A common question for many family law practitioners is, “When does my child support obligation end?” Child support is money paid by the non-residential parent to the residential parent to aid in the financial support of the parents’ children. The Courts base child support on two main factors, how much income both parents make annually, and how much time each parent regularly spends with the child or children during the year. Depending on the Judge, a Court may permit two pa

When I hear a parent saying that they lost their rights to their child, my first thought is always that the state took custody or the child was adopted; as those are the only ways a parent can lose their rights over a child. Even when a parent elects a guardian for the child, the parent does not relinquish his or her rights, they merely delegate his or her decision-making authority to someone else for a time. What many people mean when they say they lost their rights, is they

I am often asked if one parent can sign over his or her rights to a child. Usually, this question comes when either the noncustodial parent has had little involvement with the child, or would like less responsibility regarding the child; or, when the custodial parent wants to eliminate the noncustodial parent’s involvement with the child. The short answer is no; you cannot sign over your rights. In the courts eyes, if you made a kid, you are responsible for that kid. You do

(Full disclaimer, I am writing this post as an unmarried; and perpetually single person). I’ve always been a big believer in marriage. Maybe it was the church I was brought up in, but I tend to hold with the belief that marriage is a sacred institution and something no one should enter into lightly. If your life doesn’t completely and drastically shift upon getting married, you are probably doing something wrong. Even with that mindset, even after studying family dynamics a

Easily, the question I get asked most often in Family Law, is what are an unwed person’s rights regarding his or her children. I wish they taught Paternity laws as part of high school Sex-Ed. I feel like young people would be much more careful with what they do in their free time, if they knew the legal ramifications of certain extra-curricular activities. There is so much ambiguity out there concerning unwed parents’ rights, or rather an unwed father’s lack of rights. To