Family Law

Family Matters

Family Division cases include divorce, parenting issues, child support, all juvenile matters and domestic violence. 

• See all the case and services that the Family Division covers.

Mediation and other conflict resolution services are used to help families reach mutual agreements on their own in a less adversarial setting than a courtroom.

Juvenile Cases

Cases involving minors are handled in New Hampshire’s Circuit Court Family Division. Three types of cases involve minors:

• Delinquency: A juvenile delinquent is a person under age 18 who has done something that would be a crime if committed by an adult.
• Children in Need of Services (CHINS): Children under age 18 who repeatedly refuse to attend school, run away from home, or are found uncontrollable.
• Neglected and abused children: Children under age 18 who have not been provided with proper care, supervision, or financial support, or who have been sexually, physically or psychologically abused.

What Happens When a Juveniles Faces Delinquency Charges?

A juvenile taken into custody by police has the right to remain silent and to be represented by a lawyer; the court must appoint an attorney if the juvenile cannot afford one. Detained juveniles are never housed with adult offenders. A juvenile is entitled to a hearing before a judge within 24 hours of arrest; there is no right to trial by jury in juvenile court. The Attorney General’s office can ask the court to certify a juvenile as an adult if a serious crime is involved in which case the charges would be heard in the Superior Court. The vast majority of cases involving juvenile offenders, however, are heard in the Family Division.