Family Law Newsletters

Abortion and Consent

The medical procedure of abortion is one of the most performed procedures in the United States. Prior to seeking an abortion a woman should have sufficient information about the procedure. In some states abortion clinics may make the woman wait a period of time prior to performing the procedure. The most common period of time is a 24-hour window between the time that the woman enters the clinic requesting an abortion and the time that the procedure is actually performed.

Enforcement of Child Support

When a court enters an order of child support, it orders one party to pay a certain sum of money to another for the support of a child. The person who is ordered to pay is called the obligor. The person who receives the payment is the obligee. The amount of child support that is payable is usually based on state law that takes into consideration the number of children for which an obligor is responsible and the amount of income the obligor earns from all sources.

International Adoption - Home Study

United States immigration laws require prospective parents to undergo a "home study" before they can adopt a child from a foreign country. A home study is an investigation into the prospective parents' fitness to raise an adopted child. A home study is conducted by an individual or agency that is licensed by the prospective parents' home state.

Paternity Fraud

Paternity fraud occurs when a mother or alleged father acts in a deceitful manner to either establish paternity or to show that paternity does not exist. For example, the mother may place the name of an alleged father who is not the biological father on a birth certificate. The mother or alleged father may also tamper with the paternity test results.

The Family Support Act of 1988

The Family Support Act of 1988 amended the guidelines provisions of the Child Support Enforcement Amendments of l984 by requiring that a state's support guidelines operate as a ''rebuttable presumption'' of the correct support amount in any judicial or administrative proceeding for the award of child support.