We’ve written about the process of terminating a parent’s custodial rights to their child an different cases presenting unique and unusual circumstances
Continue Reading BEST INTERESTS OF CHILDREN OUTWEIGH PARENTS EFFORTS AT REUNIFICATION
Leslie Spoltore, one of our partners in our Wilmington office, posted President Barack Obama’s proclamation making November National Adoption Month. Family law is an area which often deals with
Continue Reading NOVEMBER IS NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH
One of the most difficult concepts for lay persons to understand in the law is the rule stating that only relevant evidence is admissible in judicial proceedings. The concept would
Continue Reading A PAGE TURNER OPINION FROM MONTGOMERY COUNTY REMINDS US OF WHAT IS AND ISN’T RELEVANT IN A CUSTODY CASE
Periodically I am asked questions about name changes for children or whether a mother is obligated to use the biological father’s last name for the child (answer: she’s not). A
Continue Reading WHAT’S IN A NAME? MORE THAN YOU THINK
A South Carolina attorney was recently disciplined for failing to have an active email address.
Despite characterizing herself as “retired” and not having a client in thirty years, the
Continue Reading NO EMAIL – IS YOUR LAWYER OLD SCHOOL OR IRRESPONSIBLE
My colleague, Aaron Weems, blogged in the beginning of May about the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case of Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl. The Supreme Court issued
In this most recent U.S. Supreme Court term, the Court has heard two cases involving the domestic relations of a state. In addition to the arguments on same sex
Continue Reading Native American Adoption Decision Pending from U.S. Supreme Court
I am currently in the process of finalizing an adoption for a grandmother and her grandson. The grandmother initially came to me in 2009, but she unfortunately suffered a stroke
One of the more nettlesome public policy questions courts are forced to address is when and under what circumstances are the rights of a child’s parent to be terminated. The right to procreate and to enjoy the comfort of one’s off spring has long been considered fundamental as a matter of constitutional law. But how is this right meaningful in a world where a parent has been or will be incarcerated for a substantial portion of the child’s minority? This is the question a unanimous Supreme Court sought to answer In Re: Adoption of S.P. Continue Reading PENNSYLVANIA DRAWS A LINE WHERE INCARCERATION MEETS TERMINATION
A recent article in USA Today by Sharon Jayson highlights some of the changes in how Americans are adopting children. Referring to work by Mr. Adam Pertman, author of Adoption