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How
are Custody issues decided?
No area of family law brings to the courtroom the tension, anxiety,
hostility, volatility and raw emotion as child custody and visitation
litigation. Rare is the divorce, dissolution or custody determination in
which the parties have been able to set aside personal differences to
reach the goal of what is best for the children involved. Most parents
pay lip service to this ideal, but often cannot reach it in actuality.
Most often a judge will take great pains to get parents themselves to
come to a mutually acceptable custody agreement if that is possible. A
decision made by a stranger is rarely completely acceptable to all if
the attempt has not been made in earnest.
The family court systems of the states usually have several layers of
counseling, mediation and conciliation mechanisms in place in an effort
to bring warring parents together for the purpose of resolving the issue
of what it is in the best interests of their children.
What about visitation?
Generally, a court will grant reasonable visitation rights to a parent
unless it is shown that the visitation will be detrimental to the best
interests of the child. A non-parent can in the discretion of the court
also be granted visitation rights if they have an interest in the
welfare of the child—this is generally divided into the area of
grandparents, step-parents and other non-parents. It should be noted,
however, that this is discretionary. The court may also approve
visitation plans and restrictions considering factors relevant to the
best interests of the child. A Lead Counsel family law lawyer will guide
you through the complicated procedure of child visitation issues.
How is the amount of child support determined?
Federal law now requires that the amount of a child support payment be
set in accordance with a guideline. Having a guideline is believed to
prevent widely different amounts of child support being ordered from
courtroom to courtroom. Guidelines provide an objective basis for the
determination of the amount of support to be paid. As a result, most
states have established formulas that are used to determine the amount
of the payment from one parent to the other. Lead Counsel family law
lawyers will safeguard your legal rights and fight for what is fair.
What happens to a father who refuses to pay court ordered child support?
It is against the law for any father, presumed or assumed, to not pay
court ordered child support to the custodial guardian, regardless of
joint custody. Federal laws permit the interception of tax refunds to
enforce child support orders, and other methods of enforcement include
wage attachments, seizure of property, suspension of a business license
and possible driver's license revocation. Most states have separate
Child Support Enforcement agencies in place to oversee these efforts. In
the event that none of these attempts are entirely successful, the court
of law that issued the child support order can hold the father in
contempt and, in the absence of a reasonable explanation for the
delinquency, impose a jail term.
Can a divorce action be stopped by one of the spouses?
A no-fault divorce can't be stopped by a spouse because objecting to the
other spouse's petition for divorce is itself an irreconcilable
difference that would justify the divorce. However, a spouse could
potentially stop a fault divorce by either convincing the court that
he/she was not at fault or by using any of the following defenses.
1. Condonation - implied approval of another's activities by treating
the person as though the offense were never committed.
2. Connivance - setting up a situation so that the other person commits
a wrongdoing.
3. Provocation - inciting of another to do a certain act.
4. Collusion - secret agreement or cooperation between the spouses
designed to deceive the judge.
A qualified Lead Counsel family law attorney will guide you through the
steps of your divorce from beginning to end.
Are there different types of adoption?
Adoptions take place in various forms, and are generally classified as
independent, agency, step-parent, relative placement, and adult
adoption. Independent adoption occurs when birth parents and adoptive
families find each other on their own or through the help of an adoption
intermediary, i.e. a pastor, family friend, or doctor. Agency adoptions
are handled through a child placement agency and approximately
two-thirds of all adoptions in the United States are arranged through
agencies.
In a step-parent adoption, the family adopting is a birth parent with a
new spouse; this usually succeeds a divorce or spousal death.
Adult adoption is the process whereby a person eighteen years or older
is legally adopted by one or more persons eighteen years or older, and
relative placement adoption occurs when the birth parent(s) is still a
minor, has died or is disabled, or the child has been removed due to
abuse and neglect, and another relative assumes physical custody and
responsibility for the child. |
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