Memphis attorney Vincent Perryman discusses Family Law and what Family Law entails. Family Law in Memphis, Tennessee can include juvenile court, child support or Divorce Law. The first steps in determining if you need a Family Law attorney in Memphis, Tennessee is to determine this is the actual steps you want to take. Once an attorney is involved it is hard to retract certain legal steps taken. Once a Memphis resident has determined divorce is the only option the Memphis Family Law attorney will need to discuss the clients options. The easiest path for divorce is an irreconcilable differences divorce which is referred to as an uncontested divorce. This means you agree that you cannot agree. It begins by sitting down to determine the separation of assets and debts. Assets may include the sale of a house. This makes things difficult when the house doesn't sell right away. After these matters have been resolved the Memphis divorce attorney has the parties sign a marriage dissolution agreement which is basically an agreement or contract that dissolves the marriage after 60 days. At the end of the 60 days the plaintiff is sit down and a few questions are asked. After they answer these questions the marriage is dissolved. If children are involved in Memphis the waiting period is 90 days. With children there is also a permanent parent plan that allocates the children custody plan. The parent plan is a changing document that must be well drafted but will continually change as the child ages. The parenting plan lays out the child's life and where the child will spend times. This plan is basically an agreed upon parenting guide on how the child will be raised in the separate house holds. In Memphis child support is attached to the parent plan. It is a worksheet that used to be set to the amount of children and the amount of income the party that does not have full custody makes. Now the process is a little more complicated and you can go to the Tennessee State website at www.tn.gov to determine how much child support must be paid in Memphis. There is a link to a child support calculator that is a formula that determines how much will be paid to support the child. The mother and father's income is entered then the amount of days the child will spend at each household will then be determined. The total of the mother and father's income will be combined to determine the percentage that each parent will pay either direction instead of just pulling a number out of the air based on income of the party that does not have custody.
In Memphis after determining the initial child support cost after a divorce the amount may change based on an increase or decrease in pay of the party paying the child support and also the party receiving child support. In the event this happens the parties will engage the attorney to modify the child support. A change my be that a child is older than 18. It is illegal in Memphis to under employ yourself. If you intentionally reduce your income Memphis Family court will still base your child support on your potential income. In contested divorces things can be more difficult. A contested divorce occurs when the two parties cannot agree on the divorce process. In Memphis a discovery process is where witnesses are brought in and papers are reviewed to determine information about the opposite parties. While the parties are trying to finalize the divorce terms temporary decisions are made for living arrangements and custody. After these terms have been made the next step is the longest and most expensive portion of the divorce, the discovery. The discovery process may bring up information that brings the two parties to an agreement. If things are agreed upon then a mediator can be brought in to facilitate arrangements for the divorce. If the mediator is unsuccessful the parties then go to court for the arrangements to be made by the judge. It is easier and less costly to not argue about the little things. Read more about Memphis Family Law.
Discovery during divorce proceedings in Memphis consists of requesting documentation from the opposite party such as bank records or phone records. These records can show what the cost of living while they are married are to determine how much they need to live, this will also help determine if there is trouble in the marriage and who was at fault. Alimony is rarely awarded with short term marriages. A short term marriage is generally 8 to 10 years. If it is anticipate the other party will leave the state after divorce then a home state will need to be determined in order to keep the laws and custody to change jurisdiction. Once a home state is established it is very difficult to change to a different state for legal proceedings. In order to find a good Memphis divorce attorney it will take inside knowledge of the other party in order to determine if you need a negotiator or someone that is going to fight. It is not a good idea to have someone that wants to fight instead of negotiate. It is also good to have an attorney that you feel comfortable with because you are going to be spending a lot of time with this person. This will include interviewing attorneys.
