A family lawyer is that person who can assist with any kind of legal matter that is related to your property and assets as well as any other legal matter that impacts you or any member of your family.
Scenarios where input from a family lawyer would be valid and useful are situations like advising you on the paper work that needs to be taken care of when acquiring new property.
Another situation where you might find yourself discussing with your lawyer is when you would like to allocate property to your sons and daughters.
Of course, it is a given that a family lawyer is no more than a consultant in most cases, giving you valuable advice about relevant legal issues.
Engaging A Family Lawyer When you are thinking of hiring a family lawyer, you should do so with care, for there are moments in life when his or her advice could be a real game changer.
So, the very first trait you are expecting from your lawyer is credibility.
You need to know if this lawyer has a track record that is clean with no instances of fraud.
The lawyer should be able to produce good references from his clients which show that he is a lawyer in good standing.
You may also consider looking him up on consumer review sites and of course the local bar association and see how he fares.
Experience In Family Law Once you have zeroed in on a few candidates who are 'clean', so to speak, next you are looking at their experience.
Any lawyer can be good at what he does and has probably learned all the tricks of the trade from books and his college education.
However, nothing can beat actual experience.
So, when you talk to them see how practical is the lawyer and see if he speaks in a way that makes sense.
With experience comes wisdom.
However, just wisdom is not sufficient.
We are looking for more than that, and that trait is compassion.
Being compassionate means to do the right thing and being fair.
A lawyer should be fair to his profession and to the issues he handles.
Having discussed all the above, it is possible that you may find all these traits in a lawyer, who is not necessarily a family lawyer but a general practitioner.
That won't do.
Ensure that whomsoever you eventually decide to engage, he must have built a specialization that revolves around family law.