Family Court vs. Criminal Court: What's the Difference?

Many people mistakenly believe family court and criminal court are the same thing. In reality, they are entirely separate systems that sometimes overlap.

Family court commonly handles:

Custody disputes

Child support

Visitation issues

Family offenses

Criminal court handles allegations involving violations of criminal law.

However, situations involving domestic disputes may lead to proceedings in both courts simultaneously.

For example:

An argument between spouses could lead to criminal charges

The same situation could also affect custody or visitation matters in family court

Understanding how these systems interact is extremely important when both family and criminal law issues are involved.