The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is a federal law that sets minimum standards for the removal of Native American children from their homes. The ICWA applies to foster care placements, terminations of parental rights, and adoption and pre-adoption placements. When the ICWA applies to a proceeding, a state court must comply with the requirements of the act.
The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) requires a state to file a petition to terminate a parent's parental rights to a child if:
During a divorce proceeding, the parties are entitled to conduct discovery. Discovery is a process by which each party can ask questions in depositions and inspect each other's financial and business records to discover the total assets and liabilities of the marriage. A court will enforce a party's right to full disclosure so that each party has a clear idea of the identity and value of all marital property.
A same-sex marriage is defined as a marriage between two individuals of the same gender. The issue of same-sex marriages is a hotly debated topic. In the most recent election in the United States, more than ten states voted to amend their state constitution's and define a marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Most other nations do not recognize same-sex marriages as legally valid, nor do they allow them to occur.
Many states have recognized a cause of action for fraud during a marriage or relationship. Specifically, some states have recognized a plaintiff's claim that they were induced to have sex with a defendant based upon the defendant's representations as to his health or fertility. The states that permit this claim on the basis that the plaintiff did not actually consent to having sexual relations with the defendant.
