Until 2012, the burden of proof to terminate a guardianship of a child was placed upon the parent to show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the substitution or supplementation of parental care and supervision was no longer necessary to provide for the child’s essential physical and safety and that terminating the guardianship would
Holiday planning during divorce
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uclear families often have annual holiday traditions. A family may spend each Thanksgiving with paternal grandparents, Easter with a favorite uncle and Christmas Eve at church services with maternal grandparents. Kids look forward to these annual traditions.
However, if parents divorce, kids are split, often into alternating holidays. A traditional holiday parenting schedule may
Joint Decision Making: Words of Wisdom
I appreciate when judges talk to the parties at the end of the hearing. Today, following a hearing regarding disagreements about unilateral decision making and information sharing, the judge told the parties to ask themselves: Would you want to know? It is the perfect question for self-reflection in co-parenting.
- If a doctor needed to be
IMO Sheys and Blackburn: Can New Hampshire maintain jurisdiction over a child when it is no longer the home state?
The New Hampshire Supreme Court issued its opinion In the Matter of Mary Sheys and Eric Blackburn on July 15, 2015.
The Facts
Mother and father married in 2005. They had two children during their marriage. When they divorced in New Hampshire in 2009, the parties agreed on a parenting plan providing mother with primary
Guardian ad Litem Reports are Confidential
After you receive the GAL report and read it, your first instinct might be to share the document with family, friends and perhaps professionals such as therapists or teachers. It is important to hold back on this urge because the GAL report is confidential.
Circuit Court Rule 2.15 states: “Written reports of the guardian ad
Lessons from the Superbowl on Co-Parenting
A court will look to many factors under RSA 461-A:6 when making an initial determination of parental rights and responsibilities. Provided that each parent is capable of providing a safe, loving home, one of the most important factors that will be considered is the ability of each parent to support the relationship of the children
Courthouse Divorce File: What’s Private?
“All human beings have three lives: public, private, and secret.”
― Gabriel García Márquez, Gabriel García Márquez: a Life
The public thirsts for gossip, apparent in websites like TMZ and Perz Hilton. Celebrity splits are big news such as Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes to Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon. While most of us
Unmarried Parents Get Equal Protection for New Hampshire Appeals
Miller v. Todd, a parenting case between two parties who were never married, raised the issue of whether Supreme Court Rule 3 is unconstitutional because it treats married and unmarried parents differently for the purposes of an appeal. At the time, only parents who were married were entitled to a mandatory appeal from an
In re Deven O: Father rebutted presumption of abandonment in termination of parental rights
The Supreme Court issued In Re Deven O. on November 7, 2013.
The Facts
Deven was born in June 2006 and lived with his parents until they split up in December 2006. Deven lived with his mother and visited with his father a few days each month until December 2007, when father was arrested and
Proving your New Hampshire Petition to Terminate Parental Rights
The New Hampshire Supreme Court has often reiterated that parental rights are “natural, essential, and inherent." Such fundamental liberty interests are not easily swept aside. It is therefore imperative to understand the law and procedures for a termination of parental rights. Check out the latest You Tube video about proving your petition for termination of parental