Protecting the social institution of the family is one of the law’s primary aims. As it should be. Rearing children to be responsible, successful, healthy, and productive citizens is of utmost importance. Family law aims to protect the interests of all family members, including the parents and their children. Legal disputes or disagreements sometimes arise.
Family law matters include the following:
A family law attorney with offices in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas can help you resolve your family law issues through our astute legal advice. They can help you with settlement negotiations, achieving favorable results, and resolving disputes during litigation. Call The Law Office of Geoffrey D. Kearney, PLLC at (870) 376-3068 or send an email at GDK@gdkpllc.com for a free initial consultation.
The Law Office of Geoffrey D. Kearney, PLLC, is an Arkansas family law practitioner committed to providing high-quality legal services to our clients through individualized attention and open communication.
We represent clients with integrity. We are dedicated to building relationships with our clients to understand your case and determine the best approach to achieve the best possible outcome. We analyze the law and facts to determine the most effective strategy for protecting your rights and providing effective legal representation.
Family law cases involve very delicate matters since it involves the privacy and emotional well-being of those closest to you. It would be best if you had someone as concerned about the outcome and will do everything possible to achieve it. At The Law Office of Geoffrey D. Kearney, PLLC, we understand how beneficial it would be for you to resolve your case in the most efficient manner.
Arkansas law provides that a no-fault divorce may be granted when the spouses prove that they lived separately for 18 months continuously.
A fault divorce, on the other hand, is possible when one party proves that the other spouse committed the following:
A family law matter that typically requires court intervention is child custody. Aspects of custody are legal custody, physical custody, and joint custody.
Legal custody refers to the rights and responsibilities that a parent has for their children, including making decisions. Physical custody refers to where the child lives primarily.
Joint custody is an arrangement where both parents have custody of the child. This may entail both parents sharing the legal right to make decisions about the child while also splitting physical custody evenly, or one parent might have the child most of the time (“primary physical custody”) while the other (“non-custodial”) parent exercises periodic visitation.
Spousal support, or alimony, involves one spouse paying money to the other spouse. It can be paid in one lump sum or over time. Usually, spousal support will continue until one of the following events occurs:
The expiration date is set forth in the order that requires spousal support.
Arkansas law generally views a child born to a married couple as the legal child of both the wife and husband. However, if the mother is an unmarried woman, the party trying to establish paternity will typically need to take some other action. One option is to complete an Acknowledgment of Paternity form. Another common way is to file a paternity suit and obtain DNA testing. If there is no real doubt or dispute as to paternity, the parties may also simply agree on the fact of paternity during the lawsuit.
Enforcement and contempt actions are filed after a final decree containing orders by the court. Family law matters such as divorces, paternity actions, custody cases, etc. will be resolved by court orders that contain provisions on such issues as child support, child custody, and visitation. An order can be agreed to by the parties or entered by a judge after a trial to decide the disputed issues. In either instance, the parties will be bound to obey the order. However, sometimes people do not do as they are supposed to.
The main purpose of filing an enforcement or contempt action is to ensure that any order made by the court is followed.
Contempt and enforcement cases involve asking the court to force the guilty party to comply with a court order. A party might even ask for a modification of an existing order as part of such an order. For instance, a non-custodial parent who has been denied the regular visitation required by a court order might request that the custodial parent be held in contempt and for the court to award them primary physical custody.
Prenuptial agreements are entered between two people before they are married. Postnuptial agreements are essentially the same thing, except that it's reached after you're already married.
Both prenups and postnups serve to protect your separate property or otherwise allow a more amicable, orderly process should you ever decide to divorce.
Family law matters should always be settled in the best interest of the entire family. To know more about family law, consult an experienced attorney. Listed below are some of the questions you may ask a family law attorney:
The assets of former spouses may be divided by agreement of the parties, by order of the court, or by operation of law. The law provides that when a divorce is granted, the court shall divide the parties' property to effect an equitable distribution between them. The court may award to one party all or a substantial portion of the marital property, or it may award certain property items to each spouse.
No two cases are the same; instead, the cost is driven by several factors. In essence, the more issues there are and the more the parties do not agree about, the more expensive the divorce will likely be. A case in which the parties do not have children, share little property, and agree on who will get what will be less involved and expensive than a divorce between a couple who share children, a home, and a large, profitable business and disagree about how everything should be distributed. Divorce is a very difficult process that shouldn't be undertaken without serious thought and planning. Contact a family attorney in Little Rock now to get more information regarding divorce costs.
For the most part, Arkansas law does not provide exceptions or benefits as to who files for divorce first. Arkansas recognizes that both parties have the right to file for divorce simultaneously, or one party may file while the other does not. However, the spouses must recognize that filing for divorce requires a lot of hard work and accountability. The law requires that spouses declare the grounds for their divorce and their preferred arrangement on all legal issues involved.
A parent's right to seek custody and visitation under Arkansas law is the same for both the child’s father and mother. This right exists regardless of whether or not the child's parents were married, even if the procedures and issues may differ a bit when the parents are married versus when they are not. When it comes to custody, judges in Arkansas utilize the best interests of the kid standard to determine their decisions. Even if parents are not given 50/50 joint physical custody, the non-custodial parent is often given defined, specific visitation.
Arkansas law does not have specific guidelines or a set of formulas to determine the exact amount of spousal support or alimony. However. The primary factors that judges making an alimony determination consider are the needs of the requesting spouse and the other spouse’s ability to pay; other factors include the duration of the marriage, the age and health of the spouses, and the standard of living during the marriage, and the employability of each spouse.
Spousal support may be temporary and required while the divorce is pending, or it may be ordered after the divorce is final. Generally, either spouse can be granted spousal support.
Little Rock and Pine Bluff family law attorneys can help you present your case for spousal support to the judge.
If there's a family matter that you'd like to settle, seek legal advice from a lawyer experienced in Family Law in Little Rock and Pine Bluff. Contact The Law Office of Geoffrey D. Kearney PLLC at 870-376-3068, or email GDK@gdkpllc.com for a free initial consultation. We provide personal attention to your case and hope to make sure that you understand all aspects of your case.
We would love the opportunity to hear about your case and provide personalize attention where needed most.
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