Fredericksburg Adoption Lawyer, Virginia

Sponsored Law Firm


David Christopher Hagan Lawyer

David Christopher Hagan

VERIFIED
Divorce & Family Law, Adoption, Child Support, Custody & Visitation

David Hagan is an associate at Wade, Grimes, Friedman, Meinken & Leischner, PLLC, practicing both family law and criminal defense. As a family law att... (more)

James M Lowe

Adoption, Criminal, Farms, Divorce
Status:  In Good Standing           

Margaret Saffell Frankel

Family Law, Divorce, Child Support, Adoption
Status:  In Good Standing           

Polly B. Knight

Mediation, Adoption
Status:  In Good Standing           

Mark B. Williams

Farms, Adoption, DUI-DWI, Criminal
Status:  In Good Standing           

Matthew Sherman Smith

Adoption, Property & Casualty, Child Support, Divorce, Child Custody
Status:  Inactive           Licensed:  37 Years

Carolyn Mary Grimes

Child Support, Child Custody, Adoption
Status:  In Good Standing           

Dennis Michael Mersberger

Adoption, Criminal
Status:  In Good Standing           

Eric R. Nouri

Child Custody, Divorce, Family Law, Adoption
Status:  In Good Standing           

Melissa K. McCreary

Adoption, Alimony & Spousal Support, Business & Trade, Child Support
Status:  In Good Standing           

Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-620-0900

Member Representative

Call me for fastest results!
800-620-0900

Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-620-0900

By submitting this lawyer request, I confirm I have read and agree to the Consent to Receive Messages from all messaging and voice technologies including Email, Text, Phone, Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy. Information provided is not privileged or confidential.


Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-943-8690

Member Representative

Call me for fastest results!
800-943-8690

Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-943-8690

By submitting this lawyer request, I confirm I have read and agree to the Consent to Receive Messages from all messaging and voice technologies including Email, Text, Phone, Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy. Information provided is not privileged or confidential.

Lawyer.com

TIPS

Easily find Fredericksburg Adoption Lawyers and Fredericksburg Adoption Law Firms. For more attorneys, search all Divorce & Family Law areas including Child Custody, Child Support, Divorce and Family Law attorneys.

LEGAL TERMS

CHILD

(1) A son or daughter of any age, sometimes including biological offspring, unborn children, adopted children, stepchildren, foster children and children born o... (more...)
(1) A son or daughter of any age, sometimes including biological offspring, unborn children, adopted children, stepchildren, foster children and children born outside of marriage. (2) A person under an age specified by law, often 14 or 16. For example, state law may require a person to be over the age of 14 to make a valid will, or may define the crime of statutory rape as sex with a person under the age of 16. In this sense, a child can be distinguished from a minor, who is a person under the age of 18 in most states. A person below the specified legal age who is married is often considered an adult rather than a child. See also emancipation.

STEPCHILD

A child born to your spouse before your marriage whom you have not legally adopted. If you adopt the child, he or she is legally treated just like a biological ... (more...)
A child born to your spouse before your marriage whom you have not legally adopted. If you adopt the child, he or she is legally treated just like a biological offspring. Under the Uniform Probate Code, followed in some states, a stepchild belongs in the same class as a biological child and will inherit property left 'to my children.' In other states, a stepchild is not treated like a biological child unless he or she can prove that the parental relationship was established when he or she was a minor and that adoption would have occurred but for some legal obstacle.

DESERTION

The voluntary abandonment of one spouse by the other, without the abandoned spouse's consent. Commonly, desertion occurs when a spouse leaves the marital home f... (more...)
The voluntary abandonment of one spouse by the other, without the abandoned spouse's consent. Commonly, desertion occurs when a spouse leaves the marital home for a specified length of time. Desertion is a grounds for divorce in states with fault divorce.

COMPLAINT

Papers filed with a court clerk by the plaintiff to initiate a lawsuit by setting out facts and legal claims (usually called causes of action). In some states a... (more...)
Papers filed with a court clerk by the plaintiff to initiate a lawsuit by setting out facts and legal claims (usually called causes of action). In some states and in some types of legal actions, such as divorce, complaints are called petitions and the person filing is called the petitioner. To complete the initial stage of a lawsuit, the plaintiff's complaint must be served on the defendant, who then has the opportunity to respond by filing an answer. In practice, few lawyers prepare complaints from scratch. Instead they use -- and sometimes modify -- pre-drafted complaints widely available in form books.

BEST INTERESTS (OF THE CHILD)

The test that courts use when deciding who will take care of a child. For instance, an adoption is allowed only when a court declares it to be in the best inter... (more...)
The test that courts use when deciding who will take care of a child. For instance, an adoption is allowed only when a court declares it to be in the best interests of the child. Similarly, when asked to decide on custody issues in a divorce case, the judge will base his or her decision on the child's best interests. And the same test is used when judges decide whether a child should be removed from a parent's home because of neglect or abuse. Factors considered by the court in deciding the best interests of a child include: age and sex of the child mental and physical health of the child mental and physical health of the parents lifestyle and other social factors of the parents emotional ties between the parents and the child ability of the parents to provide the child with food, shelter, clothing and medical care established living pattern for the child concerning school, home, community and religious institution quality of schooling, and the child's preference.

HOME STUDY

An investigation of prospective adoptive parents to make sure they are fit to raise a child, required by all states. Common areas of inquiry include financial s... (more...)
An investigation of prospective adoptive parents to make sure they are fit to raise a child, required by all states. Common areas of inquiry include financial stability, marital stability, lifestyles and other social factors, physical and mental health and criminal history.

WRONGFUL DEATH RECOVERIES

After a wrongful death lawsuit, the portion of a judgment intended to compensate a plaintiff for having to live without a deceased person. The compensation is i... (more...)
After a wrongful death lawsuit, the portion of a judgment intended to compensate a plaintiff for having to live without a deceased person. The compensation is intended to cover the earnings and the emotional comfort and support the deceased person would have provided.

FAULT DIVORCE

A tradition that required one spouse to prove that the other spouse was legally at fault, to obtain a divorce. The 'innocent' spouse was then granted the divorc... (more...)
A tradition that required one spouse to prove that the other spouse was legally at fault, to obtain a divorce. The 'innocent' spouse was then granted the divorce from the 'guilty' spouse. Today, 35 states still allow a spouse to allege fault in obtaining a divorce. The traditional fault grounds for divorce are adultery, cruelty, desertion, confinement in prison, physical incapacity and incurable insanity. These grounds are also generally referred to as marital misconduct.

FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA)

A federal law that requires employers to provide an employee with 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a year's time for the birth or adoption of a child, family hea... (more...)
A federal law that requires employers to provide an employee with 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a year's time for the birth or adoption of a child, family health needs or personal illness. The employer must allow the employee to return to the same position or a position similar to that held before taking the leave. There are exceptions to the FMLA: the most notable is that only employers with 50 or more employees are covered--about half the workforce.

SAMPLE LEGAL CASES

Gooch v. Harris

... KELSEY, Judge. Frances R. Gooch appeals an order of the circuit court approving, over her objection, the adoption of her son by Doris and James Harris. ... See Appellant's Br. at 1. We hold the circuit court did not err as 96 Gooch claims and thus affirm its final adoption order. I. ...

Todd v. Copeland

... Appellant, Leslie Todd, is challenging the trial court's order terminating her parental rights and allowing the adoption of her child without her consent, pursuant to Code §§ 63.2-1202(H), -1203, and -1205. ... 2. The Biological Parent's Fundamental Rights in the Adoption Context. ...

Copeland v. Todd

... appellee. Amicus Curiae: The American Academy of Adoption Attorneys; Colleen Marea Quinn (Locke Partin DeBoer & Quinn, on brief), Richmond, in support of appellant. ... C. The "Best Interests of the Child" in Adoption Cases. Alternatively ...

© 2024 LAWYER.COM INC.

Use of this website constitutes acceptance of Lawyer.com’s Terms of Use, Email, Phone, & Text Message and Privacy Policies.