What can family law attorneys do for you? How do you know when you need a family law attorney, opposed to an attorney that specializes in other areas or any attorney? These are important questions that you may be facing, as there is a broad range of reasons that may lead you to need family law lawyers.

Child custody lawyers and divorce lawyers fall under the umbrella of family law, and their specialties are a little more clear cut. In addition to child custody, family law covers child support issues. According to national records, 62.3% of the money owed in child support each year is received by the custodial parent. Roughly half of custodial parents reported having to get a legal agreement in place for their child support.

Another area that a family law lawyer can help is in situations involving domestic violence. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a woman is assaulted or beaten every nine seconds in the United States. Further, one in four women falls victim to their intimate partner and one in seven men fall victim to their intimate partner. These statistics create a startling picture, and the statistics on the number of people murdered by their partners is even more devastating.

A family law firm can help the victims of domestic violence find safety, to divorce their abusive partners if needed, and to protect their families. A family law practice will have the experience of dealing with these situations and the applicable laws in your state. Your lawyer may offer you a solution you didn’t realize was an option. They can also encourage you to make the hard decisions.

Finally, divorce is a significant part of family law. Statistically, there is one divorce ever nine seconds in the United States. That comes out to almost 2,400 divorces each day, 16,800 divorces a week, and 876,000 divorces over the course of a year.

Overall, 40-50% of all first marriages in the United States end in divorce while 60% of all second marriages end in divorce. This is a large number of divorces, and a family law attorney can help you navigate your way through a divorce. Regardless of whether the divorce is amicable or hotly contested, family law attorneys can reduce the frustration by handling a majority of the work.

So, if you are going contemplating or going through a divorce, fighting over the custody of your children, trying to get child support, or living in a dangerous situation, family law attorneys can help.