In a decision applauded by fathers' rights advocates, a Massachusetts court repealed a 1998 law that required all non-custodial parents to present a non-batter court certification before being granted access to a child's academic record.
The West Virginia Supreme Court awarded custody of a five-year-old boy to his deceased mother's lesbian partner, despite protests by the boy's maternal grandparents.
The California Supreme Court is set to hear three cases that will determine if the laws that govern parental rights of children born to unmarried heterosexual couples will extend to children of homosexual couples who do not register as domestic partners.
A Texas couple is fighting the state for custody of their 13-year-old cancer-stricken daughter after refusing recommended medical testing and treatment. The parents criticize the recommendations as excessive and dangerous.
A Utah couple has filed a lawsuit against their son's physicians, state prosecutors, and child welfare officials after the state threatened to assume custody of their son because they refused to force him to undergo chemotherapy.
A mother who gave birth to twins while living with her former lesbian partner is suing her former partner for child support.
Child support collections in Mississippi have increased by more than $11 million this fiscal year thanks to innovative methods for forcing delinquent parents to pay.
The Missouri Court of Appeals rule that a wife, who contracted genital herpes from her husband, may proceed with her tortuous infection lawsuit.
On Monday, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously to extend current domestic partners laws: all private businesses that provide special marriage benefits or services must now extend such benefits to same-sex couples registered as domestic partners.
The Wisconsin Senate will consider a bill that will enable judges to grant virtual visitations to parents who are unable to see their children on a regular basis.
In Falls City, Nebraska, a 22-year-old man has been charged with sexual assault of a 14-year old girl even though he is legally married to her.
The Roman Catholic Church recently agreed to increase the child support paid to the 12 year old son of a Catholic priest. The Catholic Church said it would provide counseling for the boy as well.
A bill that would grant civil unions the many of the same legal rights married couple enjoy has passed the Oregon Senate and will now be presented to the Oregon House.
As extended deployments in Iraqi drag on, the divorce rate among active duty Army personnel has significantly increased, especially among Army officers.
A Miami judge has ruled that a mother who was convicted of deliberately and repeatedly poisoning her daughter in order to induce severe illness can visit her daughter, who is now 18.
After separating amicably from his wife, Tom Jones was shocked to learn the divorce decree that gave him full custody of his son also stipulated that he could not teach his religion to his son.
A judge in Spokane, Washington vacated a divorce decree on the premises that the woman did not properly disclose her pregnancy to her ex-husband or the state.
A Dallas judge banned a father from having his serious girlfriend spend the night while in custody of his nine-year-old son.
When deciding child custody cases, most U.S. states require the disclosure and consideration of any history of domestic violence. However, a recent study found that courts are frequently unaware when any such history does exist.
A Virginia woman has been held on child neglect charges for failing to take her 13 year old daughter to the doctor. Her daughter contracted a life-threatening illness after attempting to pierce her own belly button.
A lesbian couple embroiled in a child custody battle will have their case heard before the Vermont Supreme Court this fall. Legal experts predict this case will eventually be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The family court system in Jefferson County, Kentucky is being hailed as efficient and forward-thinking. Its unique organization enables judges to tackle a wide variety of family issues with inventive solutions.
The California Supreme Court ruled that gay and lesbian couples who bear and raise a child together have the same parental rights and responsibilities as heterosexual parents.
After serving 15 months in Iraq, a National Guardsman returned home from his deployment to find he no longer had shared custody of his 10-year-old son.
Family courts in four states have ruled that the court has no authorization to compel reluctant parents to exercise their visitation rights.
Illinois governor signs adoption legislation that eliminates profiteering and establishes a bill of rights for biological and adoptive parents.
A mother has petitioned the Utah Supreme Court to revoke the visitation rights of her former lesbian lover. The decision could have far reaching consequences for all adults caring for a child who is not legally theirs.
The Model Parenting Plan recently released by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers is designed to assist divorcing parents in resolving the parenting issues that frequently cause disputes in court.
A Delaware appeals court ruled that alimony and child support can be based on potential earning capacity instead of current wages only when it has been definatively proven the person lost his or her job because of substance abuse.
After his girlfriend conceived two children through in-vitro fertilization, a married man tried to avoid paying child support by claiming he was not the legal father. The Washington Supreme Court unanimously ruled the man must pay.
With help from the Fathers Collaborative, a Pittsburgh father and his estranged wife now share custody of the son he has rarely seen over the past year.
For the first time in more than 20 years, Minnesota lawmakers voted to amend the state's child support system. Both parents' income will now be taken into consideration when determining appropriate child support payments.
A recent ruling by the Connecticut Supreme Court amended a divorce decree to include assets that one spouse acquired after the decree had been issued. Legal experts fear this may prolong divorce litigation by indefinitely extending the period for post-judgment challenges.
Accusations of favoritism and corruption directed at the Marin Supreme Court are resurfacing after five years. Child advocates claim the cronyism exhibited by judges has forced many children to live with abusive parents.
Connecticut's new civil union law took effect Saturday, October 1. In addition to legal recognition of their union, this new law gives same-sex couples the same legal rights as heterosexual couples.
The trail has begun for a Utah couple that was charged with child-abuse/homicide after their four year old daughter died from drinking an excessive amount of water. The parents claim they were simply punishing their child with a controversial therapy.
A Pennsylvania woman who is eight and a half months pregnant may lose custody of her unborn son immediately after the birth. Child welfare services say they are protecting the unborn child from his father, who is a convicted sex offender.
Military officials report that international child abductions involving U.S. military personnel living overseas and their foreign spouses are becoming a widespread problem as global communication improves and overseas travel increases.
A New York teenager who recently turned 18 years old is suing her parents for child support even though she no longer resides in her parents' home.
After fighting one of the most expensive custody battles in the history of Connecticut's family court, Nicholas Perricone, best-selling author and cosmetic industry giant, was finally awarded sole custody of his seven year old daughter.
After running an newspaper add that named parents who are wanted for delinquent child support payments, the Jefferson County, Kentucky attorney's office has located hundred of missing parents and recovered thousands of dollars in late child support.
Signature gatherers for a petition supporting a ballot initiative that would reverse the same sex marriage law in Massachusetts have been accused of duping voters into signing a petition.
Minnesota is launching an experimental program that will hopefully increase the number of foster children who are adopted by continuing to make adequate financial aid available to foster parents after the adoption is finalized.
The 5th District Court of Appeals in Daytona Beach, Florida will decide if a child's bond to his or her caretakers or biological ties to relatives should determine who has priority in custody and adoption matters.
California's ever-looming court battle continues as several groups filed briefs this week in support of same-sex marriages. However, many conservative coalitions hope the existing state law banning these unions remains in effect.
Standards that provide children with quality foster care and health services have been neglected by all 50 states, requiring another round of reviews by the Department of Health and Human Services.
The 33rd anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision landed at a time when the judgment is once again being challenged. Judge Samuel Alito may be replacing retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, tipping the Supreme Court to a substantial conservative voice.
Two federal appeals courts on opposite sides of the country recently ruled the 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act unconstitutional, saying it lacks an exception for instances where the mother's health is at risk.
Coloradans for Marriage, a Denver-based coalition, recently kicked off a drive for an amendment to the state constitution, which would ban same-sex marriages.
A new no-fault divorce proposal in New York makes it possible for a spouse to get a quick, inexpensive divorce without having to prove serious misconduct by the other partner.
The federal child-support enforcement program, once hailed as a success story for government social services, took a hard hit from budget changes that become effective in October 2007.
A Caseyville, Ill., woman has been accused of pocketing more than $4,000 in an adoption scam involving two placement agencies and another woman who was led to believe she would be the baby's adoptive parent.
Fear of financial repercussions might be incentive for men to stay in relationships that they might otherwise abandon.
A Denver child custody case could have broad implications for similar guardianship disputes.
Parents who pay child support would get financial credit for time spent with their children, as put forth in a bill that recently passed the New Hampshire House.
NFL pro bowl veteran Rickey Jackson holds the No. 2 spot on Louisiana's Department of Social Services' "Most Wanted" list for failure to make court-ordered child support payments.
The New York-based National Center for Men announced that it will file a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Detroit on behalf of a man who wants the legal right to opt out of financially supporting an unplanned child.
Awarded custody of the triplets she delivered for another couple in 2003, a Pennsylvania woman must give back her surrogate's fee, as well as the child support payments from the biological father.
Seeking $12,000 in civil penalties, 36-year-old John Claussen is suing a popular online matchmaking service that refused to find him a suitable mate because he is technically still married.
Randy Johnson, who earns $16 million annually in major league baseball, filed a motion in Washington's Island County Superior Court for return of 95 months' worth of day care payments for his illegitimate daughter.
A Maryland judge ended a 4-year-old cohabitation ban that forced Karl Ulf Hedberg, a gay divorced father, to choose between custody of his son and cohabitation with his same-sex partner.
Hoping to get enough signatures to put their initiative on the November general election ballot, the North Dakota Shared Parenting Initiative (NDSPI) suggests that joint physical custody, or shared parenting, is a better option for the children of broken homes.
The lawsuit, brought on behalf of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and two San Francisco Catholic citizens, is in reaction to a gay-sympathetic resolution that the city's board of supervisors unanimously passed on March 21.
An unusual child custody case involves a Marine who hopes to regain custody of the son he lost to his estranged wife while on active duty.
Former Pro Bowl receiver Andre Rison, who claimed he didn't have the funds to provide child support to his ex-wife in Michigan, has lost his entire NFL pension to help pay down the debt.
Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius is expected to sign a bill that says those owing more than $500 in child support would have their licenses restricted until the debt is paid.
According to HB221, men who learn they are not the biological father of the children for whom they pay support would be able to petition a judge to relieve them of future child support obligations.
A Florida judge ruled that a child who was wanted by his adopted parents as well as both birth parents should permanently live with his biological father in Maine.
The 1,200 pages of documents include allegations by billionaire Ronald W. Burkle's daughter about his conduct toward his former wife.
A New York State Family Court judge ordered the grandchildren of fugitive Ralph “Bucky" Philips to be returned to their mother, Patricia Wright.
Kim Basinger has been ordered to appear in court after allegedly disobeying a judge’s orders concerning ex-husband Alec Baldwin’s visitation time with their daughter.
Former "it" couple Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey have decided to divide the assets from their marriage after Lachey reportedly agreed to less than his share to avoid a contentious court battle.
The federal government has awarded roughly $11.6 million to 21 states that have increased the number of children adopted from foster care.
Former St. Louis University basketball star Anthony Bonner avoided facing jail time through a deal in which the former NBA forward and new American Basketball Association coach will pay more than $150,000 in back child support.
The North Carolina-based SafeGuard Guaranty Corporation announced plans to offer divorce insurance internationally sometime in early 2007.
Only three days after Delaware launched its new Most Wanted Child Support Evaders poster campaign, Devin L. Wright Sr., one of the state’s top ten offenders, was arrested.
Britney Spears filed for divorce from former backup dancer Kevin Federline Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Texas State Republican Bill Zedler introduced a bill calling for existing marriages in the state to be converted to “covenant marriages.” If successful, covenant marriages, which recognize marriages as a social and moral relationship rather than just a legal one, would make it much more difficult for couples to divorce.
The New Jersey State Assembly passed a bill Monday that would make it easier for couples to become divorced. The bill would allow couples to dissolve their marriages, citing “irreconcilable differences,” after six months. This no-fault divorce bill passed 61 votes to just 15.
Ohio authorities, in an effort to crack down on parents who owe child support, rounded up 82 people last week. The parents, one owing more than $46,000 and three others owing more than $40,000, collectively owe nearly $1.5 million in back child support to 136 children. The patents have all have avoided court dates.
A Texas woman hung her four children and herself in a closet of their mobile home on May 29 in an apparent murder-suicide. Only an eight-month-old infant survived.
A Memphis, Tennessee couple has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a Tennessee Supreme Court order that they relinquish custody of the eight-year-old Chinese girl they raised from infancy.
A two-year-old girl in Houston, Texas died May 28 after suffering extensive burns to her lower body. The girl’s mother said that a campfire caused the burns, but later said they resulted from scalding bathwater.
A woman imprisoned for the statutory rape of a 15-year-old boy and later helping him flee the state has had her request to remove their 15-month-old son from the care of his foster parents denied.
The Washington State Supreme Court heard arguments from attorneys for an Olympia woman that the state has a duty to provide government-subsidized legal counsel to represent her in her divorce case.
A LaPorte, Minnesota couple is posting handmade signs throughout Minnesota and Iowa in an attempt to find a child to adopt.
A Virginia paternity law went into effect July 1 that changes the process by which a biological father’s parental rights are terminated in adoption proceedings.
Convicted murderer Vincent Brothers must pay child support for his remaining daughter while he is in prison, according to an order issued by the Court of Appeals in Fresno last week.
Malawi’s Child Welfare Services delayed finalizing Madonna’s October 2006 adoption of David, a Malawian orphan. Agency director Penston Kilembe cited financial and logistical limitations as causing the delay.
Pop singer Britney Spears received a court order on September 17 requiring her to undergo weekly drug and alcohol screening and attend parenting classes in order to maintain custody of her children with ex-husband Kevin Federline.
A Florida custody battle between the father of a 5-year-old girl and her foster parents is raising issues as to whether a parent's or a child’s rights should take precedence in child custody cases.
Late last month, Houston’s Child Protective Services won a court case over the custody of a Chinese-American boy. The jury in the case ruled that the child should remain with his Caucasian foster parents, causing Houston's Asian community to join together in support of the boy's biological family.
In Ohio, a bill that would increase foster parent training while limiting public access to foster parents’ records may pass as early as Tuesday. The bill is expected to improve foster families and protect foster children.
ONTRAC, or Oglala Nation Tiospaye Resource and Advocacy Center, is to open a center in Rapid City in order to improve services to children, tribal notification procedures, and rapport with state agencies.
A lesbian couple who were married in Canada are headed for divorce in New York in what appears to be the state's first ever same-sex divorce and child custody case.
The Utah Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a man cannot claim parental rights over his biological child because another man has been named the child's legal father.
A man from Central Florida is facing up to five years in prison for failing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in child support.