General Family Law

Establishing paternity of a child can be done, even if you are not the biological father. If a father wants to take legal responsibility for a child that is not biologically his, he may do so....

Same-sex marriage and civil unions are two topics that have been the center of controversy for quite some time now. As church, state and government bodies have attempted to establish the...

Fathers have a right to care and make decisions for their children. These rights important to both fathers and their sons and daughters. Children with fathers who play an active role in their...

Divorce is traumatic when children are involved. Once children are born, fathers have the right to see their children and be involved in their lives (if abuse, neglect or drug addiction is not a...

Assisted living can be trying. There are many emotional challenges to overcome and daily obstacles to surmount. Knowing what your rights are or what the rights of an aging family member's are is...

There has been a struggle between the governing bodies of the United States and the people since the early 1900s to develop a solid understanding of parental rights. There currently is no federal...

In South Dakota, grandparents may be granted reasonable visitation rights, after proving such visits are in the best interests of the child and that there is either no interference in the...

In the United States, fathers have specific legal rights regarding paternity, custody, visitation, child support and termination of parental rights. A father can be designated "absent" based upon...

In Alaska, grandparents are awarded reasonable visitation rights only after the court considers key factors such as personal contact, the child's best interest, abuse or domestic violence, prior...

Due process rights set forth certain procedures that must be followed when persons face criminal allegations or civil suits. Many situations within family law, including divorce, termination of...

Visitation rights with divorce underwent a considerable evolution beginning in the late-'80s across the United States, ensuring that both parents in a divorce have a meaningful and substantial...

Many men who face divorce do not know their rights as fathers. As a result they are separated unnecessarily from their children. Other men who perhaps are not married to the mother of their...

Like abortion, gay marriage is a very divisive issue in America. For this reason some states have passed laws to provide a compromise so that same-sex relationships have some or all of the rights...

Fathers paying child support have certain visitation rights to their children if the court does not order sole custody for the mother. Courts only order sole custody to one parent if the other...

Grandparent rights generally relate to visitation rights and custody rights. "Grandparent" can include both individuals who have a biological relationship to the child by being the parent to the...

It has become common for unmarried couples to live together. The couples may put property in both their names or keep it in one name. Unmarried couples have property rights depending on whether...

Marriage is an institution that has been around since Biblical times, yet the rights granted to marriage partners today have morphed into something nearly unrecognizable from what marriage allowed...

Marriage is defined as a ceremony enabling couples to live together as man and wife. The process can involve just the legal qualification before a justice or an elaborate religious ceremony. The...

Grandparents rights can be a tricky concept to understand. Many grandparents interpret the very name as protecting rights that don't necessarily exist, and believe that they have some kind of...

There is no dispute that children who are raised in a loving and supportive relationship with parents or caregivers develop into emotionally stable and healthy adults. It is best, then, to try to...

The relationship between parents and children can become strained at times and moving out may seem to be the only answer. By law, however, parents have certain obligations to their children, and...

If your child is under the age of 18 and has committed a crime, it's likely that he or she will not be tried in criminal court. Rather, your child will be tried in juvenile court, with a...

A person charged with a criminal offense who is younger than 18 years of age is usually tried as a juvenile in the juvenile court system. However, under certain circumstances, a juvenile may be...

In general, the term "juvenile delinquents" is used to refer to people under the age of 18 who commit offenses that would be prosecutable if committed by an adult. Not all juvenile offenses are...

"Privileged communications" are discussions or correspondences between parties such as a lawyer and client, doctor and patient, or clergy and parishioner that are considered inadmissible in court....

For the most part, electronic and digital communications providers strive to protect the legal privacy rights of their subscribers. However, email and cell-phone communications are not entirely...

You want to install a satellite dish, but your neighbor objects because he believes it's unsightly. Perhaps your home is a rental and your landlord refuses to allow you to install a satellite...

A juvenile convicted of a crime often receives probation as a sentence. The court might also impose other sanctions, such as victim restitution and community service. In some cases, juveniles are...

Curfews place restrictions on your child's activity by requiring that he or she be home within certain hours. If your child is a juvenile offender, the courts may impose a curfew as part of his or...

As a parent or guardian, you are entitled to visit your child if he or she is placed in juvenile detention. Follow these steps.

Federal law requires that all franchisers submit extensive disclosure documents containing the terms under which the sale, termination or buyout of the franchise can take place to all potential...

Publication rights encompass a broad range of legal and academic protections for writers. Writers can protect their publication rights through negotiating better contracts, copyrighting their work...

Privacy laws pertaining to the workplace are vague and fall under the rights to privacy that individuals are granted under the Privacy Act. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act covers...

If you have been arrested for auto theft, it can be a scary, confusing time for you, especially if it is your first arrest. This feeling becomes compounded if you did not actually steal a car and...

The privacy rights of minors are protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act laws. The privacy rule under HIPAA...

The privacy of your personal health information is protected under HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This federal law grants individuals certain rights pertaining to...