PARIS — France is launching a new government service empowered to take money directly from the bank accounts of parents who fail to pay child support, aiming to help many families — the vast majority of whom are headed by ...
Read More »Lawsuit says NH has ‘warehoused’ foster teens in group care
CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire has “unnecessarily warehoused” foster care teens in institutional and group care facilities instead of with families and has not acted in their best interests, according to a federal class-action lawsuit filed by several legal groups ...
Read More »Ohio unveils limited plan to pay relatives caring for kids
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Advocates for Ohio adults caring for related children in their custody insist a new law that raises payments for such caregivers doesn’t go far enough, signaling that achievement of a solution that satisfies all parties isn’t yet ...
Read More »Husband remains liable for marital debt despite refinancing
RICHMOND, VA — The Virginia Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling that where the parties’ property settlement made the husband liable for all marital debts, his subsequent loan default and post-marriage refinancing by both husband and wife did not ...
Read More »Colorado Supreme Court revamps common-law marriage rules
DENVER — The Colorado Supreme Court has changed the way common-law marriage is legally defined to allow for more inclusion of same-sex couples. A trio of opinions issued Monday update the state’s three-decade-old legal standard to better reflect today’s societal ...
Read More »West Virginia lawyer who sought sex for services disbarred
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — A West Virginia attorney has been disbarred after he attempted to barter his services in a woman’s divorce case for sex, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reported. The mandate from the West Virginia Supreme Court annulling McGinnis E. ...
Read More »Bill would allow domestic violence recordings as evidence
HELENA, Mont. — Montana lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow victims of domestic violence to secretly record phone calls or interactions with the perpetrator and use the recordings as evidence in court. Under Montana law, it is illegal ...
Read More »COVID has estate planning clients confronting mortality
COLUMBIA, SC — For estate planning attorneys, 2020 was a year unlike any they have ever seen, from meeting with clients at card tables set up outside of offices to fielding a significant uptick of requests from people who want ...
Read More »Court: NC domestic violence order rule harms LGBT people
RALEIGH, N.C. — Domestic violence protection orders issued by North Carolina judges to keep apart people in abusive or frightening dating relationships must be granted in same-sex cases as well, a divided state appeals court panel ruled in late December. ...
Read More »Program seeks alternatives to youth incarceration
LANSING, Mich. — A program that seeks community-based alternatives to the practice of locking up youth offenders or placing them in rehabilitation facilities outside their homes has come to communities in Michigan. The nonprofit Youth Advocate Programs is working with ...
Read More »