Family Law
As a Boise Divorce Attorney I often deal with heart breaking issues involved in divorce, custody and domestic violence. However, as a family law lawyer, I often get to experience the joy of things like adoption. This adds balance and contrast to my family law practice.
Adoption
As I noted above adoption is usually a joyful time for a family adopting a child, but what happens when something happens to that joy? Adoption can occur for a variety of reasons. We tend to think of unwed mothers and fathers giving their children up for adoption because they are too young to raise the child and need to focus on their futures. While this is a very common situation, there are many many others as well. A child who has been placed in foster care is a candidate for adoption, as is a child from a foreign country or a grandchild who has lost their parents to a tragedy and the list goes on. The thing that all adoption has in common is that the adoptive parent becomes the child's actual parent and they have all the rights and obligations associated with being a parent.
Can You Un-Adopt a Child?
After the situation in the news this past year where a woman adopted a foreign born child and tried to return it to its country of origin because it had attachment disorder, I received several calls from individuals in similar situations. They all wanted to know if you could, "return" a child. The answer is simply no and this is because once you adopt a child you become the child's parent.
There are many reasons why the joy of adoption can fade. This is one reason why the Idaho adoption statute is the way it is. It requires a home study before a child can be placed with an unrelated individual. The law recognizes the need to make certain the new home is a safe and stable place, but it also recognizes that the individuals themselves need to be stable. Part of the home study evaluates the parents-to-be. This is important because what happens when the child has something like attachment disorder or some other disorder that makes parenting beyond difficult?
Thankfully, most adoptions don't turn out "bad" and there isn't the desire to "return" the child. Even though these situations can occur, I am still thankful to share in the joy of the adoption process with those people who are looking forward to being new parents.
If you have an adoption question or other family law issue that you would like to discuss with a Boise Family Law Attorney, give us a call (208) 472-2384 to talk to one of our attorneys.
Showing posts with label Boise Family Law Lawyer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boise Family Law Lawyer. Show all posts
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Boise Divorce Attorneys - Family Law Lawyers - Custodian, Guardian, Granparent's Rights
Who is a Child's Custodian?
Have you ever gone to fill out a form for a child and read "'Child's Parent or Guardian" and wondered who would qualify as the child's guardian? Being the custodian of a child is not the same as being a child's guardian, but it can, and often is, the first step to being appointed a guardian.
Idaho De Facto Custodian Act
Idaho law basically says that if you are related to a child (by three degrees of kinship) and have cared for that child for a certain period of time, both financially and physically, without parental consent or demonstrated participation of the parent, you are in fact the custodian of the child. The time period differs depending upon the age of the child. If the child is under 3 years of age and you have cared for them for 6 months, you are the de facto custodian. If the child is 3 or older then that time is extended to 1 year of care.
What is "Demonstrated Lack of Participation"
As a Boise Family Law Lawyer I hear this question a lot. It usually comes in the context of a grandparent wanting to seek custody or guardianship of their grandchild. It means a parent fails or refuses to provide and care for their child as required by law. An extreme example, but sadly one I hear often as a Boise Divorce Attorney, is a parent on meth. People on meth cannot care for themselves, let alone children. They often will be high for days and not even take care of themselves. Another sad example is when a parent decides they no longer want to care for a child. This demonstrated lack of participation is grounds for allowing someone who actually cares for the child to be in the position of legally providing for them.
Ramifications of De Facto Custodian
Being a De Facto Custodian provides the child's caregiver with the ability to enroll a child in school, take them to the doctor and gives them grounds for pursuing a guardianship of the child. The Boise School System will not allow a child to be enrolled just by anyone. Likewise, a pediatrician's office will not allow just anyone to bring a child in and will not allow information to be given to someone who has not been designated by the parent to receive the information. If you are a custodian, you are one step closer to being able to stand in the place of the parent.
Guardianship is one ramification of being the custodian of a child. If you can show you are the de facto custodian and that the parent has no, or only negative involvement, in the child's life, the court is very likely to find in favor of you as the guardian.
What's the Difference Between Custodian and Grandparent's Rights?
Grandparent's rights refers to a factor of stability for children. Allowing a grandparent's the right to visit with their child has been a major point of contention. If, however, you are a grandparent that has had regular and frequent contact with your grandchild and have been a part of that child's whole life, a court may consider the possibility of granting you visitation pursuant to divorce or other custody arrangement. A custodian, however, refers to when the child has been left in your care, whether it was intentionally or negligently.
If you are in the care of a child and need to pursue a guardianship, or adoption and want to speak with a Boise Family Law Attorney, please give us a call, (208) 472-2384 and see what we can do for you.
Have you ever gone to fill out a form for a child and read "'Child's Parent or Guardian" and wondered who would qualify as the child's guardian? Being the custodian of a child is not the same as being a child's guardian, but it can, and often is, the first step to being appointed a guardian.
Idaho De Facto Custodian Act
Idaho law basically says that if you are related to a child (by three degrees of kinship) and have cared for that child for a certain period of time, both financially and physically, without parental consent or demonstrated participation of the parent, you are in fact the custodian of the child. The time period differs depending upon the age of the child. If the child is under 3 years of age and you have cared for them for 6 months, you are the de facto custodian. If the child is 3 or older then that time is extended to 1 year of care.
What is "Demonstrated Lack of Participation"
As a Boise Family Law Lawyer I hear this question a lot. It usually comes in the context of a grandparent wanting to seek custody or guardianship of their grandchild. It means a parent fails or refuses to provide and care for their child as required by law. An extreme example, but sadly one I hear often as a Boise Divorce Attorney, is a parent on meth. People on meth cannot care for themselves, let alone children. They often will be high for days and not even take care of themselves. Another sad example is when a parent decides they no longer want to care for a child. This demonstrated lack of participation is grounds for allowing someone who actually cares for the child to be in the position of legally providing for them.
Ramifications of De Facto Custodian
Being a De Facto Custodian provides the child's caregiver with the ability to enroll a child in school, take them to the doctor and gives them grounds for pursuing a guardianship of the child. The Boise School System will not allow a child to be enrolled just by anyone. Likewise, a pediatrician's office will not allow just anyone to bring a child in and will not allow information to be given to someone who has not been designated by the parent to receive the information. If you are a custodian, you are one step closer to being able to stand in the place of the parent.
Guardianship is one ramification of being the custodian of a child. If you can show you are the de facto custodian and that the parent has no, or only negative involvement, in the child's life, the court is very likely to find in favor of you as the guardian.
What's the Difference Between Custodian and Grandparent's Rights?
Grandparent's rights refers to a factor of stability for children. Allowing a grandparent's the right to visit with their child has been a major point of contention. If, however, you are a grandparent that has had regular and frequent contact with your grandchild and have been a part of that child's whole life, a court may consider the possibility of granting you visitation pursuant to divorce or other custody arrangement. A custodian, however, refers to when the child has been left in your care, whether it was intentionally or negligently.
If you are in the care of a child and need to pursue a guardianship, or adoption and want to speak with a Boise Family Law Attorney, please give us a call, (208) 472-2384 and see what we can do for you.
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