Adoption Law

Adoption is a legal process where one person acquires parental rightsover a child not his own. Adoption law is a combination of federalregulations and state laws. The federal government lays out theframework and funding for adoption and states enact legislationcomplying with federal requirements. There has been an attempt tounify adoption laws across the country, but not all states adoptedthe proposed legislation. While there are nuances accompanyingadoption in state laws, there are five features that are common inall states: (1) the best interest of the child standard, (2) consentof biological parents, (3) complete vesting of parental rights toadoptive parents, (4) permanent nature of adoption, and (5)confidential nature of adoption proceedings. The Hague Convention oninter country adoption safeguards cases of adoption by U.S. citizensof children from any country that is a party to the Convention. U.S.citizens can still adopt children from any country that is not aparty to the Convention, but they are not offered the sameprotections.

Adoption under the law can be done through public agencies or throughdirect contact with biological parents. Both methods of adoptionrequire the consent of biological parents and must go through a courtprocess. The .S. Constitution holds that natural parents havefundamental right in the custody of their children. Adoptionterminates the right of biological parents over the child, and givesthe guardianship to the adoptive parents. This means that theadoptive parents will take over all of the parental responsibilitiesto the child, including taxes, social security, and inheritance. Therights of biological parents are totally extinguished. It is in thisregard that adoption proceedings require the consent of biologicalparents. All states require the consent of the birth mothers, whilesome states require the consent of married fathers. In some states,unmarried fathers, especially those who show interest in parentalcare toward the child, have the right to consent to the adoptionproceeding. The right to consent may be waived or forfeited byabandonment, judicial termination of parental rights, or adjudicationof incompetence. The consent of children between the ages 10 to 14years is also required.

Courts adopt the best interest of the child standard when determiningwhether prospective adopters are suitable parents. Adoptionproceedings, like custody cases, focus on what the child wants andneeds, rather than what the adoptive parents can give. Statestypically provide a probationary period where child welfareprofessionals will conduct an evaluation to determine the bestinterest of the child has been met. Most adoption proceedings aresensitive, thus the proceedings and records are kept under seal andmay not be opened unless by virtue of a judicial finding of goodcause. Traditionally, biological parents won't know the identity ofthe adoptive parents, and vice versa. Some states have relaxed thislaw through the years, allowing biological families contact andvisitation following the issuance of the adoption decree.

Adoption is permanent, which means the legal obligations ofbiological parents are totally extinguished and are transferred untothe adoptive parents. The parental relationship between the adoptiveparents and the adopted child is not subject to revocation, whichmeans, second thoughts of any party cannot revoke the adoptiondecree.

State adoption laws lay out the requirements on who may or may notadopt. Some sates disqualify individuals who are unmarried or single,with mental or physical disabilities, or those with criminal recordsor employment instability. Other states also disqualify gays andlesbians. An investigation is conducted to determine whether theapplicant is suitable, before the court decides based on the bestinterest of the child. These suitability requirements vary from stateto state, so a prospective adoptive parent must seek the aid of anexpert adoption law attorney who is knowledgeable of the manyrequirements and procedures in the adoption proceedings. Adoptionproceedings can also become lengthy and emotionally-taxing that anexpert adoption law attorney is required to boost the case for the applicant.


Areas of Law

Financial Litigation Law - Legal Information and Resources

Financial Litigation

Financial litigation law governs the court process of resolving disputes relating to financial and money transactions. These disputes involve banks, credit card companies, brokerage firms, private equity funds, and insurance companies. Financial litigation is a combination of civil, criminal and administrative law that arises from financial transactions. Financial litigation is composed of both federal and state laws, administrative regulations and court decisions.

The federal government enacted several laws for banks and financial institutions to comply with certain standards as banking and finance are two of the highly regulated industries in the country due to the nature of the products and services they provide. Banking and finance transactions deal with sensitive matters, and, as such they are protected by law, like the Bank Secrecy Act and Truth in Lending Act. Other federal financial legislation include Dodd-Frank Act, Consumer Protection Act, and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In addition to the federal government, there are other agencies who have oversight on specific financial transaction, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission towards the registration of public companies and disclosure of stock trading. Financial litigation law touches on a broad spectrum of issues such as securities law, corporate law, consumer law, and bankruptcy law.

Among the most common financial litigations are actions challenging a company's transaction, which transaction may have caused a change in the trading price of stocks, insider trading, and securities trading fraud. Aside from the company, officers and directors are routinely named defendants in derivative actions. Financial litigators represent either the client or the company these cases. Clients often choose to sue companies through a class action as the anticipated pay-out in class actions are higher compared to individual suits. In addition, the costs of pursuing a class action is also shared among the class members, while the costs of pursuing an individual action is shouldered only by the plaintiff. Moreover, there is strength in numbers that's why victims of securities fraud or insider trading choose to sue as a class.

Financial litigation is a complex dispute that will touch on intertwining laws. It will not just touch on the complicated web of federal and state laws and regulations, but also often encroach on international laws regarding financial transactions. Financial transactions are also sophisticated transactions, which means these transactions involve legalese that takes experts to un-weave. Because the monetary value of financial disputes are often high, parties tend to litigate in order to either recover the money lost or refuse to pay the money lost. In addition, violations of banking and finance rules and regulations are met with steep punishment. These types of litigation are also often highly publicized, so being charged with any violation of banking or finance law could severely affect the reputation and future business prospects of companies, and their officers and directors. In addition, settlements arising from financial litigation have the possibility of draining a company's resources.

It is for these reasons that companies have a retinue of financial litigators to defend them in cases of banking and finance law violations. Financial litigators are not just skilled in defending companies, they are also knowledgeable in matters of regulation, enforcement, and transactions.

Areas of Law

Transportation Law - Legal Information and Resources

Transportation

Transportation law governs the transportation system in the United States, including motor cycles, motor vehicles, trucks, railways, helicopters, and airplanes, and the infrastructure that supports the transportation system. Transportation law governs the mode of transportation and the transportation industry. It is an area of law that encompasses numerous other areas of law, such as trade law.

Transportation law is comprised of federal and state legislation. Transportation, however, is within the authority of the U.S. Congress by virtue of its mandate to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. The U.S. Department of Transportation is the primary federal agency that sets policies the American transportation system. Rules and regulation The Federal Aviation Administration governs the aviation industry. Policies from the FAA range from protecting flyers, cargo in air crafts, air traffic, airport and air carrier maintenance, pilots' and flight attendants' labor issues, and ticketing issues. The Federal Railroad Administration governs the railway industry. In the United States, railroads are used more for transporting goods, usually gas and oil, rather than people, and the FRA issues policies that focus on the safety of railroads to avoid fatal derailments. The National Transportation Safety Board also provides guidelines and investigates mass transit accidents. States pass their own rules and regulations regarding transportation that are in line with federal rules and regulations and create administrative agencies in concerted efforts with the federal government to ensure safety in the transportation system. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration governs longshoring and maritime industry safety and health standards. Other workers' law ensure that workers in the transportation industry are granted the same benefits.

Transportation law ranges from compliance to manufacturing standards, licensing and registration vehicles, and regulation of cargo in both land and air travel. The bulk of the work of transportation law attorneys lies in making sure companies are in compliance with regulations as non-compliance will result to penalties. With respect to companies providing transportation services, they are required that their vehicles adhere to standards imposed by the law and the vehicles are well maintained so that no untowardly accidents will happen while the vehicle is in transit. Accidents relating to the transportation of goods, especially when the commodity is hazardous or dangerous, is not uncommon. An accident involving a train carrying crude oil in July 2013 wiped out a portion of a town in Quebec, killed more than 40 people, resulted to numerous lawsuits, filed by the victims against possible responsible parties, and possible responsible parties against each other and against government agencies. The fatal train derailment pushed the railway company to bankruptcy. It is this kind of situations that companies aim to avoid, such that they retain transportation law attorneys to, foremost, ensure they are in compliance with the law, and defend them at the time when accidents happen.

Transportation by land and air is the most common mode of transportation in the United States. Making sure roads are safe and companies are in compliance with the law ensures that transportation will continue to contribute to the economic development of the country.

Areas of Law

Property Protection Law - Legal Information and Resources

Property Protection

Individuals and businesses typically seek recourse from the law to protect their properties from the reach of creditors or, in cases of divorce, former spouses. Property protection law provides for a legal mechanism by which properties are protected so that they remain in the hands of the asset-holder, instead of creditors, without violating other aspects of the law. In the area of debtor-creditor law, asset protection serves the debtors as debt collection serves as the creditors.

Property protection law identifies exempt assets, which cannot be clawed by creditors. These assets include household furniture, clothing, or jewelry. These assets could also include, in some states, life insurance benefits, and annuities. Federal legislation also identifies as exempt qualified retirements plans, including pension plans, 401(k) plans, and employee stock ownership plans. State laws on exempt assets varies, but the general rules is assets to which one does not have legal title cannot be reached by creditors.

There are numerous ways to protect assets and one way is to transfer assets to another person or another entity. The law allows individuals to transfer their properties to another person, to a trust, to a limited liability corporation, or to a family limited partnership. The transfer of properties to any of these entities require legal documentation, which is best drafted by an expert property protection law attorney. There are also legal requirements as to the creation of trusts, LLCs and FLPs, so prior to any transfer, it should be ensured that these entities were created in accordance with the law, or else, the transfer may be deemed fraudulent and invalid, giving creditors the right to grab these properties.

The process of protecting one's property should not be utilized as a result of a current situation, such as insolvency or divorce. Asset protection should be planned as a crucial part of one's life and prior to the occurrence of any of these situations as the law also protects creditors from fraudulent acts of debtors. The process of property protection involves the drafting of numerous legal documents, depending on the number of properties and assets. The drafting of these legal documents must be carried out with the assistance of expert attorneys as the language of these documents should be clear and specific, such that they won't be subjected to burdensome disputes in the future. Moreover, because law on property protection varies, there are requirements that must be complied with and property protection law attorneys would know best what to do.

Property protection law touches upon numerous other branches of the law. In instances of insolvency, individuals and corporations should be careful when trying to transfer their assets prior to filing for bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Code provides for a time period by which preferential or fraudulent transfers can be clawed back to the estates for distribution to creditors. It is not uncommon for debtors to, prior to the filing for bankruptcy, conceal assets so that they cannot be sequestered by creditors. This is not illegal if done before the claw back period, which is usually one year prior to the filing date to 90 days prior to the filing date. It is also not uncommon for property owners to hide assets to try to pay lower taxes. Tax evasion is a criminal offense and may result to serious repercussions, such as imprisonment.

Areas of Law