Family law
Family law is the most emotionally complex branch of law, because alongside the legal issues, there are also emotional disputes, and the emotional context of the case is of great importance. It is important to anticipate and assess how a legally correct settlement of the dispute will affect human psychology, children's future lives and their chances of becoming full, dignified members of the society. Therefore, in this branch of law, an attorney must be both a psychologist and an expert in family relations, which is the only way to provide effective legal assistance.
Our law firm has a strong track record in the matters of the family law. When dissolving a marriage, the court is normally obliged to resolve three issues: the residence of the minor children, the arrangements for contact with the separated minor children and the division of the jointly acquired matrimonial property. In reality, however, the disputes that arise in family law relations are much more colourful, including disputes over the establishment of paternity, the modification of parenting arrangements, the authorisation for minor children to go abroad with one of their parents, the determination of the arrangements for the minor children’s access to their grandparents, the allocation of property which is not registered or is in the name of a third party to the community property, and the division of business. Given that these disputes do not take place in a normal, constructive environment, but in a highly emotional and often personal atmosphere, the resolution of a dispute, even if it is elementary and, at first sight, seemingly straightforward, requires professionalism on the part of the attorney, the ability to foresee the future course of the dispute and the ability to advise the client in the best manner so as to ensure that the client finds the optimal solution to the issues that are causing pain, without incurring significant financial loss and expense.
It is somewhat paradoxical that most family law disputes are about the division of property. It is safe to say that the division of material provision and the division of jointly held property is perhaps the most sensitive issue in the event of a family separation, as the resolution of this issue determines how the joint children will be cared for and how the separated ex-spouses will be able to rebuild their lives, starting from scratch.
In the practice of our firm of representing parties in family law cases, we have been observed that, although family law cases start very aggressively, counterclaims are often filed, and petitions for pre-trial investigation are often filed, in the end, after having recovered emotionally and having listened to the rational advice of the attorneys, in about 90% of the cases, the parties to the dispute reach an amicable settlement. At first sight, this does not seem to be a good indicator, and the parties must try to reach an agreement immediately, without even going to court. However, practice shows that the accumulated anger and confrontation between the parties has to be vented somewhere, and when it is vented in court, it is as if the parties are released from their emotional tensions, relaxed, and can more easily bring closure to a difficult phase of their lives by reaching an amicable settlement.
Judges and mediators in family cases should be given special attention and respect in resolving family disputes. The judge is often able, with his or her perceptive advice, comments and sometimes stern words, to control the quarrelling parties and effectively bring about the amicable settlement.
An innovation in this area, judicial mediation, has given a new dimension to family disputes. In a less formal setting, disputants can benefit from the assistance of authoritative legal experts, who can provide an outsider’s perspective and a neutral assessment of the situation. One of the pioneers of mediation, Judge Artūras Driukas, has been particularly successful in his mediation process, as he is able to accommodate to his interlocutor, both through his personal qualities and his psychological and legal knowledge, and discuss his/her problems with a person he is seeing for the first time, as if he/she were an old friend whose sincere advice is difficult to respond to negatively.
Our services:
- Advice on all aspects of family law
- In the event of a family dispute, assessing the legal situation, gathering the data needed to resolve the dispute and developing a strategy
- Drafting of lawsuits, counterclaims for divorce, defence, replies, rejoinders and other procedural documents in family cases
- Preparation of applications for the establishment/dispute of paternity
- Preparation of applications for the modification of parenting arrangements and maintenance
- Representation in litigation at all instances before the courts
