International Divorce: Hague Convention Abduction Report Issued

By Robert "Chip" Mues   |   May 17th, 2014

Hague report lists countries who are not compliant; seek experienced International Divorce and Abduction Attorneys as early as posibile.

The U.S. Department of State Office of Children’s Issues has now submitted its annual report pertaining to compliance problems on international abduction matters for 2013. This “compliance report” identifies countries that are “Not Compliant with the Convention” and countries that show “Patterns of Noncompliance with the Convention”.   This 51 page report lists cases that have remained open and active for 18 months or more after the convention application was filed.  The report also lists countries with Convention enforcement concerns.

Highlights include:

  • Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Honduras were determined to be “non-compliant” with the Convention.  Both Costa Rica and Guatemala demonstrated non-compliance in the areas of judicial and central authority performance.  Honduras demonstrated non-compliance in the areas of judicial, law enforcement, and central authority performance.
  • Brazil and the Bahamas have showed “patterns of noncompliance” with the Hague. 
… View Full Article → “International Divorce: Hague Convention Abduction Report Issued”

Adoptees Can Access Original Ohio Birth Certificate Says New Ohio Law

By Robert "Chip" Mues   |   May 10th, 2014

New Ohio Adoption Law Helps Adult Adoptees Find Their Original Birth Parents

A new law in Ohio will unseal records for about 400,000 Ohio adult adoptees.   This law, Senate Bill 23, was signed by Gov. John Kasich on December 19th. This new law will unseal records and allow these adoptees to find out who their birth parents are.  This is done by allowing adult adoptees to access their original birth certificates, which list their birth parents.

According to Adoption Network Cleveland founder and Executive Director, Betsie Norris, this legislation was the sixth attempt to address this issue in the past 25 years. “Birth parents, adoptees, adoptive parents and adoption scholars and professionals all testified in favor of this bill,” she said. “There was no stated opposition, and we are also thrilled that the bill had such overwhelming support in the Ohio Legislature.”

The previous law regarding this type of discovery was very convoluted.  … View Full Article → “Adoptees Can Access Original Ohio Birth Certificate Says New Ohio Law”

Adultery in the Military

By Robert "Chip" Mues   |   May 3rd, 2014

Is Adultery A Crime Under The Uniform Code Of Military Justice?

The Legal Ramifications For Military Members Who Commit Adultery

Adultery is fairly common in our society.  Frequently, adultery is the grounds for many legal separation and divorce actions; however, “marital fault” is not typically given a great deal of attention by our legal systems.  There are some steps individuals can take to help ensure their asset protection from adultery, such as prenuptial agreements, which may limit the ability for one spouse to take part in the estate once the divorce commences.

A research report conducted by the Associated Press found that nearly 22% of men have strayed during their married lives, and nearly 14% of women have done the same.  Even more say that if they could have an affair, and never have the risk of being caught, they would (Men = 74% Women = 68%).

These numbers are staggering, but not totally surprising.  … View Full Article → “Adultery in the Military”

Military: Immigration Citizenship Laws for Family Members

By Robert "Chip" Mues   |   April 19th, 2014

Obama Policy Memo Outlines How Illegal Immigrants Can Obtain ‘legal status’ If They Are Family Members Of A U.S. Military Service Member.

Memo Could Affect 65,000 Military Immigrants

A memo released by the Obama administration outlines how and when the administration can legally permit relatives of U.S. service military members who are here illegally to stay in the country on a “parole in place” status.  This will essentially give illegal immigrants “legal status” as long as they don’t have a criminal record and are family members of a U.S. military service member.  This applies to both current and former U.S. military service member family members.

Before Policy Memorandum PM-602-0091, issued on November 15, 2013, relatives here illegally were still able to remain in the country but were required to apply for “parole in place”.  This was often very confusing and convoluted to military service member family members. Additionally, it was not taken advantage of due to the uncertainty and lack of awareness surrounding the matter.  … View Full Article → “Military: Immigration Citizenship Laws for Family Members”

Divorce: Addressing High Conflict Cases – Tips and Strategies

By Anne Shale   |   April 12th, 2014

High Conflict Divorce Tied With High Conflict Personalities According To Therapists

On March 24th, 2014, I traveled from Dayton, Ohio to Mason, Ohio to interview Brenda Patton, Therapist, Parenting Coordinator, and Mediator for The Counseling and Cooperative Parenting Center of Ohio, LLC, also known as “CCPC – Ohio”.  Initially, I was interested in interviewing a spokesperson of this Parenting Center as they were a “private” entity providing supervised visitation or supervised parenting time for families in Montgomery, Warren, and Hamilton Counties. When I learned that the service of supervised visitation had been discontinued in July 2013, I explored other topics of interest. When Ms. Patton advised me that the Center was interested in working with “high conflict” divorce matters, my interest was piqued.

What is a “high conflict” divorce matter?  Ms. Patton defined it as being cases that have a “revolving door” relationship with the Domestic Relations Courts. They are the cases that are never resolved or settled.  … View Full Article → “Divorce: Addressing High Conflict Cases – Tips and Strategies”

Custody Issues: How To Avoid International Child Abduction

By Guest Contributor, Judianne Cochran   |   April 5th, 2014

Important Custody Steps to Take to Avoid Child Abduction Overseas

Strong Custody Prevention Key In Avoiding International Child Abduction

Our guest contributor this week is Judianne Cochran a nationally recognized expert/consultant in the following disciplines: sex offender profiling; interstate and international parental abduction; interstate custody and parental alienation. She has testified in numerous Courts throughout Ohio and the country. Judi presently resides in Columbus, Ohio. This is a follow-up article to Parental Abduction: Prevention and Remedies posted by Judi on October 31, 2009.

There have been many laws and treaties put in place in recent years to assist in the prevention of international abduction.  However, I have been seeing a new complacency in the family court system that has begun to ignore the need for strong prevention, thus further thwarting a parent’s ability to be involved with their child.  Judges in many jurisdictions have been ordering that the objecting parent cooperate in obtaining passports for their children so the foreign national parent can remove the child from the country, often to non-Hague signatory countries.… View Full Article → “Custody Issues: How To Avoid International Child Abduction”

Supervised Visitation and the Role of Human Service Departments

By Guest Contributor, Daniel Pollack   |   March 29th, 2014

What Are The Basic Types And Goals Of Supervised Visitation?

Supervised child visitation can be indicated in cases involving custody; shared parenting; grandparent custody or visitation; divorce; legal separation; post-decree matters; emergency custody situations; abuse/neglect/dependency cases; concerns about parental abduction; and, reintroduction of a parent after a long absence.

Child visitation can be restricted or denied if a court finds that allowing regular visitation would endanger a child’s physical or emotional health.  In numerous situations, courts may order child visitation by stipulating how often visits are to occur, with whom, and whether the visits are to be supervised by a human services employee or some other responsible adult.  If there are protection and safety concerns the visits are supervised.

Such supervised visits also provide an opportunity for workers to observe and document parent-child interactions.

Types and Goals of Supervised Visitation

In many states there are three basic types of supervised visitation providers:  volunteers, paid professionals, or paid therapeutic providers.… View Full Article → “Supervised Visitation and the Role of Human Service Departments”

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