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| Preface | |
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| Table of Cases | |
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| Table of Web Sites | |
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| Introduction | |
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| What Is a Family? | |
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| Traditional Families | |
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| Nontraditional Families | |
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| The Changing Legal Status of Women | |
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| The Married Women's Property Acts | |
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| Property Distribution Upon Dissolution of Marriage | |
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| Domestic Violence | |
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| Employment | |
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| Voting and Public Office | |
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| Equal Protection | |
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| Equal Rights | |
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| Education | |
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| The Changing Legal Status of Children | |
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| Parent and Child | |
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| From Property to Person | |
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| When Is a Child Not a Child? | |
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| Child Labor | |
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| The Right to Education | |
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| Corporal Punishment | |
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| Summary | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Chapter Review Questions | |
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| Chapter Assignment | |
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| Working in Family Law | |
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| Employment Opportunities | |
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| Legal Assistant Tasks and Skills | |
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| Interviewing Skills | |
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| Getting Oriented | |
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| Standing | |
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| Grounds and Defenses | |
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| Subject Matter Jurisdiction | |
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| Venue | |
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| Statutes of Limitations | |
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| Where to Find New York Family Law | |
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| Primary Sources | |
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| Secondary Sources | |
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| Ethics | |
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| The Family Court | |
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| Docket Numbers | |
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| Terminology | |
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| Summary | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Chapter Review Questions | |
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| Chapter Assignment | |
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| Marriage | |
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| Entering into Marriage | |
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| Common-Law Marriage | |
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| Non-Marital Partners | |
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| Ceremonial Marriage | |
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| Void and Voidable Marriages | |
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| Annulment | |
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| Grounds For Annulment | |
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| Antenuptial Agreements | |
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| Requirements for Enforceability | |
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| Summary | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Chapter Review Questions | |
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| Chapter Assignment | |
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| Separation | |
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| Separation Agreements | |
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| Agreements Reached in Court | |
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| Incorporation in Divorce Judgment | |
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| Arbitration | |
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| High Standard of Fairness | |
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| Spousal Support Provisions | |
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| Child Support Provisions | |
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| Custody Provisions | |
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| Partial Invalidity | |
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| Breach | |
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| Provisions that Prevent Future Legal Problems | |
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| Preparing the Agreement | |
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| Judicial Separation | |
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| Grounds For Separation | |
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| Summary | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Chapter Review Questions | |
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| Chapter Assignment | |
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| Divorce: Grounds and Ethics | |
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| Special Ethical Considerations | |
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| Unauthorized Practice of Law | |
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| Dual Representation and Conflicts | |
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| Contingent Fee Agreements | |
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| Special Rules for Domestic Relations Matters | |
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| Confidentiality | |
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| Grounds for Divorce | |
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| Cruel and Inhuman Treatment | |
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| Adultery | |
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| Abandonment | |
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| Imprisonment | |
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| Living Separate Pursuant to a Separation Decree | |
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| Living Separate and Apart Pursuant to Agreement | |
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| The Complaint | |
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| Verification | |
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| Specific Pleading | |
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| Alternative Pleading | |
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| Removal of Barriers to Remarriage | |
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| Drafting the Complaint | |
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| Recognition of Foreign Divorces | |
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| Summary | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Chapter Review Questions | |
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| Chapter Assignment | |
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| Divorce: Procedures and Papers | |
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| Documents Required in Divorce Actions | |
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| Court Rules and Part Rules | |
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| Special Procedures Applicable to Matrimonial Actions | |
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| Case Management Procedures | |
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| Jurisdiction and Service | |
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| Required Residence of Parties | |
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| Personal and In Rem Jurisdiction | |
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| Service and Proof of Service | |
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| Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law | |
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| Judgment of Divorce | |
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| Effects of Judgment of Divorce | |
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| Economic Consequences | |
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| Right to Remarry | |
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| Name Changes | |
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| Legitimacy of Children | |
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| Summary | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Chapter Review Questions | |
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| Chapter Assignment | |
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| Custody and Visitation | |
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| Custody | |
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| Historical Background | |
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| Parent versus Parent Custody Disputes | |
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| "Best-Interest" Factors | |
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| Parent versus Nonparent Custody Disputes | |
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| Foster Parents | |
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| Modification and Enforcement | |
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| Procedures | |
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| Guardianship | |
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| Interjurisdictional Conflicts | |
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| Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act | |
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| Hague Convention Treaty | |
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| Visitation | |
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| Noncustodial Parent Visitation | |
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| Relocation | |
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| Nonparent Visitation | |
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| Grandparent and Sibling Visitation | |
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| Summary | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Chapter Review Questions | |
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| Chapter Assignment | |
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| Support | |
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| Subject Matter Jurisdiction | |
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| Referees and Support Magistrates | |
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| Spousal Support | |
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| "Opting Out" of the Equitable Distribution Law | |
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| Duration of Maintenance | |
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| Standards for Maintenance | |
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| Tax Consequences of Maintenance | |
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| Child Support | |
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| Obligation of Both Parties | |
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| Duration of Child Support Obligation | |
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| Child Support Standards Act of 1989 | |
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| Deviating from CSSA Guidelines | |
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| "Opting Out" of CSSA Guidelines | |
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| Children Receiving Public Support | |
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| Methods of Payment | |
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| Procedural Considerations | |
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| Tax Consequences of Child Support | |
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| Modification of Support | |
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| Modification of Maintenance | |
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| Modification of Child Support | |
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| Support Enforcement | |
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| Enforcement Remedies | |
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| Visitation and Support Enforcement | |
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| Uniform Interstate Family Support Law | |
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| Establishing Support Under UIFSA | |
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| Modification of Support Orders Under UIFSA | |
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| Enforcement of Support Orders Under UIFSA | |
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| Summary | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Chapter Review Questions | |
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| Chapter Assignment | |
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| Property Division | |
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| Economic Partnership | |
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| Marital Fault | |
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| Identification | |
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| Financial Disclosure | |
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| Preservation | |
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| Characterization | |
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| Tracing | |
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| Commingling | |
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| Marital Residence | |
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| Evaluation | |
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| No Merger Doctrine | |
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| Double Dipping | |
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| Distribution | |
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| Liquidity | |
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| Pension and Retirement Benefits | |
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| QDRO | |
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| Tax Considerations of Property Division | |
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| Capital Gains | |
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| Recapture | |
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| Summary | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Chapter Review Questions | |
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| Chapter Assignment | |
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| Non-Marital Children | |
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| Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity | |
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| Paternity Proceedings | |
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| Agreement or Compromise | |
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| Genetic Testing | |
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| Special Procedural and Evidentiary Rules | |
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| Effects of Order of Filiation | |
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| Presumption of Legitimacy and Equitable Estoppel | |
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| Children Conceived by Artificial Insemination | |
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| Summary | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Chapter Review Questions | |
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| Chapter Assignment | |
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| Family Offenses | |
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| Theories about Domestic Violence | |
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| "Battered Woman's Syndrome" | |
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| Family Offense Proceedings | |
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| Concurrent Jurisdiction | |
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| Grounds | |
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| Preliminary Procedures | |
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| Hearing | |
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| Settlement | |
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| Disposition | |
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| Order of Protection | |
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| Duration of Orders of Protection | |
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| Statewide Order of Protection Registry | |
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| Terms of Order of Protection | |
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| Effects of Order of Protection | |
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| Mandatory Arrest | |
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| Violation Proceedings | |
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| Multiple Violations | |
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| Summary | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Chapter Review Questions | |
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| Chapter Assignment | |
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| Child Protection | |
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| Other Cases Involving Child Neglect and Abuse | |
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| Criminal Prosecutions | |
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| Custody Cases | |
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| Family Offense Proceedings | |
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| Phases of a Child Protective Case | |
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| Investigative Phase | |
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| Article 10 Petition | |
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| Who May Be Charged with Child Abuse or Neglect | |
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| Definition of Child Abuse | |
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| Definition of Child Neglect | |
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| Preliminary Court Appearances | |
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| Searching for Missing Parents | |
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| Discovery | |
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| Pretrial Resolution | |
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| Special Procedural and Evidentiary Rules | |
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| Shifting Burden of Proof | |
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| Dispositional Phase | |
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| Dispositions | |
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| Providing Litigation Support | |
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| Preparing the Discovery Package | |
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| Contacting Potential Witnesses | |
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| Preparing a Trial Notebook | |
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| Assisting at the Trial | |
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| Voluntary Placement | |
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| Court Approval of Voluntary Placement Agreements | |
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| Permanency Planning | |
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| Adoption and Safe Families Act | |
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| Summary | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Chapter Review Questions | |
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| Chapter Assignment | |
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| Adoption | |
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| Ethical Considerations | |
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| Payments to Birth Parents | |
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| Dual Representation Prohibited | |
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| Baby Brokers | |
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| Confidentiality | |
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| Who May Adopt | |
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| Consents to Adoption | |
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| Whose Consent Is Required | |
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| Equitable Adoption | |
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| Consent of Out-of-Wedlock Father | |
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| Indian Children | |
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| Form of Consent-Private Adoption | |
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| Dispensing with Consent-Private Adoption | |
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| Voluntary Surrender for Agency Adoption | |
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| Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights-Agency Adoption | |
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| Standing | |
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| Venue | |
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| Subject Matter Jurisdiction | |
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| Grounds | |
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| Special Procedural and Evidentiary Rules | |
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| Dispositional Phase | |
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| Dispositions | |
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| Interstate Compact Approval | |
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| Best Interests of the Child | |
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| Private-Placement Adoptions | |
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| Certification of Prospective Adoptive Parents | |
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| Temporary Order of Guardianship | |
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| Surrogate Parenting | |
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| Agency Adoptions | |
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| Religious Preference | |
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| Race as a Factor in Adoptive Placement | |
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| Subsidy | |
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| Effects of Adoption | |
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| Summary | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Chapter Review Questions | |
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| Chapter Assignment | |
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| Glossary | |
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| Index | |