In divorce situations, one spouse or ex-spouse may become legally obligated to make payments to the other party in the form of alimony or maintenance. Since these payments are often substantial, locking in tax deductions …
Third Party Custody Cases
Third-party custody is often defined as custody of a child involving a nonparent. Each state considers a number of factors prior to awarding child custody to a third party. Usually, third-party custody occurs when the …
HIPAA and Family Court
The HIPAA Privacy Rule provides individuals with the right to access their medical and other health records from their health care providers and health plans, upon request. The Privacy Rule generally also gives the right …
Indian Child Welfare Act
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was enacted in 1978 in response to a crisis affecting American Indian and Alaska Native children, families, and tribes. Studies revealed that large numbers of Native children were being …
Abortion and the Family
Abortion remains a hotly debated topic. What happens, however, when abortion intersects with family law? Currently, such considerations are non starters. A woman’s body is her body and her decision. We have seen fathers who …
Legal Technicians in New Mexico
Paralegals who draft divorce documents. Former, disbarred attorneys handling mediations. These are just some of the examples of legal “professionals” who hold themselves out as providing a service. Calls are being made to identify these …
Common Law Marriage Isn’t Common
In movies and stories we hear about common law marriage. However, common law marriage isn’t common. What we mean by this is that not every state recognizes common law marriage. The reason this is an …
Are Judges Biased?
Judges take an oath to apply the laws of the State and the United States in a fair and impartial manner. That makes sense and we applaud the fact that our judges are beyond the …
Same Sex Couples and Domestic Violence
Domestic violence isn’t a scourge that is isolated to heterosexual, married couples. Domestic violence can occur in unmarried relationships and in same sex relationships. Recently, North Dakota refused to extend domestic violence protection to same …
Do we split the baby?
Many people are familiar with the biblical story of King Solomon and his wise distribution of justice. The story goes like this…two women came before the King with each claiming the right to a baby. …