Not every person who procreates is fit to be a parent. When a parent is abusive or neglectful to his or her children, the state can get involved and can terminate that person’s parental rights. If you are seeking to terminate a person’s parental rights on an involuntary basis, you should be aware of how…
If parents share time with their children equally, does one parent still have to pay child support? In the past, many judges awarded mothers primary custody of the children, while fathers were left with limited visitation schedules and an obligation of child support. Today, this is no longer the norm. It is not unusual for…
When divorced parents live far away from each other, it can be difficult to come up with a parenting plan that fairly divides a child’s time with each parent. Parents will need to work together to create a plan that takes distance into account and gives each parent as much time as possible with the…
Ideally, every divorcing couple would treat each other with respect and negotiate a settlement agreement which fits each person’s needs. In the real world, divorces are often messy, and some spouses may play dirty to get what they want. Unfortunately, this means that many people have had their reputations tarnished by false allegations in divorce…
For parents with children, getting a divorce requires each spouse to make multiple decisions about their children’s futures. When working through a divorce settlement with your spouse, be sure that your plan for child support and visitation addresses each of these ten issues before signing any paperwork. #1: Where Will the Children Live? First and…
In some family law cases, a judge will appoint a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) who will be responsible for representing the best interests of a child in court. In a divorce or child custody case, the GAL will be charged with investigating a family situation and making recommendations to the judge about where the child…
When it comes to child custody, allegations of substance abuse are always issues that a judge will take seriously. However, what if your use of alcohol or marijuana is recreational, rather than problematic? Can your weekend activities negatively affect your right to see your children? Legal and Illegal Drugs When considering issues like child custody,…
Couples who are wealthy or own a significant amount of property often face issues in divorce which are much different than couples who have more modest means. Normal divorce issues like splitting up assets to deciding on parenting time and child support are much more complicated when the couple is dealing with hundreds of thousands…
Life can change in unexpected ways. When most people get married, they never expect that their marriage may end because one person is sent to prison. If your spouse is incarcerated and you wish to end the marriage, you don’t have to wait for him or her to get out—the divorce can continue even while…