Of all issues facing partners following dissolution of their marriage, by far the most emotional, stressful and controversial one is that which addresses the future care and custody of children born of the marriage. All states require natural or adoptive parents to support their children until the children reach the age of majority (with some exceptions) or go on active military duty. All states c…
Upon dissolution of a marriage, states require that the courts address child custody as part of the divorce judgment. This involves issues of both legal and physical custody, sole or joint. Legal custody involves the right to make major decisions affecting the child, whereas physical custody addresses the day-to-day care and living arrangements for the child. Many courts will rule separately on le…
The correlative rights of noncustodial parents are those of visitation. Visitation rights may also be judicially granted to others affected by the custody award, such as grandparents, relatives, siblings, and persons having a significant interest in the welfare of the child, such as a non-biological, foster or adoptive parent. This is true even where the parents object to the visitation as interfe…
Inextricably bound to the states' powers to adjudicate custody and visitation rights are the states' powers to impose and order the payment of financial support to the custodial parent. While both parents are responsible for their children, the custodial parent generally meets that obligation through the act of custody. The noncustodial parent meets that obligation by paying for the child's care. …
Various state and federal laws protect rights of visitation, custody and support secured by court order. Federal laws include the Family Support Act of 1988, which emphasized enforcement of child support orders against delinquent parents. The act mandated that all new or modified support orders contain automatic wage attachment provisions, along with automatic tracking and monitoring systems for p…
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