From Temporary Housing to Forever Home Becoming an adoptive parent is a rewarding experience for the parents and child alike. By adopting through foster care, you can help a child regain a sense of stability and permanence while providing them with the caring, attentive family that they’ve been lacking. What Is Foster Care? When a family fosters a child, they provide temporary care while a social ...
In many adoption cases, a child is adopted because the adoptive parents are determined as better caregivers than the birth parents. For a child to enter the adoption process, the birth parents must consent to their child being adopted and relinquish their parental rights. Through doing this, the birth parents acknowledge that they cannot care for the child in full capacity and want a more suitable ...
Expanding your family through adoption is a wonderful way to not only brighten your life but brighten the life of a child in need of a home. If this Valentine’s Day is the first you will share with your adopted child, you may be looking to make it particularly special. Here are a few ways to create a holiday your child won’t soon forget! 1.Create New Traditions If your family has certain holiday ...
Is it Difficult to Get an Annulment in Iowa? Annulments are not as commonplace as you’d think, but that’s not because they are difficult to obtain as much as because they are specific in their usage. For those who qualify for an annulment, the process is not complicated. Once you’ve completed the petition and it’s verified that it meets the requirements and grounds for an annulment, a judge can ...
When terminating a marriage, couples have two options: Divorce and annulment . Although the outcome of both of these legal motions is the uncoupling of a married pair, they are each appropriate in different situations and involve different processes. The main difference between annulment and divorce is that annulment acknowledges that the marriage was never valid, and must be terminated on the ...
Iowa law treats dogs as personal property often leaving divorce litigants without judicial remedy November 5th, 2013 One of the most frequent inquries we receive has to do with who gets to keep the dog(s) or pet(s) in an Iowa divorce. While you may treat your dogs as children, the Iowa courts treat them as personal property. When faced with the issue the Iowa Court of Appeals stated, "[a] dog is ...
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian to enter prenuptial agreement October 31st, 2013 Kanye West once so elegantly stated , "If you ain't no punk, holla we want prenup." Well, Kanye, almost ten years later you get the chance to show the world you "ain't no punk." A prenuptial agreement is a legal contract that the husband and wife enter into before they get married that determines how much each party ...
Iowa Court of Appeals Issues New Divorce Rulings August 21st, 2013 Iowa Court of Appeals Releases August 7, 2013 Rulings In Re the Marriage of Mulder The parties had two children, ages thirteen and fifteen. In addition they had considerable equity in their marital home. The court awarded the marital home to the mother, and ordered that she provide half of the net equity in the property to the ...
The Covid vaccine is not as new as it was, but it’s reintroduced an old argument for many co-parents. Vaccinations aren’t yet mandatory for children, but many parents are hoping these medical therapies will be the solution to get their children’s school lives back to normal. Vaccination decisions have been a hot topic in our national conversation, but for many parents, it’s becoming an explosive ...
Co-parenting post-divorce is a tricky task. Parenting a child who splits his or her time between households can leave each parent feeling inadequate. Divorced couples have a difficult time co-parenting because the relationship with their ex isn’t the best foundation for creating a lasting agreement. Even if there is an agreed-upon parenting plan, your ex could be sabotaging your plan after an ...
Adjusting Custody to Reflect the Changes in Your Circumstances The coronavirus has turned many lives upside down, leaving several parents jobless, struggling to pay rent, and unsure of when their lives will stabilize. Even those still fortunate enough to be employed face complications in circumstance, as they could be an essential worker who faces frequent risk of infection. Being responsible for ...
If you are no longer with your child’s parent and you are the primary caregiver, you should also be receiving child support from your ex. Unfortunately, if your former spouse fails to comply with the court order, this can put you in a financial predicament. Before you take the matter to court, reach out to your former spouse to discuss the matter. You may be able to negotiate a temporary ...
In the United States, approximately half of all first marriages end in divorce. Sounds like a grim statistic until you learn that second and subsequent marriages have an even higher risk of divorce. But why is it that second marriages are more doomed to failure than first marriages? We don’t know all of the “reasons” based on research, however, we are confident that many couples in blended ...
In the 21st Century, it is not unusual for unmarried parents to have children. Perhaps these parents are divorced or have no intention of marrying because they are children of divorce. The reasons for having children out of wedlock vary and are very personal, but regardless of the reasons for having children outside of the institution of marriage, it’s frequency has raised issues in the family ...
Second and any subsequent marriages can sometimes bring special issues that aren’t relevant to first marriages. Merging two independent families with children or with family assets, it can make a prenup non-negotiable. Children from a previous marriage, regardless of age, demand legal protections if any assets are planned to be passed to them upon the death of their biological parent. It should be ...
The Covid vaccine is not as new as it was, but it’s reintroduced an old argument for many co-parents. Vaccinations aren’t yet mandatory for children, but many parents are hoping these medical therapies will be the solution to get their children’s school lives back to normal. Vaccination decisions have been a hot topic in our national conversation, but for many parents, it’s becoming an explosive ...
Custody agreements, property division, and the allocation of debts and assets are stressful periods of any divorce proceeding. Working with your attorney to be prepared is a must. Iowa, unlike other states, practices an equitable property division policy. This means that marital property will not be divided 50/50, but in a fair way that considers all parties. All property acquired during the ...
Securing Your Place in Your Grandchild’s Life Grandparents are some of many adults that children look up to for wisdom, love, and guidance as they grow. While their place is sometimes protected by a grandchild’s parents, drastic life changes – such as separation, divorce , or death of the parents – could threaten a grandparent’s place in their grandchild’s life. Luckily, should this ever happen, ...
Guardianship is a difficult but necessary decision for parents to make. Life’s unpredictability could drastically change a family overnight. Be prepared for such an emergency by ensuring your children will be cared for by people you trust in the event that something happens to you. Consider these points when deciding who to appoint. Your Relationship with the Prospective Guardian Guardians are ...
If you are a separated or divorced parent, you are likely already acutely familiar with the challenges of co-parenting with your ex. However, now that we are in the middle of a pandemic, raising children with your former spouse may be considerably more difficult and your children are likely picking up on the increased tension and anxiety in your family. Although everyone’s schedules may have ...
In the state of Iowa, when a married couple has a child, the husband is automatically presumed to be the father. His name will go on the birth certificate and no further action is needed from the couple. Unfortunately, there are no automatic protections in place for the fathers of a children born out of wedlock. Unwed partners need to take additional steps to ensure the father has legal rights to ...
In the 21st Century, it is not unusual for unmarried parents to have children. Perhaps these parents are divorced or have no intention of marrying because they are children of divorce. The reasons for having children out of wedlock vary and are very personal, but regardless of the reasons for having children outside of the institution of marriage, it’s frequency has raised issues in the family ...
50 50 Parenting Plan Determining child custody is one of the most contentious aspects of the divorce process. When parents can’t establish a parenting plan on their own, they can turn to the court for guidance. However, Iowa courts tend to pick one parent to be the primary custodian, which isn’t always in the child’s best interest. The purpose of a comprehensive parenting plan is to guarantee that ...
With the popularity of reality shows like 90 Day Fiancé, more and more Americans have friends and family who have international marriages. Foreign marriages also apply to your destination marriages. Regardless of why you happened to be married outside the country, your marriage is valid in two places. According to Iowa code 595.20 : A marriage that is solemnized in any other state, territory, ...
As of 2001, the United States government requires both parent’s signatures on their child’s passport applications. This rule applies to new passports for children under the age of 14; before this rule, it was possible for only one parent to complete a passport application for their child. If you are a single parent, it is still possible for you to obtain a passport for your child. However, the ...
In the state of Iowa, when a married couple has a child, the husband is automatically presumed to be the father. His name will go on the birth certificate and no further action is needed from the couple. Unfortunately, there are no automatic protections in place for the fathers of a children born out of wedlock. Unwed partners need to take additional steps to ensure the father has legal rights to ...
In the 21st Century, it is not unusual for unmarried parents to have children. Perhaps these parents are divorced or have no intention of marrying because they are children of divorce. The reasons for having children out of wedlock vary and are very personal, but regardless of the reasons for having children outside of the institution of marriage, it’s frequency has raised issues in the family ...
Second and any subsequent marriages can sometimes bring special issues that aren’t relevant to first marriages. Merging two independent families with children or with family assets, it can make a prenup non-negotiable. Children from a previous marriage, regardless of age, demand legal protections if any assets are planned to be passed to them upon the death of their biological parent. It should be ...
There was a time when people balked at the conversation of prenuptial agreements and discussions about what happens in a divorce. Past generations have viewed prenuptial agreements as depressingly unromantic tools of the wealthy that reduce marriage to more of a business relationship than a loving one. Cut to 2021, more and more couples marry later, and they are entering marriages with more assets ...
In Iowa, protective orders are issued to protect victims of violence, stalking, and domestic abuse . Every protective order includes conditions that prevent physical, sexual, and emotional violence. Petitioners and abusers are equally responsible for respecting the boundaries initiated by this court order. It’s a crime in almost every state for an abuser to violate a protective order. Iowa, ...
A divorce means the end of a legal and emotional relationship where you shared many things, including your assets and debts. The financial benefits of sharing resources and bills can throw many divorcing couples into a stressful budgeting tailspin. When one spouse makes more money than the other, the imbalance can leave the other party in need of financial support to maintain the lifestyle they ...
Understanding Your Financial Obligation to Your Ex Iowa typically treats spousal support as a rehabilitative tool for spouses who earn significantly less than their partners. By awarding alimony, courts give these spouses with lower earning potential a chance to stay afloat while getting the education or training necessary to become self-sufficient. The duration of this financial award will vary ...
Our financial circumstances change as the years pass and the spousal support order that was once suitable for you and your former spouse may no longer work. If you need to modify your spousal support order, you can petition the court to have it reduced or increased, depending on the situation. Before you take the matter to court, however, consider discussing it with your former spouse. Hashing out ...
515.200.7571
