Family Law Newsletters

Adoption and Safe Families Act - Overview

In 1997, the United States Congress passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA). The ASFA was enacted to modify and clarify certain requirements of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act, a federal law enacted in 1980, and the Family Preservation and Support Services Act, a federal law enacted in 1984.

Adoption and Safe Families Act - Termination of Parental Rights

The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) requires a state to file a petition to terminate a parent's parental rights to a child if:

Child Custody and Religion

Religion is usually not an issue in child custody proceedings, even if the parents practice different religions. For example, if a child has a Christian mother and a Jewish father, a court will not consider the merits of either religion in determining which parent should have custody of the child. The court will grant custody to one parent, or joint custody to both parents, and the child will be exposed to both the mother's religion and the father's religion.

Disability Planning

An elder individual should consider disability planning when planning their estate. There are numerous tools that are available to the elder individual with respect to disability planning.

Divorce and Dividing a Business

In many marriages, spouses have run a business together. The family-owned business constitutes a marital asset. It probably constitutes a large, if not one of the largest marital assets. It would not be practical to require the parties to run the business together. Typically, one party would continue to business and the interest of the other party is bought out. The business would be appraised and that amount is given to the party that was bought out.