| Guardian
Ad Litem |
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| What is a guardian ad litem? A
minor cannot be a party to a lawsuit without assistance.
Therefore, when a minor is a party to a lawsuit, the court
appoints a guardian ad litem to represent the minor. More... |
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| Adoption
Under the Indian Child Welfare Act |
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| Whenever a proposed adoption
involves a child who is of recognized Native American lineage,
both federal and state laws govern the proceeding. The Indian
Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) is applicable to any adoption
of a Native American child. The ICWA is not an adoption code,
but it contains jurisdictional, procedural, and substantive
provisions that pertain to adoptions. Pursuant to the
Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, ICWA provisions
supplement or parallel any compatible state adoption laws and
preempt any inconsistent or contradictory ones. More... |
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| Tax
Issues Related to Qualified Domestic Relations
Orders |
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| Distributions from a
retirement or pension plan are normally taxable to the plan
participant, as the distributee. However, the Retirement
Equity Act of 1984 (REA) created special rules for the tax
treatment of distributions governed by the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) under a qualified domestic
relations order (QDRO) to an alternate payee who is the spouse
or former spouse of the plan participant, from certain
employee benefit plans that are prescribed by federal law. More... |
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| Sterilization
of an Incompetent Individual |
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| Sterilization of an
incompetent individual is a hotly contested area of the law.
Some states permit sterilization requests and others do not.
From a traditional standpoint, the decision of whether to
sterilize an incompetent individual is a family decision. More... |
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| Child
Welfare Agencies' Potential Malpractice Liability for
Inadequate or Inappropriate Foster Care
Services |
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| If a child welfare agency or
caseworker determines that a child needs to be moved into
protective custody, the agency's duty to that child is not
discharged. The agency or caseworker has a continuing duty to
ensure that the child is not mistreated in his or her foster care
home. More... |