| Self-emancipation of Minors |
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| A minor may obtain a court order declaring him or her to be self-emancipated. A self-emancipated minor has most of the legal rights and duties of an adult. The parents of a self-emancipated minor have no further duty to support the minor.
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| An Overview of Voluntary Sterilization |
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| There are various different methods of birth control available in the United States. One such method of birth control is voluntary sterilization. The process of sterilization is intended to be permanent in nature. In some instances sterilization may be reversed however reversal is not guaranteed once the sterilization process is completed. Sterilization may involve surgery and a hospital stay or may involve outpatient services. More... |
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| Exclusive Jurisdiction of Original State Under UIFSA |
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| Under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), there is only one controlling support order even when multiple states are involved in enforcing it. Once a support order is established, the issuing state has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify that order. The issuing state retains exclusive jurisdiction to modify, upon proper petition, so long as one of the individual parties or the child continue to reside in that state. Modification jurisdiction may be sought in child support cases only when all individual parties and the child have left the issuing state or when the parties have agreed in writing for another state to exercise jurisdiction. More... |
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| International Adoption - Advance Processing |
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| The United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recommends that all prospective parents file an application for "Advance Processing" before they identify a foreign child to adopt. Advance Processing is a procedure whereby the USCIS pre-approves the prospective parents' application to adopt a child. More... |
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| Mortgage Issues and Divorce |
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| If a divorce decree awards one party the marital home, that party is typically required to pay the mortgage, unless other stipulations were made during the divorce proceedings. Most often the mortgage is a joint mortgage and therefore constitutes a joint debt. However, if one party that is awarded possession of the marital home and is ordered to pay the mortgage, that party theoretically becomes responsible for the entire mortgage. More... |
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