| International Adoption - Overview |
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| The process of adopting a child from a foreign country is far more complicated than adopting a child who is a United States citizen. Prospective parents who wish to adopt a foreign child must comply with the laws of the child's home country, the laws of the United States, and the laws of the prospective parents' state of residence. Due to the legal complications inherent in international adoptions, persons who wish to adopt a foreign child should consult an experienced attorney or an adoption agency that specializes in international adoptions. More... |
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| Enforcement of Alimony or Spousal Support Orders |
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| Alimony and spousal support are terms that are used interchangeably to refer to an obligation of one spouse to provide a financial contribution to the other spouse's cost of living and maintenance. The person who receives support is called the recipient spouse. The person who pays support to a recipient is called the obligor spouse. In some states, the term spousal maintenance is also used. In no instance, do the terms involve a division of property.
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| Fraudulent Inducement to Marry and Negligent Misrepresentation |
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| A spouse may file an action against the defendant spouse alleging that based upon fraud or deceit she entered the marriage in reliance upon the defendant's false representations, which were made in order to induce the plaintiff to marry the defendant. More... |
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| Tax Considerations Relating to Child Support |
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| For federal income tax purposes, payments of child support are not tax-deductible by the parent who makes the payments but child support is tax-free to the recipient. In order to qualify as child support, the amounts an ex-spouse receives must be designated as child support in the divorce or separation agreement. None of a payment that is lumped together as either family support or alimony is considered child support for tax purposes. In addition, family support or alimony is taxable to the recipient. More... |
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| Exclusive Jurisdiction of Original State Under UIFSA |
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| Under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), there is only one controlling support order even when multiple states are involved in enforcing it. Once a support order is established, the issuing state has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify that order. The issuing state retains exclusive jurisdiction to modify, upon proper petition, so long as one of the individual parties or the child continue to reside in that state. Modification jurisdiction may be sought in child support cases only when all individual parties and the child have left the issuing state or when the parties have agreed in writing for another state to exercise jurisdiction. More... |
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