure the adoption is honored and the rights of both the adoptive parents and child have been preserved. For example, under a legally binding adoption, the adoptee now has all inheritance rights afforded to birth children.

Wills and Estates
Planning for your family's future in your absence is an extremely personal process. It is also a crucial one legally. Again, the law can help to carry out your wishes. Here are a few key reasons to create a will and plan for the future of your estate. Wills help to:

• Select who receives your assets and how and when they will be distributed.
• Choose who administers the distribution of your assets outside the court.
• Minimize costs for your executor and your family.
• Designate the guardian you desire for your children.
• Reduce the bureaucracy involved in paying for your funeral and burial.

As you enter into this process, you may wish to conduct further research on:

• Property ownership
• The value of your estate and possible tax consequences
• Children of previous marriages
• The age of your beneficiaries
• Your spouse's will
• Trusts versus wills

While this list is by far not comprehensive, it represents an overview of family's rights under the law. Moreover it illustrates how the legal course of action for families can vary depending on how you engage the law. With a healthy knowledge of the legal issues that commonly affect families, the law can serve to protect the interests of you and your family.

Glendon, Mary A. (1989). The transformation of family law. 131.

Glendon, Mary A. (1990). Fixed rules and discretion in the contemporary family and law and succession law. Tulane Law Review 60, 1165-1186.

National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. (1973). The uniform passage act.