A Family Lawyer For Hard Times

We often live our lives hoping for the best and in this naïve hope we fail to prepare for the worst. Unfortunately tragedy does strike. Loved ones die, marriages dissolve, and money grows tight. Fortunately there is a field of attorneys trained in just these matters and they are looking for clients to represent. A family lawyer is one of the best decisions a person can make for himself and his loved ones.

In situations where a marriage is going to end in divorce it is useful to have had a family lawyer during your union. He will have been able to enumerate the joint property of each of the spouses and may be able to help them come to an amicable separation through his mediation. Additionally because he is familiar with the estate because of his work with writing wills for both parties he will already have a good picture of the assets. Also when there are children involved custody cases are better settled out of court than being dragged through litigation. He may be able to work out a mutually beneficial plan for how time will be spent with the kids.

Another reason that having a family lawyer around is great is in the event of the death of a member. There are a large number of costs and paperwork involved when somebody dies and it is hard during the obvious grief to separate yourself long enough to adequately address the business aspects of this sad event. Having an attorney will hopefully ensure that for the most part all of the arrangements have been taken care of beforehand. Setting up a will and trust for any assets and prearranging things like burial costs and arrangements will be a welcome relief during this trying time.

This benefit is also true in cases where perhaps the person has not died but is in a coma or persistent vegetative state. Even after a serious injury having a family lawyer there will be some sort of plan in place. An advance health care directive, sometimes called a living will, will be made up and will specify a person who will have power of attorney and also a person who will be a health care proxy, perhaps the same person. By having an advance directive a person is able to control their medical care even though they are not physically able to speak for themselves. These directives can be written up and worked out with a family lawyer so that in the event it has to be utilized it is up to legal standards.

Having someone who is on call to advocate for you and yours in a time of need is a service beyond monetary value. It gives peace of mind and also trust in the fact that in the event of something unfortunate there is a plan in place and someone who is ready to execute it.