| Same-Sex Marriages, Civil Unions, and Domestic Partnerships |
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| Although many people interchange the terms same-sex marriage and civil union, they are actually two different and distinct concepts. A same-sex marriage is defined as a marriage between two individuals of the same gender. A same-sex marriage involves a certain legal status for the couple. Further, each state has its own requirements with respect to marriage. More... |
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| Post-Adoption Contact with Biological Parents |
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| Traditionally, once an adoption is final, the child's biological relatives are excluded from any continuing personal or legal role in the child's life. The adoptive parents have exclusive responsibility for the child, including the right to determine the extent of the child's contacts with individuals outside the immediate adoptive family.
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| Right of Putative Father to Visitation |
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| A "putative father" is a man who may be a child's father, but who was not married to the child's mother before the child was born and has not established the fact that he is the father in a court proceeding. When the child's natural parents have never married and the putative father is seeking visitation with his child, he must first prove his paternity before a court will entertain his petition for visitation.
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| Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction & Enforcement Act |
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| 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... |
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| Domestic Violence and Custody Issues |
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| Domestic violence is conduct perpetrated by a spouse, family member, or any other person residing in the household. The State does not get involved in domestic violence issues unless the abuser has violated a criminal statute such as assault or battery. Violent events in the household constitute domestic violence if the victim is a family member or lives with the abuser.
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