Today, we are taking a look at the Indian[1] Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a federal law managed by the US Bureau of Indian Affairs. The ICWA was passed in 1978 to counteract the unfair treatment of Indigenous children in state and foster care. The US has a nasty history of…
Plaintiff filed a complaint and motion for domestic violence protective order (hereinafter “DVPO”) on March 12, 2021. When using form AOC-CV-303, Plaintiff described no instances where Defendant either threatened use or actually used a firearm in the context of domestic violence. However, Plaintiff did describe instances of harassment. Additionally, when…
As many families gear up for Halloween with their children, religious concerns about the holiday have led to an increase in “Fall Festivals” or “Trunk or Treats” to provide more religious families with an alternative to a traditional celebration full of ghosts and ghouls. During this time of year, religious…
KEENAN V. KEENAN, 2022-NCCOA-554. Facts: Plaintiff and Defendant were divorced. In August of 2022, Plaintiff alleged that Defendant came to her home to cut some grass despite Plaintiff telling Defendant not to do so. Defendant then refused to leave the home when Plaintiff asked several times. It should be noted…
The divorce struggle between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt continues, despite Angelina filing for divorce approximately six years ago. It has currently come to light that major disputes abound that surround Chateau Miraval. Pitt and Jolie officially bought Chateau Miraval in France in 2012. The couple had been leasing…
In Part 1, we talked about how adult adoptees can find out information about their adoptions and birth families. However, for some adoptees, particularly older adoptees, adoption agencies may no longer have detailed records – or any records at all – of their birth families, making it harder to get…
Many adopted children grow up wondering, “Where did I come from?” Until the last 20 years or so, the only way to answer that question was to ask a court to unseal your adoption records, which rarely worked. However, as society has gained a greater understanding of the possible psychological…
Lawrence and Schanda Handley married in 2006. At the time, Lawrence was a self-made millionaire living in Louisiana. He made his millions through his endeavors in the technology industry and by launching several supplement companies. Despite his monumental success – or perhaps in conjunction with it – Lawrence used and…
Divorce is difficult, and even more so with children involved. It can be especially difficult when the children have unique needs. The stresses of divorce can have an increased impact on these children, and their special needs can have a major impact on custody and child support. As a parent,…
How often have you heard someone claim their grandmother was Native American? What about Italian? More people around the world claim to be Irish than there are people in all of Ireland! The lure of knowing where you come from has led to an explosion in commercial testing services like…