| Right of Putative Father to have his Child Bear his Surname |
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| In some instances, a putative father who gains custody or visitation of his child may want the child's surname changed from that of the mother's to his own. Neither parent has a paramount right over the other to assign to the child a particular surname, even in those jurisdictions that statutorily mandate the child's surname initially is to be that of the mother. More... |
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| Adoption and Safe Families Act - Reasonable Efforts |
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| The Family Preservation and Support Services Act required states to make "reasonable efforts" to reunify families and prevent the permanent removal of a child from his or her home. The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) attempts to clarify the "reasonable efforts" requirement. More... |
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| Adoption |
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| An adoption is a legal process by which a person who is not a child's biological parent obtains all of the legal rights and responsibilities of the child's biological parents. More... |
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| Personal Protection Orders and Family Violence Issues |
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| A personal protection order, or PPO, is an order issued by the court precluding another individual, a respondent, from contact with the petitioner. A petitioner may file an application for a PPO after providing information that would support the grant of the order. More... |
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| Adoption Under the Indian Child Welfare Act |
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| Whenever a proposed adoption involves a child who is of recognized Native American lineage, both federal and state laws govern the proceeding. The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) is applicable to any adoption of a Native American child. The ICWA is not an adoption code, but it contains jurisdictional, procedural, and substantive provisions that pertain to adoptions. Pursuant to the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, ICWA provisions supplement or parallel any compatible state adoption laws and preempt any inconsistent or contradictory ones. More... |
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