Child Custody Law

CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates, a program that links adult volunteers with abused and neglected children involved with the courts and child welfare system. CASA volunteers...

prevent a parent from taken your child to another country to live, custody matter

add a father's name t a child's birth certificate

become the legal guardian of a minor child

When going through a custody battle, finding the right family law attorney can be pretty time consuming and costly. While you may not be able to get around the costly part, here are a few tips...

When children are involved in a divorce, it can have emotional effects that can lead to physical effects. Decreased interest in school, lack of good family relationships or role models are all...

Even if you are a single non-married mother, your baby's father is required to pay child support on any child he is the parent of. A man can even be ordered to pay child support for a child that...

get supervised visits

Learn when you should ask for supervised visits for the visiting parent

A legal guardianship document grants temporary guardianship of a minor child to someone other than the child's parents for a specified period. Legal guardianship documents are typically used to...

Because custody cases bring up weighty emotional issues, non-custodial parents may behave in unethical ways, including bullying the custodial parent through the legal system. Legal bullying is...

As part of a child custody case, you may be required to participate in a deposition. This is a formal question-and-answer session used to obtain information from witnesses, while under oath....

Families can set up guardianship arrangements for many reasons, including physical and mental disability, incarceration, displacement from the home and difficulties caring for the child. If you...

When parents divorce or decide to no longer raise their children together, they negotiate or let the courts decide who will have custody of their children. Physical and legal custody are different...

To change the guardianship of a child, you will need to file a petition with the court in the city or county where the child resides currently. Along with the petition, you should file evidence to...

Men's rights for child custody have come a long way. Most states now employ the "best interests" standard that examines a number of factors to determine which custodial situation is in the best...

After divorce, child custody is often given to the child's mother. This perceived bias is frustrating for many fathers who believe they have an equal right to custody. It is crucial to remember...

A child custody evaluation is a report completed by a third party, used to determine a parent's skills. Such reports are used to assist the court in determining whether a parent should be granted...

Each state has different laws regarding child custody. Even if the parents of a child were not married, each parent could still have a claim for custody of a minor child. The most common universal...

Remove the current guardian of a chil

One of the most heart-breaking parts about being a single parent is watching the faces of your children when they realize the other parent isn't around. And that he/she has no intention of being...

Emergency protection orders, or EPOs, are court orders designed to protect parties from domestic violence. Generally, they include provisions barring you from contacting, approaching or harassing...

If you have temporary relinquished guardianship of your child due to illness, homelessness or financial problems and wish to regain physical custody of your child, you will need to submit a...

To obtain custody of a non-biological child, you will need to file a custody petition with the court and attempt to obtain written consent from the child's natural parents. If you are not able to...

Each state has established guidelines as to how and when termination of parental rights occurs. For many jurisdictions, a substantial reason to terminate parental rights---such as an adoption or...

When the parents of a child no longer live together, courts become involved to develop a plan or set of rules regarding what each parent's role will be in the life of the child.

Paternity testing has became something that can be completed quite easily. No matter what your circumstances there are ways to get DNA testing without a lot of obstacles. The steps in this article...

Altering child custody arrangements is one of the most complex areas of family law. Absent an appropriate agreement between the parents of a minor child, a parent must demonstrate what legally is...

There are situations in which a person needs to sign custody of their children to the other parent or circumstances in which an individual needs to relinquish custodial rights. If you find...

When deciding on child custody issues, the court, in conjunction with a trained evaluator, will try to determine what visitation and custody arrangement is in the child's best interest. Your child...

Child support is intended to help the custodial parent provide for the child. However, child support can become misused. A 2007 child support case in Florida shows just how wrong a child support...

If you are sharing custody of a child and wish to deny the father visitation rights, you will need to seek the court's permission to do so. You will need to show the family court judge that...

Representing yourself in family court during a child custody matter is a very intimidating experience. Though representing yourself is not recommended, many people simply do not have the financial...

The level of difficulty for obtaining a continuance in a family court hearing depends on the procedures of the court. Rules vary from courthouse to courthouse and certainly from state to state....

Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) was first identified in the 1980s by the late forensic psychiatrist Dr. Richard Gardner, co-author or "The International Handbook of Parental Alienation...

If you know the whereabouts of the absent parent but are not located close enough to serve the custody papers in person or by process server, you may send them by certified mail if your...

Children under the age of 18 are reported to make up 27 percent of the homeless population in the United States. When a minor child is homeless anywhere the United States, the state government is...

Situations that lend themselves to an emergency change of child custody are some of the most difficult with which to deal. Circumstances that would prompt such action are usually of a serious...

Divorce and paternity cases involving child custody issues represent some of the most complex and emotional of all legal proceedings. Courts across the country prefer that the parties to such...

According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, emotional child abuse may involve verbal put-downs, withholding affection, taunting a child, threatening physical harm to the child, or...

Obtaining or modifying child custody agreements requires multiple forms and the ability to navigate complex rules and procedures. In most cases, parents consult an attorney. However, if you decide...

Child custody issues present unique challenges during the course of a divorce or paternity case. At the heart of these matters is the calculation of how much time each parent is allocated with a...

If you are falsely accused of abuse, neglect or other wrongdoing within the context of a child custody case, you will need to use concrete evidence and logical arguments to show that the claims...

When making child custody determinations, family courts evaluate what arrangement will be in the best interest of the child. Although it is up to the family court judge to evaluate the case, in...

Obtaining full physical custody of a child or children will vary in difficulty depending on each individual situation and on the laws of the court in your particular area. If the other parent is...

Once a name is given at birth it will require legal action to have it changed. You must go through the proper channels of your particular state to facilitate that change. Code 8.01-217 defines the...

Preparing a disputed child custody appeal can be a complex process. Appeals courts will not review a child custody decision unless the lower court has made a procedural or legal error. In other...

Guardianship papers are used to legally designate a party to care for a minor child. In most jurisdictions, guardianship papers are not used to transfer custody between legal parents. They are,...

Pursuing a child custody case is a challenging and emotionally charged endeavor. In the end, one of your primary goals is to seek an order from the court that is in the best interest of your...

Often when parents are going through a divorce, early in the proceedings, a temporary order of child custody is entered into the record. The temporary order of child custody temporarily gives...