Family Legal Answers

My son’s mother reported me for child abuse because when my son went back to her after being with me he had a black eye. He’s just learning to walk and he legit fell onto the edge of the fireplace and caught his eye. Now Child Protective Services (correct name for Calif.) is saying they want to come to my house and interview me but my family is telling me I should not talk to them without a lawyer. I have a security clearance for my job and if anything like a child abuse charge shows up on my record I could be fired. My ex is telling me that until this is ‘cleared up,’ I can’t see my son. Should I talk to the protective services people without a lawyer and what if they do charge me with abuse?

I’m engaged and wondering if I need a prenuptial agreement. I have a 10 year old daughter from a prior relationship. I moved here from Maryland to be with my fiancé and we are getting married in LA. I’m told that California is a community property state and that everything we each own now and anything we purchase together while we are married becomes community property. I’m worried about losing half my assets if we divorce. I want to provide for my daughter and I don’t want the assets I own now to be divided with my fiancé, and my daughter to possibly lose out. Will a prenuptial agreement (does his SEO pick up ‘prenup’) protect my property and can my fiancé and I decide what we do and do not want to include in the community property?

My husband moved out of our house about a year ago and now says he is filing for divorce. We’ve tried to get back together a few times since he left and he’s stayed here at the house with me several times. I read online that we have to be separated for a year before he can get a divorce if I contest it. We’ve had sex as recently as two months ago. I want to contest the divorce because I still think we can work it out. What do I need to do if he serves me with divorce papers and how can I prove that we have not really been truly separated for the one year period?

My ex dropped off a complaint for uncontested divorce at my apartment. We’ve been separated for 6 months and aren’t fighting over anything. Do I have to do anything with this paperwork or respond to it in some way? I don’t contest the divorce but I don’t want him to get something he shouldn’t get in the divorce because I don’t assert my rights. The other issue I have is some of my personal belongings are still at his house. I’ve asked him to bring them back to me or let me come get them several times but he puts me off. Should I request my stuff back in the divorce process? I don’t want him to get a final divorce and then refuse to give me my things.

I would like to adopt my foster child but I’m worried about the medical expenses. He is special needs and requires a lot of physical therapy and counseling. Right now, the state gives me a stipend through the Miami foster care program. The social worker on my case mentioned that Florida offers some post-adoption money for special needs kids, but she says that has to be negotiated and she can’t give me legal advice. Can a lawyer help me get some regular payments after an adoption so I can pay my son’s counseling and medical bills?

Spouse and I are separated and he’s been paying me child support for our three kids since he left. Right now, my kids and I are still on his health insurance policy. But we are moving toward a final divorce and once it’s done, I’ll be cut off from his policy and will need to get my own. Insurance through my work costs a lot and I’m not going to be able to pay for what my kids need and pay for my own insurance. Could a judge require my ex to continue to provide me health insurance after the divorce and if not, can I ask for more child support?

Our mom is 84 years old and has dementia. My two siblings and I think we need to take guardianship of her. She is not able to take care of herself physically anymore and she can’t manage her finances. Her bills are late and her landlord is threatening to evict her. When we mention anything to my mom about helping her or having her move in with one of us, she gets extremely angry. Her neighbors have called Atlanta Adult Protective Services on her a few times when they’ve seen her wandering outside. What do we need to do to get guardianship and what if she keeps refusing to let us help her?

We signed a prenuptial agreement before our wedding and we’ve been married 10 years now. When we signed the prenup, we each wanted to keep the property we had before we married. I’ve recently started a business and my husband and I agree that if we were to divorce, I get to keep the business. He isn’t working in it and isn’t putting any money into it. So now we want to add that clause to the prenup. Can we just amend the prenup ourselves so he doesn’t have an interest in my business or do we need a lawyer to do it?

I have a 15 year old son who is saying he wants to go live with his dad because I’m too hard on him. His dad lets him get away with whatever he wants and I’m concerned my son won’t keep up with his homework or go to his school tutor if he lives with his dad. My ex is saying that if our son does go to live with him, he’s going to sue me for the same amount of child support he’s been paying to me. Can he sue me for custody of my son and child support just because my son doesn’t want to follow the rules at my house?

I just moved here from Texas and my wife stayed there with our kids. We talked about divorcing before I moved and agreed on all our marital issues. There’s nothing left to do but finalize the divorce. I filed here in Chicago and I just got notice from the court that my complaint was kicked back. What do I need to do get the court to accept my uncontested divorce paperwork and get my divorce over with? I did pay the court filing fee when I submitted the case.

My ex has been paying child support regularly but now I might need an increase. Our son has been diagnosed with cancer and will need special medical treatment for at least the next 6 months. I’m discovering that many of his medical bills are not covered by insurance and I’m having to pay them out of pocket. I’ve asked my son’s father to contribute but he says he can’t afford to pay more than he’s been paying and that we should qualify for some financial assistance from the hospital based on our incomes. Applying for grants from the hospital takes time and I need to pay these bills now. Can I ask for a child support increase to have my ex pay his share of our son’s new medical bills?

I think my daughter is being physically abused at daycare, maybe emotionally too. She is developmentally delayed and doesn’t talk. She does have a lot of functioning issues and her behavior can get aggressive at times. She’s coming home from the daycare provider with cuts and bruises and they say she is doing it to herself. She doesn’t hurt herself here at home and I’m concerned that the daycare can’t handle her and may be hitting or restraining her when she acts out. I called the Indiana Department of Child Services hotline and they said they would investigate, but I haven’t heard back. What do I need to go to get the daycare investigated and if they are abusing my daughter, how do I get them charged?

My ex won’t let me see my kids because I’m late on child support. In our divorce decree, I have partial custody of the kids and she’s supposed to drop them off to me on Fridays. Since my work cut my hours back due to Covid, I’m making a lot less and having trouble paying the full child support. I pay what I can but she’s still refusing to bring the kids to me. She has done this before and I want it to stop. The lawyer I had during my divorce told me custody and child support have nothing to do with each other, and that I should get my time with my kids regardless. Is this true and what do I need to do to force her to abide by the custody schedule?

I caught my husband cheating and I want a divorce. I’ve been married for ten years and we own a restaurant together. He keeps threatening that he’ll push me out of the restaurant and run it without me. I need an aggressive lawyer to make sure he doesn’t get any part of the business and I get his name off of it. What do I need to do to get the divorce started and is there any way I can keep him from working at the restaurant while our divorce is pending?

Baltimore City child protective services charged me with abusing my stepson. I smacked him on the arm to get him to stop bothering the dog but it left a bruise and CPS said it was abuse. Apparently I had the right to appeal it but no one told me that and I missed the deadline. Now the charge is showing up on a background check for a new job I applied for. I told the employer what happened but they won’t hire me with this mark on my record. How do I get this child abuse charge off my record for good?

When my husband and I met we both had good careers. I never expected to leave my job so I signed a prenup waiving my right to any alimony. After we got married, we had a son who is disabled. He needs full-time care, so I quit my job to stay home with him. My husband encouraged me to do this, since neither of us wanted our son to be cared for by a stranger. Things with my husband have gotten rough over the last year and I am worried about how I will support myself if we divorce. I know he’d have to pay child support for our son, but since I signed the prenup, I’m not entitled to any alimony. Is there a way for me to challenge the prenup and get it overturned, or at least modified, because it’s no longer fair to me?

A lifelong friend of ours has a teenage daughter who is pregnant. She is willing to let us adopt her baby but says she needs us to pay her expenses during the pregnancy, as well as all the expenses relating to her labor and delivery. We are fine with paying her medical expenses, but we aren’t sure if it’s legal for us to pay for the groceries, car insurance, etc. that she’s asking us to pay. She lives with her boyfriend and we suspect she’ll use some of any money we give her to support him. What are we allowed to pay for and do we need to put any agreement we make with her about expenses and payment in writing?

My wife and I don’t want to be married anymore but we are on good terms. We still live together for financial reasons but we are basically just friends at this point and live our own lives. I went to the courthouse in Baltimore City to file for an uncontested divorce but when I filled out the paperwork I put the same address down for both of us. The court clerk told me that we couldn’t get an uncontested divorce if we were still living together. Is there any way we can get a divorce while we are still living in the same house and are not romantically involved at all?

I was ordered to pay alimony to my ex in our divorce. However, we have a cohabitation clause in our divorce decree and if she lives with someone she’s romantically involved with, I can ask a court to stop my alimony payments or reduce them. I think she’s living with her boyfriend but she’s hiding it to avoid losing the alimony. I’ve driven by his house at night and seen her car, but she still has her own apartment and she’s there sometimes too. What do I need to prove to trigger the cohabitation clause and does Illinois law allow people to hire private investigators to testify in court about cohabitation?

I’m due to get a large inheritance when my dad’s estate settles. I’m engaged and after we get married, I want to use some of that money to buy a house for my husband and I here in Detroit, where we both are from. My family is concerned that if I do that, the inheritance money I put into the house will become marital money and if my husband and I divorce, he’ll get a share of it. Can I use a prenup to protect my inheritance even if I put some of it into a house titled in both my name and my husband’s?

My kids’ mother and I are fighting over custody. She filed a custody complaint in Charlotte family court and I just received a notice that I’m required to go to mediation with her. I have strong evidence that I want to be able to use against her in court and I don’t want her knowing what I have before we go to a custody trial. Do I have to share everything I have on her in mediation and should I have a lawyer present with me?

My ex-girlfriend had a baby 3 months ago. I just received a notice from North Carolina Child Support Services that she is coming after me for child support. The paperwork also says she wants me to pay some of her hospital bills for having the baby. I’m currently unemployed and I am not even sure the child is mine. Can she get child support or medical expenses from me if I’m not working? I also need to know how I go about getting a paternity test. Will she have to pay for it since she’s the one asking for child support?

I’m pregnant and I do not plan on keeping the baby. A woman my mom works with and her husband are interested in adopting and we’d like to handle the adoption privately and without involving the court. I researched NY adoptions online and it seems that no matter what type of adoption you do, you have to go to court at some point. Is there a way around this and can the couple and I just do this on our own? If we do need a lawyer to draft the adoption paperwork, the couple is willing to pay the legal fees for everything.

My wife and I were only married and living together for 2 years. We’ve been separated for several years now but neither of us has done anything to finalize the divorce. We lost touch after she moved out and I have no idea where she is living now. Her family is from India and I suspect she may have gone back to live with them. We have no joint property and didn’t have kids. I think I can seek an uncontested divorce but I’m told I have to give her notice of it in case she disputes something. How do I get the divorce if I don’t know where she is and can’t notify her?

The Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services in Cleveland contacted my boyfriend and me about a child abuse investigation regarding my mom. She runs a daycare out of our house and apparently one of the kids says he was abused by another kid at daycare. They want to talk to my boyfriend and me because we live there. Can we refuse to talk to them? I don’t want to get my mom in any kind of trouble. I told them I wasn’t comfortable talking with them without a lawyer and they said it was ok to have one at the interview if we do agree to answer their questions.

I filed a child custody modification in Cleveland Domestic Relations Court. The case was dismissed because they said I filed in the wrong court. My children’s mom is abusive toward them and I want full custody. I’m willing to get a lawyer now because things are getting worse for my kids with their mom and I don’t want to waste more time filing in the wrong place. I have taken pictures of the marks on my kids when they come back from her house and they are begging me not to make them go back. Where does my case need to be filed and can I get emergency custody based on the abuse?

We want to get an uncontested divorce as quickly as possible because I’m moving overseas for work. I don’t want to have to come back to Oklahoma City for a divorce hearing. We want to file for the divorce together and have my wife handle everything in court. We agree on all of our marital issues except for what to do about my retirement account. I put a lot of money into my retirement before my wife and I got married. I want to keep it but she wants part of it. We are discussing it, but not getting anywhere. Will a court let us file for an uncontested divorce together and deal with the retirement separately? My wife is willing to go into court and tell a judge she’s willing to get a divorce now so I can move.

My ex and I have two sons, age 8 and 10, and we share custody of them. My ex has remarried and now has a stepdaughter. My oldest son says he’s seen his dad do things with the daughter that don’t seem right. What he’s describing to me sounds like sexual abuse. My ex has never hurt my two boys, but I don’t want them around this behavior. My oldest doesn’t want to go over there anymore since he told me. I want to report what my son told me to child protective services but I don’t want my ex to find out that my son shared this information. Can I keep my name and my son’s name confidential if I report it and can I get custody of my boys even if their dad isn’t abusing them directly?

We want to pursue an uncontested divorce because we don’t want to spend a lot of money on legal fees. We’ve agreed that we will sell the house and split the proceeds, and how to divide our personal belongings. We also wrote up a custody agreement for the kids, and the only thing we don’t completely agree on is how much my wife should pay in child support. She runs her own business and makes more money than I do. I went online and saw that there is a form I can download to file for an uncontested divorce but it says we have to have a signed marital settlement agreement. Other than what we wrote about custody of our kids, I’m not sure what else we need to write down. What do we need to do to get that agreement and file for an uncontested divorce here in Philly?

In my divorce the judge awarded me part of my husband’s pension. My lawyer at the time said I needed to have something called a “QDRO” to get my share of the retirement payments. I wasn’t happy with the way the lawyer handled my divorce and no QDRO was ever done. My ex is receiving his full pension every month and I’m not getting any part of it. I’ve researched how to do one myself and they seem very complicated. Every month that passes I’m being cheated out of my fair share of the retirement. I’ve asked my ex to pay me my share directly and he says he won’t until the law requires him to. How do I go about getting a QDRO and my retirement payments?

My stepbrother came to live with me full-time after his dad was found guilty of abusing him. Our mom took the dad’s side and my stepbrother didn’t want to be around either one of them anymore. He’s 14 and I’m 23. My boyfriend and I are doing the best we can to take care of him and support him financially but it’s hard and we could use some help. Is there any way I could formally adopt my stepbrother and get some financial support for him from the state? Or could I take legal guardianship of him and seek child support from my mother and stepdad?

My girlfriend and I are due to be married in a few months and I am thinking about asking her to sign a prenup. I discovered recently that she has a lot of debt – credit cards, a student loan, and back property taxes for a house she owns in Memphis. I’m worried that once we get married, if she doesn’t stay current with her payments the creditors may come after me. Are prenups legal in Tennessee and will a prenup keep me from being responsible for her bills after we get married? I’d also like to know how I find a lawyer near me who has a lot of experience with prenups.

My wife and I want to adopt and we’ve been working with the Department of Family and Protective Services here in Houston. They sent us for foster parent and adoption training with a child placing agency. The agency conducts background checks before adoptions and they did one on me and my wife. I got a DUI about 3 years ago and the social worker handling the criminal background check says I have to wait at least 5 years after my DUI conviction before I can adopt a child through DFPS. I’m wondering whether this is actually true and if it is, whether my wife can adopt on her own if we stay married and living together. Can a lawyer get me through the adoption process even though I have a conviction on my record or help my wife adopt without me?

I have a prenuptial agreement signed by my wife and we are now in the middle of a divorce. The prenup says I keep all of my antique coin collection regardless of whether I bought more coins after we got married. My wife’s lawyer in Dallas just filed a paper saying my coin collection needs to be appraised and she wants half the value. I asked her what about the prenup and she said it’s no good because I forced her to sign it and she didn’t have her own lawyer. My lawyer drafted the agreement and my wife had plenty of time to look it and take it to a lawyer if she wanted. I never forced her to do anything. Is my prenuptial agreement valid and can I enforce it against my wife so I can keep my collection?

My step-son and I have been close since he was in middle school and we talked about me adopting him several times. But, even though he never had much of a relationship with his biological mom, he didn’t want to upset her by terminating their relationship. She passed away last year, and he’s approached me again about an adoption. Even though he’s in college and an adult now, he says he’s always considered me to be his real mom. I’ve also heard that if he’s my legal son, I can leave things to him in my will and avoid certain estate taxes. Can someone adopt another adult and does it matter that his biological parents are not around to consent?

Since my divorce 4 years ago, my ex and I have had 50/50 custody of our kids. We live close to each other in Houston and the kids are doing really well. My ex is getting remarried and now wants to move with them to California where her fiancé lives. I don’t want them to move and I am completely capable of raising them. They don’t want to move either and leave their friends, school and sports. Can my ex just take full custody of them and move without my permission? I also want to know what I need to go to get full custody if she does move.

I’m a father and I want to know my rights in a divorce and custody case. The mother is asking for alimony and full custody of our kids. I don’t agree with either of those things. She can get a job and support herself and I’m a good dad who should at least have 50/50 custody. What rights do I have to fight alimony and get shared custody of my kids? I’ve heard that courts in Virginia always favor the mom and men are required to pay alimony if they make more money than the wife. I need an aggressive lawyer who understands father’s rights and will fight for me in court.

I went through a bad divorce and didn’t have a prenup. I lost a lot of the assets I spent years working for. I’m engaged to marry again and I want to protect what I have from that same situation if the marriage doesn’t work. My fiancé and I have talked about doing a prenup that lets me keep everything I have if we divorce within the first 5 years of marriage, but gradually gives my fiancé/wife more interest the longer we are married. Is it legal to put these kinds of terms in a prenup and can my fiancé and I draft it ourselves or should we have a lawyer do it?

My ex husband and I were both raised as Baptists, and we got married in the Baptist church. Our 16 year old daughter was baptized in the same faith and my husband and I both agreed she would stay in that faith and attend church until she was an adult and could decide for herself. My ex has now remarried and his wife is catholic. He wants to convert to Catholicism and says my daughter wants to as well I am adamantly opposed to him trying to change my daughter’s religion and I think she’s only saying she’s interested in the catholic faith because her dad is pressuring her to join him. When we divorced, he and I were granted joint decision making authority over her. Can I use the joint child custody to stop him from trying to convert her to the catholic religion?

Our son is highly gifted and wants to attend Cornish College of the Arts here in Seattle. He isn’t qualifying for as much financial aid as he needs because his father makes too much money. I make a lot less and can only contribute so much to my son’s expenses. My ex can definitely afford to send our son to Cornish, but refuses to pay because he doesn’t want our son to go to an arts school. Is there anything I can do to get a court to order him to pay for some or all of our son’s college?