Adoption in Idaho
People often think of adoption in terms of a married couple, unable or not wanting to have a child of their own, adopting a child from a unwed mother. While this does happen regularly, there are also other reasons why and when a child can be adopted.
Divorce and remarriage are a good example of when a child might be adopted. If a couple gets a divorce and one parent no longer wants anything to do with the child, the new spouse may adopt the child. When a family member has a child and is unable to care for it, is another example where adoption might be an option. Another example of a frequently occurring situation is grandparents adopting their grandchild because the parents are unable to care for the child. Both the example of the grandparents adopting a grandchild and the example of the family member adopting a child can also be dealt with by using a guardianship, if the need for the family member to act as parent is for a short or limited duration.
All adoptions have some elements in common. There must be a termination of parental rights, before the adoptive parent or parents can legally be the parent. We have all heard of the horror stories of unwed mothers giving their child up for adoption, the couple that takes the child and loves the child as their own, only to find out that the father's rights were never properly terminated and therefore the child is not legally theirs.
In the process of adoption there is also a home study done to ensure that the adoptive parents are fit to be parents. This is done even if the birth mother has hand picked the adoptive parents. Attorneys who practice adoption law can give you a detailed list of how events occur in an adoption. There may be slight differences if the adoption is pursuant to a divorce, a foreign adoption or an adoption where there is an unwed mother and there can be difficulties that arise, such as a father not wanting to terminate his parental rights but for the most part adoption is a fairly standard legal process.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Modification in Idaho
Modification - What is it and What Does it Mean?
Modification refers to changing an existing court order. It most often refers to changing the custody or the child support order. There are certain requirements necessary to qualify for a modification. For example, if you wanted to modify the existing custody arrangement, you would have to show that there has been a permanent and substantial material change in circumstances. This allows continued consistency for the children and prevents changing the order simply because one party is unhappy with the arrangement.
A child support order can be modified when there is a change in income. This change would be expected to occur when one party gets a new job or is promoted. The original rules, however, still apply and that is you cannot be voluntarily unemployed or under-employed.
When you modify an existing order you can do it in different ways. You can do it by agreement. Both parties attorneys will present the court with a stipulation and the judge will sign a new order. If the other party does not agree with you and wants to fight the modification you will go through a hearing process. Your attorney will present evidence as will the lawyer on the other side. The judge will weigh the evidence and make a decision based upon this. For child support, your attorney will run the income amounts through the child support guidelines and come to a new support amount.
Can a divorce be modified? A divorce will not be modified, rather certain situations under a divorce will be, such as custody or child support.
What if a party to the divorce is not complying with the terms of the divorce? This would fall under the matter of contempt. When you are ordered by the court to do something and you don't you can be held in contempt of court. Your divorce attorney will file a motion for contempt and you will go to court to show what the other party was supposed to do and how they did not do it. The other party, by themselves, or through their divorce lawyer, can try and show why there actions were not contempt.
Modification refers to changing an existing court order. It most often refers to changing the custody or the child support order. There are certain requirements necessary to qualify for a modification. For example, if you wanted to modify the existing custody arrangement, you would have to show that there has been a permanent and substantial material change in circumstances. This allows continued consistency for the children and prevents changing the order simply because one party is unhappy with the arrangement.
A child support order can be modified when there is a change in income. This change would be expected to occur when one party gets a new job or is promoted. The original rules, however, still apply and that is you cannot be voluntarily unemployed or under-employed.
When you modify an existing order you can do it in different ways. You can do it by agreement. Both parties attorneys will present the court with a stipulation and the judge will sign a new order. If the other party does not agree with you and wants to fight the modification you will go through a hearing process. Your attorney will present evidence as will the lawyer on the other side. The judge will weigh the evidence and make a decision based upon this. For child support, your attorney will run the income amounts through the child support guidelines and come to a new support amount.
Can a divorce be modified? A divorce will not be modified, rather certain situations under a divorce will be, such as custody or child support.
What if a party to the divorce is not complying with the terms of the divorce? This would fall under the matter of contempt. When you are ordered by the court to do something and you don't you can be held in contempt of court. Your divorce attorney will file a motion for contempt and you will go to court to show what the other party was supposed to do and how they did not do it. The other party, by themselves, or through their divorce lawyer, can try and show why there actions were not contempt.
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