"Legal Foundations of Family: Understanding Family Law Articles."

Family law, a fundamental branch of legal practice, holds paramount importance in society as it governs the sophisticated relationships and dynamics within families. It deals with a myriad of legal issues that arise from marriages, divorce, child custody , child separation, spousal maintenance, family courts etc. In this article, we will delve into the significance of family law. Family law plays an indispensable role in the legal system, seeking to protect the rights and interests of individuals within the context of family relationships. Family law is instrumental in handling divorce cases, addressing the legal dissolution of marriages, division of assests, alimony, and child custody arrangements. Another vital aspect of family law is child custody and supports, which aims to safeguard the best interests of children during and after divorce or separation. The Advantages of Family Law Legal protection: Family law litigation ensures that all parties involved have legal protection. Through litigation, the courts ensure that rights are protected and that decision are made in the best interests of everyone involved. Formal Resolution: Family law litigation offers a structured and formal resolution to disputes. Clearer Agreements: This clarity is beneficial in reducing future conflicts. Expert Guidance: Litigation provides the disputing parties access to legal professionals, such as judges and lawyers, who offer expert advice and guidance based on the law’s provisions. To Litigate or Not to Litigate in Family Law Disputes? Choosing between litigation and alternative dispute resolution methods isn’t a straightforward decision. Factors to weigh include: Nature of the dispute Relationship Dynamics Desired Outcomes Confidentially concerns Future Interactions Alternatives to Family Litigation For those Wary of the litigation route, several alternative options for resolving family disputes involving real estate and other issues can offer resolution. Family Dispute Mediation Collaborative Family Law Arbitration Family Law In this article we will talk about marriage as per law means a contract between man and woman united together to support each other in a shared household. Right to marry is recognized under article 211 of the Indian Constitution well as article 162 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. Classification of marriage laws on a religious basis Hindu marriage laws Muslim marriage laws Sikh marriage laws Christian Marriage Laws Parsi marriage laws The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 Under the Hindu marriage and court marriage rule, there are certain conditions that have to be complied with before marriage is valid in India: The persons getting married must be unmarried and must not have a living spouse from their previous marriage The legal age for a woman is 18 years and for a man is 21 years The sanity of mind is necessary for both the parties and they must be capable to give their consent to the marriage freely The persons getting married must be mentally fit for the marriage i.e. they must not be suffering from any mental illness Both the bride and groom should not be ‘sapindas’ of each other except if it is allowed under their respective religious laws Registration of marriage Section 8 15has given power to make rules for proof of marriage to state government. Hindu marriage registrar has given all the power to direct time for the parties to show their evidence and to get their certificate after payment of a prescribed fee. Muslim Marriage Law Muslim law is largely uncodified in India as Quran is silent or incomplete. Muslim marriage is a civil contract where two persons enter into contract with the view of sexual pleasure and legalisation of children. The Islamic concept of marriage is different from Hindu marriage as in Hindu it is sacrament bond but in Islam, it is a contract. Essentials of a valid Muslim marriage: Proposal and acceptance- proposal in urdu is stated as ijab and acceptance of the proposal is 'qubul' in urdu. Both ijab as well as qubul has to be done in same meeting and in the presence of proper and competent witnesses otherwise it will be not be a valid marriage Competency of parties-both partied must attained their puberty, which means they must be major. Bride and groom must be of sound mind while performing nikah and should be Muslim. Free consent of parties- while reading nikah free consent of both the parties is required that means consent must be free from coercion, fraud, mistake of fact in order to term as free consent. Dower or mahr is defined as the sum of money or property given by husband to his wife in consideration of marriage contract as a mark of respect to the wife. Free from Legal Disability-Under Muslim law, marriage is not permitted under certain circumstances and this restrictions/prohibition can be divided into three parts: Absolute Prohibition, Relative Prohibition, and Miscellaneous Prohibition. Muslim marriages are classified into four: Sahih marriage or valid marriage: It is the marriage where each and every kind of conditions are fulfilled in order to known as valid marriage Fasid is irregular marriage where irregularity if removed then this type of marriage could be convert to Sahih marriage. Grounds for Fasid marriage are marrying to a fifth wife, marrying to the women who is undergoing Iddat, marrying without proper witnesses, marrying to a woman who is idol worshipper. Batil is void from the beginning and cannot be converted to valid marriage after removing irregularities like fasid marriage. Grounds for batil marriage are � woman practicing polyandry or marrying to man who worships fire, couples sharing common ancestors, man marrying his sister in law during the lifetime of his wife. Muta marriage is a temporary marriage and the object of contract is enjoyment and time period of it must be fixed with proposal and acceptance in the same meeting, dower should be fixed. Muta marriage with Hindu women is considered to be void. Muslim Marriage Law Muslim law is largely uncodified in India as Quran is silent or incomplete. Muslim marriage is a civil contract where two persons enter into contract with the view of sexual pleasure and legalisation of children. The Islamic concept of marriage is different from Hindu marriage as in Hindu it is sacrament bond but in Islam, it is a contract. Essentials of a valid Muslim marriage: Proposal and acceptance- proposal in urdu is stated as ijab and acceptance of the proposal is 'qubul' in urdu. Both ijab as well as qubul has to be done in same meeting and in the presence of proper and competent witnesses otherwise it will be not be a valid marriage Competency of parties-both partied must attained their puberty, which means they must be major. Bride and groom must be of sound mind while performing nikah and should be Muslim. Free consent of parties- while reading nikah free consent of both the parties is required that means consent must be free from coercion, fraud, mistake of fact in order to term as free consent. Dower or mahr is defined as the sum of money or property given by husband to his wife in consideration of marriage contract as a mark of respect to the wife. Free from Legal Disability-Under Muslim law, marriage is not permitted under certain circumstances and this restrictions/prohibition can be divided into three parts: Absolute Prohibition, Relative Prohibition, and Miscellaneous Prohibition. Christian Marriage Law The Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872 codifies the matrimonial law among Christians. Indian Christians takes place in church in the presence of witnesses as well as clergymen.they exchange their ring take vows while reading of the Bible take place. Conditions for certified Christian marriage: Section 6016 of the Act states the Christian marriage condition which is as follows: The age of man and women must be 21 and 18 respectively. Neither of the party shall have living partner. In front of licensed person as stated under section 917, and two credible witnesses other than such person, each of the marrying party must say to each other that they accept each other as their better half. Parsi Marriage Law The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 codifies the matrimonial law among Parsis. There are various ceremonies performed in the parsi wedding some of them are bride and groom have to face each other and a curtain is to placed between them and rice is thrown by bride and groom on each other while priest chants the prayers .Priest will be asking the certain questions to the bride groom and witnesses which will include whether the consent of the couple is free or not, after answering of the question priest will recite blessings. Essentials of valid Parsi marriage Under Section 333 given: Party to the marriage should not be related to each other in any of the degrees of consanguinity or affinity as stated in schedule in I. Parsi marriage ceremony of Ashirvad to be performed by priest in the presence of two witnesses other than the priest. Male should be of 21 years and female should be of 18. If the above conditions are fulfilled then the child born out of this union will be consider as legitimate. Marriages in India are regulated by personal as well as generalized marriage Acts. Court marriage registration demands a notice that must be delivered to the marriage registrar within one month of marriage. Supporting documents are also produced during this time as age proof, identity proof, address proof, and for fulfilling other sorts of legal purposes.