| Alimony and Spousal Support |
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| Alimony, spousal support, or maintenance is the payment of support from one party to another in order to keep the receiving party in the lifestyle that they were accustomed to during the course of their marriage. More... |
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| QDROs, Pension and Retirement Plan Division in Divorces |
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| In a divorce, retirement benefits are typically subject to division between the parties. The division usually occurs by way of actual division or asset exchange. After the court has determined the actual division of the retirement benefit, a QDRO is issued. A QDRO is a judgment or order that recognizes the existence of the non-employee's right to receive a portion of the employee's retirement benefits. More... |
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| Adoption Assistance & Child Welfare Act |
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| The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (Act) was passed by Congress in 1980. Lawmakers were concerned that many children were being removed from their homes unnecessarily and that, once they entered foster care, inadequate efforts were made to either reunify them with their biological families or place them with adoptive families. The Act was passed to correct or alleviate problems in the foster care system and to promote permanency rather than multiple foster placements. An additional goal of the Act was to encourage social workers to work toward reunification of the family and to avoid long-term foster care for the children if possible. If the child could not be returned to the family, another plan was to be sought such as adoption, long-term foster care, or some other resolution. More... |
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| Post Decree Modification of Spousal Support |
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| While a divorce case is pending, a court has the power to dissolve the parties' marriage, to resolve issues of child custody and child support, to divide the parties' debts and liabilities and to order the payment of spousal support. The court has the power to take these actions because it has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter. Once a final divorce decree is entered, the case terminates.
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| Overview of a Putative Father |
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| A putative father is an alleged father or a father out of wedlock. The putative father typically claims that he is the biological father of the child even though the mother failed to recognize his identity on the child's birth certificate.
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