Today, millions of children are being raised by grandparents, friends, neighbors, and sometimes, total strangers. This trend is growing each year. In this situation, these individuals acting as “parents” have no legal rights to the children they are raising, despite the fact they are providing for all aspects of their physical and emotional well-being. Practically speaking, this reality can create a multitude of problems for the caretakers, from enrolling the children in school to obtaining health care. All the ... Read More
18
Jun2018
07
Jun2018
In child custody disputes, whether initially made with a divorce or paternity filing, or on with a modification petition, the court decides child-related issues before it by determining what is in the best interests of the child. With most cases, a party seeking custody, as well as the court, want to “hear” from the child in some way. This blog explores the four key ways a child’s voice, views, and positions can be presented to a court for it to ... Read More
22
May2018
While children are resilient and “bounce back”, modifying physical custody from one parent to another parent is a major life factor that may impact the child’s fundamental sense of safety, security, and stability. For this reason, there are two common factual situations where custody modification does not make a strong legal case.
The first is where the non-custodial parent’s life has improved, but this has had little impact on how the kids are doing in the custodial parent’s care. Remember, ... Read More
30
Apr2018
What Parents (And Those Around Children) Need to Know About Removal as Punishment and Its Connection to Divorce, DCS Investigations, And Criminal Charges
Parents who have children heavily involved with the use of electronics have all probably observed a “meltdown” when devices are taken as a form of punishment.
However, with a certain segment of children—even very young children—mainstream psychology publications began widely reporting in 2017 various psychological issues with detachment and depression with removing electronic devices from the child. Pre- and teenagers had some changes ... Read More
01
Mar2018
In divorce or paternity cases, custody evaluations are common. They are provided for in the paternity and divorce statutes, as well as local court rules and discovery rules. A trial court judge has the inherent discretion and power to order a custody evaluation. In simple terms, a custody evaluation is nothing more than a trained professional interviewing the adults and children and reviewing materials they provide to make a written report to the trial court of what is in the children’s best ... Read More
17
Jan2018
The Impact Upon Children in a High Conflict Custody Case
This blog discusses the importance of trying to resolve disputes in high conflict custody cases to try to avoid emotional harm to the children.
Often in high conflict cases involving child custody disputes, the single most important factor is ignored by the parties: “what is in the best interest of the child”. Many times, the conflict begins because one party, the non-custodial parent “wants” something, usually more time with the child, and the custodial parent ... Read More
26
Dec2017
Custody is initially determined by the courts in divorce or paternity by considering statutory factors, including the age of the child, his/her adjustment to their home, school, community, and the mental and physical health of all individuals involved.1 In this situation, there is no preference for either parent.
Psychologically and socially, children need stability so custody is not as easy to modify. However, custody can be modified by a court upon a showing of substantial change in the initial custody factors, and that a modification would be ... Read More
22
Nov2017
The angst of litigation keeps couples with children together long after they probably should have divorced or sought custody modification. In most cases, this is legally, socially, and psychologically sound. This blog explores the common situations where one spouse becomes addicted to prescription drugs, but the other tries maintaining the status quo, eventually “hurts” the parent—and often the children—who he/she is trying to protect to keep the family intact.
The nightly news relays the war on codeine based drugs and the lawsuits against ... Read More
01
Nov2017
For children (who may be subject to divorce custody order) removed from another country, there are two (2) bodies of law that may apply to obtain their return. The first is the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspect of Child Abduction. Typically, these are countries with Western-type values and legal systems.
Where two countries have signed and ratified the treaty, this body of law aids parents in obtaining a return order to return the child(ren)1 to their country of habitual residence. This ... Read More
06
Jun2017
To address a parent’s failure to pay child support for a child born within a marriage or out of wedlock, certain levels of non-support have thresholds that have been addressed by statutes. For example, at the state-level, there are statutes that make non-support a felony to prohibiting a licensed professional from renewal.
Under federal law, a significant child support arrearage may cause non-renewal or issuance of United States Passport. Today, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided an important case that shows the ways to potentially retroactively modify child support ordered ... Read More