Family Law - Andrew Bender Attorney at law
Family Law is concerned with legal issues involving family relationships, such as adoption, divorce, child custody, and child 
support, including matters involving Juvenile Court. Tennessee State laws govern various rules and practices for divorce and other family law matters. Andrew E. Bender, your voice in Family Law.
Terms to Know
- Emancipation: A court process through which a minor becomes self-supporting, assumes adult responsibility for his or her welfare, and is no longer under the care of his or her parents.
- Marital Property: Property acquired by either spouse during a marriage that is subject to division upon divorce.
- Alimony: An allowance made to one spouse by the other for support pending or after legal separation or divorce.
- Paternity: Origin or descent from a father (to establish paternity is to confirm the identity of a child's biological father).
- Prenuptial Agreement: An agreement made between a man and a woman before marrying in which they give up future rights to each other's property in the event of a divorce or death.
Reasons to Hire a Family Law Attorney
What is Family Law?
Family law is a relatively broad practice area, including such issues as foster care and reproductive rights. The most common reasons to hire a family law attorney include:
- Divorce: Each partner hires his or her own attorney. They will help devise a settlement plan to avoid a trial. Therefore, Divorce attorneys are skilled at dividing marital property, calculating spousal support, and proposing a plan for child custody, visitation, and support (if applicable).
Do You Need a Divorce Lawyer? Call Andrew E. Bender for more information.
- Child Custody / Child Support: Court orders and settlement agreements involving both custody and support. These orders are usually included in larger divorce cases, but in some cases, revisited as conditions change. For instance, child support is at times altered after the non-custodial parent's financial situation changes.
- Paternity: In most cases, paternity cases are filed by the mother to secure child support payments from an absent father. But sometimes biological fathers file for paternity to have a relationship with their child. Paternity typically is determined through DNA testing.
- Adoption / Foster Care: Adoption is a complex process that differs according to the type of adoption, where the child is from, variances in state laws, and other factors. Consequently, it is important for you to consult with a family law attorney. Foster parents sometimes adopt their foster children, but the foster process does not necessarily require legal representation.