Parental kidnapping is a huge crime, at least it is in America with more than 350,000 children being abducted by a family member each year, which averages out to almost a thousand children being kidnapped by a parent (or very close family member in some cases) each and every day, yikes! But what does this have to do with Japan? After all, if someone were to run to Japan with his or her child illegally, we have a criminal extradition treaty with Japan right? Well, yes and no.

Yes we do have a criminal extradition treaty with Japan, however... more

When children are receiving survivor benefits due to the death of one of their biological parents, the family may be reluctant to do a stepparent adoption after the parent remarries, in fear of losing the monthly survivor checks for the children. While some households will still depend on that money, after remarriage, to run the household, many parents set the money aside for the child to have as an adult and do not wish to cut the child short financially by having him or her adopted by their stepparent.

The ... more

Do I need the consent of my older stepchild in order to complete a stepparent adoption? This is a question that is asked quite frequently and the answer to it is yes, consent is needed to adopt a stepchild who is usually twelve and older. I say usually because laws vary from state to state, and even county to county so I am sure there are places where the age is either slightly older, or slightly younger than twelve.

While some parents are upset over the fact that a child could potentially hold up an entire adoption proceeding by not giving consent to the adoption,... more

Non-custodial parents are speaking up about the family court system and how current child support laws are doing more harm than good. Many fathers are complaining that the system is set up in such a manner that these non-custodial fathers are destined to fail. They claim that astronomical child support obligations are forcing them both into debt and out of their children’s lives.

With the amount of interest and late fees that are tacked onto child support obligations that have not been paid on time for whatever reason, small debts are accruing... more

The first time that I saw my adopted stepson’s amended birth certificate you could have knocked me over with a feather. There was just something too surreal about such an official record stating that I had given birth to a child in a hospital I have never even seen, let alone given birth in! Even though I knew that we would receive an amended birth certificate once the adoption had been completed, it still just seemed so, well odd.

Don’t get me wrong; I was thrilled to be on the document. To see my name listed as the mother,... more

Occasionally, after being served with the petition for a stepparent adoption a non-custodial parent who has been out of his or her child’s life for years, will decide to become a part of their child’s life instead of giving consent for the adoption. While the custodial parent may be disappointed that the plans for an adoption are not going to work out, unless the non-custodial parent would be a danger to the child, an effort to reestablish a relationship between the... more

I recently came across this website on the Internet called, Win Your Child Custody War. The site is full of an array of books pertaining to custody, visitation, and court. And while I thought that several of the books would be a great resource for many families going through a divorce, it was the title of the website itself that made me cringe. Win your child custody war, why does their need to be a war? The words war and child shouldn’t be in the same sentence, let alone two grown... more

A while back I wrote a blog about Parental Kidnapping, which ended up sparking quite a few comments. Some readers questioned if parental kidnapping really does happen all that often. While it is hard to believe that a parent would take off with their child, intending for the other parent to never find either of them, it does happen and it happens more than we would like to think.

Today as I was strolling around the... more

This seems to be a game that almost every divorced couple ends up playing at some point or another. Many decide very quickly that this is not a game that they would wish to be actively involved in, and soon come to their senses and knock the behavior off. Sadly others become wrapped up in this tug of war of who can hurt who the most cycle.

With the children involved in the situation being the pieces of this game, they are used as pawns, as trophies, and as dollar signs, no matter what the reason was for the start of the vicious cycle... more

If you live in the state of Wyoming, and are thinking of either modifying an existing child support order, or thinking of beginning a brand new child support case, then click on this link to go to a child support calculator for those who live in the state of Wyoming. Online child support calculators require only a small amount of financial information to be plugged in, before they almost instantaneously... more