Family Law Newsletter

Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction & Enforcement Act

The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) was designed to deter interstate parental kidnapping and to promote uniform jurisdiction and enforcement provisions in interstate child custody and visitations cases. The UCCJEA is a uniform state law that all states can adopt to deter interstate parental kidnapping. More...

Adoption Assistance & Child Welfare Act

The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (Act) was passed by Congress in 1980. Lawmakers were concerned that many children were being removed from their homes unnecessarily and that, once they entered foster care, inadequate efforts were made to either reunify them with their biological families or place them with adoptive families. The Act was passed to correct or alleviate problems in the foster care system and to promote permanency rather than multiple foster placements. An additional goal of the Act was to encourage social workers to work toward reunification of the family and to avoid long-term foster care for the children if possible. If the child could not be returned to the family, another plan was to be sought such as adoption, long-term foster care, or some other resolution. More...

Child Citizenship Act of 2000 - Obtaining a Passport for a Child

Some children who are born outside of the United States may automatically acquire U.S. citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. However, no proof of citizenship will be issued to the child's biological or adoptive parents unless such proof is requested. Parents may obtain proof of citizenship for their child by applying for a Certificate of Citizenship from the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In the alternative, the parents may apply for a passport for the child from the United States Department of State.More...

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. More...

Overview of a Putative Father

A putative father is an alleged father or a father out of wedlock. The putative father typically claims that he is the biological father of the child even though the mother failed to recognize his identity on the child's birth certificate. More...