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Russians demand return of brother of adopted boy who died in Texas
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Parental Rights in Same Sex Marriage
Children are the most important people to their parents. Not only are they doted upon, but they are taken care of every moment of every day. When a single parent shares this gift with their significant other, it is a true sign of trust and a family being built together. So when one parent is not allowed to legally jointly raise the child with their significant other, it denies them that family oneness.
According to the Chicago Tribune, an Austrian lesbian couple wants to jointly raise one partner's child together. The boy was born out of wedlock in 1995 and the three have been a family for a while. However, Austria would not allow this in 2007, so the couple sought the higher courts. They won their case finally in the European Court for Human Rights. They said the only reason why the couple was not given the right non-married heterosexual couples were given was strictly based on sexual orientation. This definitely discriminated against gay people.
The ruling is final meaning Austria must comply in the decision made by the European court. The court also order financial retribution to the couple of 10,000 euros, about $13,400, in damages and over 28,000 euros in expenses. Hopefully, the couple and child can now live in peace and as a family – legally.
Recent Tax Changes that can Affect Divorce
In order to remove the threat of the fiscal cliff in the beginning of 2013, Congress enacted the American Taxpayer Relief Act. This new legislation stopped tax increases for the middle class as well as budget cuts to important programs. While overall this is good news, it could impact your divorce regarding how alimony affects your income and the amount of taxes levied against split property.
Spousal support is different from child support it is usually declared by the receiver and deducted by the payer. This is important to know when reaching a divorce settlement how these payments can result in more taxes. Structuring your payments can result in lower taxes and ultimately save you money. Sometimes it is more beneficial to take a lump sum payment instead of monthly checks because they are non-taxable, but you should make sure that you can maintain your standard of living this way.
Family Law – How to Be Married to An Entrepreneur
Love leads us to bliss: togetherness, fun and laughter. You promise to take the good and the bad. But did you take the entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur is one who owns their own business through and through. Most times the business is what they eat, breath, sleep and drink. It becomes the life of the person who owns it. It is a very admirable feat, however, it needs to be clear to the incoming spouse what it all entails to be the spouse of an entrepreneur.
First, ask questions. Get to know what the business is all about, what your role will be, what the hours are, how much money goes INTO the business and the stress level it causes your future spouse. Find out how much information you can actually handle. More questions are bound to come up – ASK!
Find another entrepreneur couple who can support the two of you – a mentor couple, per se. They will be able to share their tricks to marital bliss in tough times. They will be able to listen when frustrations arise and give sound advice.
Divorce in Texas: The Basics
According to top10stop.com, Texas has the second highest number of divorces in the country on average each year, at 77,000. That number, of course, is inflated due to the large population of Texas—the only state not in the top five number of divorces included in the top five population is California—but it still means that a large percentage of Texans face divorce each year. According to the Texas Vital Statistics Unit (VSU), a unit of the Texas Department of State Health Services, the crude divorce rate in the state increased slightly from 3.3 per 1,000 residents in 2005 to 3.4 per 1,000 residents in 2006. There were 79,469 divorces in the state in 2006. 
The procedure for filing for divorce in Texas is more or less standard when compared to other states. The most important first step if you're considering divorce is to contact a Texas divorce attorney, because no matter how much research you do, divorce is a complicated process best undergone with the assistance of a professional. According to divorcenet.com, the second step of filing for divorce in Texas is for one spouse to file an Original Petition for Divorce with the court. At that time, the spouse can file a temporary restraining order if necessary. If no restraining order was filed, the other spouse has 20 days to file an "Answer." In that 20-day period, it's imperative that the non-filing spouse also obtains a qualified attorney—even if he or she is reluctant for the divorce.
Establishing Paternity
Why establish paternity?
- According to Texas law, a child born to two parents who are not married has no legal father. When the parents complete an Acknowledge of Paternity (AOP) to establish legal fatherhood because there is a difference between a legal father and a biological father. An AOP helps to secure legal rights of the child.
- Until paternity is established, child support cannot be ordered by the courts.
- Until paternity is established, the father cannot enforce his right to visitation or possession of the child.
- If paternity is established, the father can help to provide health insurance and other benefits for the child.
- Some health problems such as disorders inherited from parents do not appear later in the child's life after birth, having the medical history of both the mother and the father will help doctors to know how to treat the child.
What is included in "establishing paternity"?
After both parents sign an Acknowledgement of Paternity, it is filed with the Bureau of Vital Statistics and the biological father becomes the legal father as well. After the paternity is established, the father's name is added to the birth certificate. After being established, the father can be ordered to pay child support and grant him possession or visitation of his child.
Sex-Change Operation May Prevent Man from Getting Divorce
An Arizona man who gave birth to three children after having a sex-change operation may not be able to divorce his wife, according to a recent story on WFAA.com. Thomas Beatie, who was born as a woman, underwent a sex-change surgery but his reproductive organs were not removed. Thomas and Nancy Beatie decided to file for divorce after 9 years of marriage. However, a judge is questioning whether the state's same-sex marriage ban prevents Thomas Beatie from ending his marriage.
A number of courts all over the country have declared marriages involving a transgender person invalid. However, according to Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, this case is different and has different factual and legal issues than other cases involving a transgender person. "What you have is a man and woman who are married, and their relationship is ending," he said. "And it's no different, fundamentally, from other people in that circumstance."
Avoiding "Ex Games"
A recent Huffington Post article details some practical ways to soothe tensions with your ex-spouse following a divorce as you work toward a successful co-parenting relationship. Unfortunately, if you and your ex-spouse continue to pay the typical "ex games" that can stem from anger and hurt that is leftover from your divorce, you may inadvertently hurt your children in the process. No kid wants to be stuck in the middle between two parents, both of whom they love, even if they are no longer together. Luckily, there are a number of simple steps that you can take in order to work toward a more civilized, co-parenting relationship.
First, accept the fact that you and your ex-spouse are going to be forever linked by your child in common, or at least so long as your child is a minor. Therefore, you need to get accustomed to being in the same room with your ex, whether it is at baseball games, dance recitals, or at a visitation exchange location. Showing your child that you don't have to fight with your ex all the time can have a positive influence on your child and promote a health relationship between your child and your ex.
Woman Accused Of Ritual Abuse Files Appeal In Light Of New Evidence
For the last 20 years, Frances Keller has been behind bars. She and her husband were accused of practicing satanic rituals and sexually assaulting a 3-year-old girl that came to the daycare the couple ran out of their Texas home. Christy Chaviers, the 3-year-old in question, told her mother in 1991 that Dan Keller, Frances' husband, had spanked her. Eventually, this claim morphed into an accusation of ‘ritual abuse' from Chaviers' therapist. Some of her friends also claimed that they were abused and included in satanic rituals, such as being baptized in blood, or holding a baby's heart that had been cut out of a body.
Eventually, Chaviers' recanted her testimony in court, saying that nothing bad had ever actually happened to her at the daycare. However, in the original lawsuit, prosecutors had other evidence to support the accusations: lacerations near Chaviers' hymen, a graveyard with disturbances noticed in infrared, and a ritual abuse expert's testimony.
The appeal filed in Travis County district court is questioning all of the original evidence. Aside from Chaviers' recanted statement, new medical science caused the doctor who originally claimed the lacerations on Chaviers' hymen were consistent with sexual abuse to change his opinion, stating they may have just been normal variants. The caretaker of the graveyard had told authorities that natural erosion or the addition of new dirt could cause them to look disturbed—a fact that was not passed on to the lawyers involved in the case. Finally, the testimony from the ritual abuse expert has been accused of manipulating his evidence in order to bolster his own career.
Texas Families Anguished Over Russian Adoption Ban
A recent report from the News Journal of Longview, Texas reports that a recent decision by Russian lawmakers to ban American adoptions has hit close to home. Russia has previously been one of the top countries for international adoptions to the United States.
Moscow lawmakers made the decision in late December and it is only a part of the sanctions that they plan to put on the U.S. One Texas family spoke out about this ban stating that they adopted a seven year old Russian child in 2011. They also said that they have heard about several families who have been waiting to take children from Russian orphanages; making a home for them only to find out that their waiting was in vain because their adoptions were cancelled. Another family states that while the orphanage where they got their child was well run, it makes no comparison to a stable home for the children.
Many families are adding adopted children to their families even when they have biological children. Many people think that only people who cannot bear their own children would consider adoption, but that could not be further from the truth. One child that was adopted said that his possibilities were limited in Russia and that he feels that he can be anything that he wants to be in the United States. He also said that what he loves the most is that he'd have parents, brothers and sisters as well as an extended family. This is something that he could not have hoped to have as a resident in a Russian orphanage.
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