FAQ

There are two types of paternity: legal and biological. Biological paternity gives you certain rights under the U.S. Constitution; however, until you have created or established legal paternity, you won’t have legal rights within the courts. If you are on the birth certificate as the child’s father and you have an acknowledgement of paternity, then you will have both legal and biological rights. If you have not established legal rights, then you will need to file a Petition for Filiation, and in that proceeding the court will establish your legal rights. Once you’ve established paternal rights, you can potentially file for custody or ask for parenting time.

There are several factors we assess to help build parenting plans for clients. These factors include the parents’ location, how many children they have, the ages of their children, , whether the children are in school, each parent’s religious preferences , and what travel restrictions or challenges the family might have. There is no “one size fits all” plan that we use for our clients each parenting time schedule we work on is created uniquely. We really take each family’s needs into consideration to determine what will work best for as long as possible. Ideally, we like to create plans that will last for at least 5-7 years so that families don’t have to go back to court and modify their schedule more often than necessary. Our goal when creating parenting plans is to help you plan for the future and identify potential issues with decision-making so that the plan we create will work proactively against any foreseen problems.

In order to modify a parenting plan, you must first file for a hearing, which will occur five to six months from the date the modification is filed. If you’re looking to modify, you don’t want to file within a month of the expected change—you will need to plan further out. If you’re in the middle of the school year and you’ve recognized some problems with your parenting plan, don’t wait until August of the following year to get those changes in place in time for the next school year. Rather, you should be taking action in February or March so that you have ample time to get in front of a judge and get those changes in place before it’s too late. When anything changes in your parenting plan, speak with an attorney. Depending on the details of your case, an attorney may advise you to file right away or wait a while.

Prior to 2019, the dependency exemption for children averaged about $4,000 per dependent child. The new Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, which will impact your 2019 taxes and future tax filings, the exemption is now worth $0. You don’t get an automatic exemption for each qualifying child. The new law does allow you to qualify as head of household, which increases your standard exemption. In order to qualify as head of household, however, you must meet several other conditions. As we previously stated, having a dependent previously granted filers $4,000 plus exemption. However, under the new Act, you also have to qualify as head of household. Another interesting aspect about the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act is that you only get one head of household exemption overall. So, having multiple qualifying dependents does not impact your tax burden. Only one child per family allows you to qualify as head of household—this means that you cannot stack dependency exemptions anymore.

Unfortunately, once your court case has ended, there isn’t much the court can do to help with your problems regarding your ex’s boyfriend or girlfriend. Some court orders will state that you are prohibited from introducing your children to a significant other for a stated amount of time, but not all court orders include this stipulation. Other orders may go into specifics about when the children can be introduced to a significant other and who must be present. Without those provisions, you don’t have a lot of legal remedies to control your children being around your ex’s significant other, unless they are causing the children harm or there are other concerns regarding their well-being due to abuse. If there is any suspected abuse, you have every right to use legal action to protect your children.

It depends on what your judgement says. If you have a written parenting plan in your judgment, you can’t just violate the parenting plan because you want to take your kids on vacation. However, many parenting plans have a provision that states the parents can agree to alter the parenting plan together, so long as it is in writing. This should be your first step if you want to take your kids on vacation during your ex’s parenting time. Try to negotiate, or go to a mediation with your ex, to see if you can come to an agreement. If you can, make sure the modification for the vacation is in writing, and have it signed by both parties.

Additionally, most judgments provide for some amount of summer parenting time so that both parents have the opportunity to take their child on vacation. For example, a judgment may say that each parent has a two-week block of time during the summer, during which time a vacation is an open option. This allows some flexibility during the summer for parenting time when the kids are out of school. If your judgment does provide for this, you should try to take your vacations during his time to avoid any further complications with the parenting plan.

When dealing with a move-away case, the first thing to review is the dissolution judgement and the supplemental judgement regarding custody and parenting time, if applicable.

Most judgements have a provision within them stating that neither party should move residence more than 60 miles from the other parent without advanced notice to the parent and the court. This stipulation allows the other parent to file a modification and either ask for custody of the children, the creation of a long-distance parenting plan, or some other form of accommodation if the custodial parent moves.

 Move-away cases are some of the most complicated cases family law attorneys handle because the move must be in the child’s best interest, not in the parent’s best interest. Oftentimes, parents want to move for job opportunities or because of the promise of a raise in another state, however, the court is unlikely to find such reasoning is in the best interest of the child.

That’s a difficult question to answer. Technically, a child can decide where he or she wants to live once they reach adulthood at the age of 18. However, there are many instances when a younger teenager is able to drive is very verbal about a desire to live elsewhere. This type of issue can cause emotional upset and strife in the home, which may lead parents to make a change. Although the technical answer is 18, each case is very dependent on the specifics of that given situation and the people involved.

As a mother or father, you’re entitled to many parental rights, even if you’re not a custodial parent. Some of these rights include the ability to inspect school and medical records, as well as the right to be in contact with certain people affiliated with your child. You can also make emergency medical decisions on behalf of your child, unless otherwise ordered.

When your children are older, they don’t have a say in where they’re going to live because Oregon law states that they don’t become adults until they’re 18 years of age. However, courts are directed to listen to the desires of children more as they get older, as long as their desires are reasonable and aren’t born out of an idea that they just “want” to live with one parent over another. If you have a child who is hesitant to spend time with your spouse or ex-spouse, consider their reasoning. Unless the child’s reason for refusing to spend time with one parent is simple because they don’t “like” that parent at the moment, it might be helpful to hire their own advocate.

Cases involving younger children who can’t advocate for themselves often use custodial and parenting time evaluations to help with the legal process because young children can’t reasonably articulate why they want to be with one parent over the other. Older children, on the other hand, could benefit from the help of an attorney appointed specifically to their case, especially if they want their voice to be heard. An attorney can ensure the child’s interests are protected and advocated for, but the child won’t necessarily need to address the judge themselves.

You have a couple of options in a dissolution and custody case if your ex-spouse threatens to take the kids. The first would be a status quo order. A status quo order would freeze your child’s schedule, as well as their regular place of residence with whichever parent they’ve been living with, based on how and where the child lived in the last 90 days. However, this may not be an option if you haven’t had the same schedule for the last 90 days, if you’re looking to move, or if there are strategic reasons why you may not want to file.

 A second option is a temporary relief order, which essentially asks the court to grant a temporary parenting plan for the duration of your pending dissolution or custody case. Temporary relief orders typically take a few months to go through the court, so you could be waiting for 2-3 months before your temporary parenting plan is in place. Unfortunately, with family law, there isn’t always an immediate fix to immediate problems. Status quo orders and temporary relief orders are the only way to prevent your spouse from using a temporary parenting plan to take off with your kids while your case is pending.

A parent coordinator (PC) is an independent third party who is appointed to make decisions when the key parties can't reach an agreement on their own. Most PCs are attorneys, but some are therapists or counselors. Sometimes PCs are authorized to make recommendations, which can be confirmed and enforced by the judge at a later date. A PC can also be vested with the authority to make changes to your parenting plan. PCs can be a useful resource if you and your ex frequently disagree or if you are going through a particularly high-conflict divorce. PCs are much more readily available and can review cases much more quickly than the court usually can. Parent coordinators can be a better alternative to court because they can help parties remain peaceful and productive by encouraging them to focus on their kids, have more productive conversations, and can even help their clients avoid costly litigation.

There's no provision in Oregon law that allows a child to choose whom they’d like to spend parenting time with, regardless of age. Until a child turns 18 and becomes an adult, their parents (or the court) will decide how their time is divided. That doesn't mean, however, that there aren't situations where the court won't listen to a child's wishes. However, there is no law that requires the court to follow those wishes. In some instances, children may need their own attorneys to advocate for their own interests, whether they are dealing with a custody evaluation, or if the child needs to be prepared to testify in court.

Unfortunately, grandparents do not receive visitation rights automatically. In Oregon, you would have to pursue a third-party custody case, or a parenting time case in order to obtain visitation rights. These are extremely complicated and actually have several constitutional elements to them. That being said, there have been many successful cases where third parties, (grandparents, for example), have asserted those rights.

There are many mechanisms available in order to enforce parenting time. For a noncustodial parent, or for that matter a custodial parent, a parenting time enforcement action may be appropriate. A parenting time enforcement action is a motion, declaration, and order filed with the court to inform them that your parenting time has been wrongfully denied. If your parenting time is wrongfully denied, the party responsible could incur penalties, such as make-up parenting time, fees for a bond, or the loss of parenting time via a court order.

A custodial parent also has the ability to obtain an order of assistance if the non-custodial parent denies their parenting time. Once the order of assistance is signed by a judge, it will go to the sheriff and the sheriff can then execute that order and deliver the child to the custodial parent. Enforcing an order to this extent and asking authorities to bring the child to a custodial parent is an excessive remedy and should be avoided if at all possible. However, if absolutely necessary, it is something we can help you obtain.

In the state of Oregon, our legislature has created a system of intestate succession, which means that your property will be passed down to your heirs in a way that is deemed fair and appropriate by our legislators. Usually, the heirs are the children of the decedent. If there are no children, the estate would go to the children’s children. If there are no lineal descendants, then the estate would go back up the family tree to the closest living relative, and so on and so forth. Thus, if you die without a will, but you have children, the legislator has established a system to ensure that your children will inherit your property after your death.

Probate is the legal process through which the court oversees the implementation and administration of a decedent’s will. The process includes appointment of a personal representative to be the point of contact, and appointment of the main person responsible for the implementation of the will. That person has a lot of duties, such as notifying government agencies, taking possession of the decedent’s property, and submitting filings, (including an inventory of the assets that the decedent owned at their time of death), to the court. The personal representative is responsible for ensuring that all of the tasks are completed during the probate period.

The representative’s primary job, from the court’s perspective, is to ensure that all creditors of the estate are notified of the decedent’s death. Once the court is satisfied that they know who the decedent owed money to, the court can issue authorizations and start making distributions. Eventually the court will close out the estate and discharge the personal representative.

Power of attorney is the act of delegating authority to another party in order to transact business on your behalf in some way, shape, or form. For example, if you’ve purchased a vehicle and had your plates shipped to you, you’ve signed a power of attorney by allowing that dealership to negotiate with the DMV and retrieve the plates and send them to you.

Generally, you see a power of attorney in the form of durable power of attorney. That allows someone to take control of your finances when you’re incapacitated. You could also have a power of attorney for real estate transactions, or any manner of authority that you want to delegate to a party to transact business on your behalf.

Durable power of attorney is a very important estate planning document because, as someone is in their final days, an appointed personnel will still need to make mortgage payments, file tax returns, pay their utilities, etc. Generally, durable power of attorney comes up when we’re drafting wills or estate plans due to the fact that it is an important tool to have if you want to protect your financial wellbeing if you become incapacitated.

A prenuptial agreement is a tool that we use in order to try to mitigate damages and/or control the outcome of a possible dissolution. One aspect of prenuptial agreements, or prenups, that people often forget about is what happens if a spouse dies—an event that a prenuptial agreement can provide bounds and guidelines for should this occur.

Prenuptial agreements in Oregon are upheld on a regular basis, but they can be confusing. Nearly 50% of the clients who come into our office seeking a prenuptial agreement actually need some other manner of service in order to protect their rights, or they’re interested in what would be an equitable distribution.

It’s important to know that if you execute a prenup, it may be in effect for much longer than you anticipated. If you so choose, we can put a sunset provision in the prenup, which states that after a certain amount of time (say 10 or 15 years), it will expire. One of the things that we hate to see happen is when a prenup is drafted and parties sign it, yet 40 years later it may not be something that they wish to have in effect.

Overall, a prenup can protect your rights if you get a divorce or if yourspouse dies or becomes incapacitated. In any case, it’s very important that you’re strategic about what goes into a prenuptial agreement, and be very specific on if it should terminate at some point in the future.

A revocable living trust is a legal device that you can use to manage your assets while you are alive, as well as outline a procedure for the distribution of your assets upon the event of your death.

The answer to that question is no. There are three common reasons why you would not need to initiate a probate of someone’s estate after their death. One of the most common reasons that we see more and more of these days is that the decedent died with a fully funded revocable trust. In that instance, the trust itself owns all of the property that the decedent died owning, and the trust itself can implement the distribution of those assets without the court needing to be involved. The court can become involved if there are disagreements among the beneficiaries, but generally speaking the goal of a revocable trust is to avoid a probate. So. that is not commonly seen through the court system.

The second example would be if the decedent died with only non-probate property. This would mean that all of the property the decedent owns would automatically be passed down to a recipient upon their death. Examples of this include life insurance policies, pan-death beneficiaries of retirement plans, or if somebody owns property jointly with a survivor, and that was held as a right of survivorship.

A third reason why you would not need to probate an estate is if the decedent died without sufficient assets that would require a probate of that estate, or if they did not need to transfer a title, thus utilizing the court system to effectuate the transfer of said title.

A will is the common document that most people are familiar with where a person, at some point during their lifetime, writes down what they want to happen to all of their assets when they die. This person is directing to third parties how they want their property to be distributed.

With a trust, the decedent would fund the trust during their lifetime, and this trust, (which is a separate legal entity), would, at the time of its creation, be the owner of all of their assets. Thus, when they die, the court does not need to transfer titles of said assets. That is because the trust, which still lives on after their death, is able to effectuate the transfer through the successor or trustee who has been appointed.

The simplest answer is that it is for the well-being of your loved ones. An estate plan can be as simple as a will, or can entail what we call a comprehensive estate plan, which includes a will, a health care power of attorney, a financial power of attorney, an advanced directive, and a disposition of remains. The reason we include all of these documents is because they all work together to help make things easier as you approach the end of your life. You have documents that will help your loved ones be able to work with you in the hospital, to acquire information on your behalf, and to help appoint someone who can handle your financial affairs when things become difficult.

Having an advanced directive is perhaps one of the most considerate things you can do for your loved ones. Because you have already made important decisions for future yourself, (such as when you want a doctor to stop administering care), taking the burden of that decision away someone that you love can be extremely relieving.

Creating a will or a trust will help avoid conflicts or disputes among your beneficiaries or heirs after your death, and they make things simple and straightforward. In the context of a will, having a named representative can also eliminate tension or conflict that can arise between remaining family members, and can also make things more cost-effective for the personal representative who is administering the estate.

If you’re the petitioner, documents should be personally served, preferably. You can also send documents to the opposing party with an acceptance of service. The opposing party will need to sign these documents in front of a notary before they can be filed with the court. If a notary signature is not possible, then a third-party process server or a sheriff may be appropriate to stand in for the necessary service. The stand-in for the notary will hand deliver the documents to the opposing party (just like you’ve seen on TV when someone says, “you’ve been served”). The third party, (sheriff or processer), will then sign an affidavit of service stating the date and time the documents were delivered to the opposing party, as stated in the affidavit. If you are unable to serve someone or if they refuse to file an acceptance of service, then you may need to ask the court for an order that will allow you to serve the person alternatively. Alternative examples include email, fax, registered mail, return receipt requested, or delivery to their last-known address.

Our team at Pacific Cascade Legal has seen several issues that stem from self-representation. Most of these issues are generally geared towards financial concerns that the self-representing party just didn’t think about throughout the process. For example: of the self-representing client might completely overlook retirement accounts if he or she isn’t aware that those accounts can be divided. Or, the self-representing party may not be aware of the tax implications, whether that includes dependency exemptions or the process of offsetting child support with spousal support.

We also see issues when dealing with real property, transferring real property inappropriately, or dealing with a mortgage that is in someone else’s name. While a self-represented individual may think they’ve done their research, they simply don’t have the necessary knowledge because they are not trained in the intricacies of family law.

 Another major issue that we see from self-representation is how that person handles a court setting. Courtrooms can be a foreign setting for most, and it can be easy to get tripped up or leave out a major detail if you’re not a professional who has been trained to defend a case under pressure. If you don’t have qualified legal representation and you fail to bring important aspects of the case forward in court, that oversight can affect your child custody, parenting time, child and spousal support, and more. Unfortunately, these are very high-stakes risks.

If you are considering representing yourself, you should, at the very least, consider meeting with a professional for a consultation so that you can get an idea of just how complex your case is. Once you’ve met with a professional you can weigh the pros and cons of hiring a lawyer and determine whether or not it’s worth the risk to forego professional help from someone who will help obtain the most favorable outcome for your case.

Determining whether or not a couple can file for a divorce in Oregon is largely dependent on where all of the marital property is located, where each spouse lives, and how long they have lived there. Figuring out where to file for divorce can be a much more complex than it may initially seem. The best thing to do is reach out to an experienced law firm and we can help you determine that answer.

Courtrooms are very formal environments, so your behavior and attire should reflect that the atmosphere. When you’re addressing the judge, you should refer to him/her as “Your Honor” at all times. Your clothing should be conservative and formal, but there is no need to wear a full suit, (although you can if you want to). It is not appropriate to wear sweatpants, sweatshirts, slippers, pajamas of any kind, t-shirts, or sneakers. A safe bet is to wear a nice shirt and a pair of nice slacks to show the judge that you’re taking your hearing seriously.

You should also arrange for childcare prior to any hearing that you have, because many judges will not allow young children in the courtroom. If you have further inquiries, your attorney can help answer any questions you may have regarding proper courtroom etiquette.

If your spouse cuts you off financially after you’ve filed for divorce, your best option is to file for temporary relief. Temporary relief asks the court to order temporary support while your dissolution case is pending. If you are filing for a straightforward dissolution and there are no children involved, you may be able to obtain spousal support alone. If there are children involved, you may also be eligible to receive child support, depending on where the children are and who acts as their primary caregiver. While your divorce is still pending, the court can also determine who should be paying the mortgage, who should be paying joint expenses along with other expense-related factors.

Legally speaking, yes you can date during a divorce. There is no law that prevents you from dating while going through a divorce or child custody case. That being said, during a divorce or child custody case, you’re often under a lot of scrutiny, so you should always assume that the court or judge will hear about what you say or do while the case is pending. Therefore, you want to be careful about who you bring your children around, and always be conscientious about whether or not your actions are in their best interest. If you and your ex get into a dispute about your dating habits while the case is pending, there’s a good chance the judge will hear about it too. Additionally, some court orders may have provisions that state that you can only introduce your children to significant others after a certain period of time. If that applies to your case, you want to make sure you follow the court order as it’s laid out, otherwise it could come back to bite you later.

Equitable distribution in Oregon means that the court wants to divide your property in a way that is fair, or equitable. The court is looking for what is just and proper in all circumstances involved with the case. Other community property states, the process of dividing property is much more formula based. In Oregon, however, the goal is to do what is equitable, or fair. But, a fair division may not always be equal. There may be situations where one party takes the bulk of the debt, or the bulk of the assets, because in that given situation, it may be the most equitable option in the eyes of the court. Equitable distribution means that the court is looking for some manner of fairness through the dissolution process.

At a conceptual level, the court does not give greater weight to a petitioner (the person who files first) or a respondent (the person who was filed against). In actuality and in function, however, it may make a rather large difference. If immediate child custody concerns are an issue or there’s a need for emergency or temporary orders, you may want to file first in order to get some manner of advantage or to get immediate relief from the court.

If you do not have any of those concerns, (ex. there are no children and no emergent issues), then being the petitioner or respondent will not make any difference in the outcome of your case.

The term “no fault” as it’s used within the statute of Oregon law, and as it relates to dissolution or divorce, means that neither party has to have a reason for divorce. The reasoning behind “why” a divorce is happening isn’t really of much interest to the court. The party who wants to get a divorce merely needs to allege that there are irreconcilable differences between the parties, at which point the court will need no further explanation. Under older law, there had to be proof of a valid reason, such as adultery, abandonment, cruelty, etc. However, this is no longer of any concern under modern law.

The concept of a no-fault dissolution is somewhat modern. A better way to phrase the question may even be “what is a fast-track dissolution?” or “what is the fastest way I can get a divorce?” In Oregon, we have a proceeding that allows us to fast-track a divorce when parties have an amount of property that is equal-to or less-than approximately $30,000. In order to qualify for this type of divorce, spousal support and child support must not be applicable, and there should be no custody matters to address. The advantage of going through a proceeding on a fast-track is that you don’t have to appear in front of a judge—you can appear in front of an arbitrator, which eliminates some of the court timelines. Even if there are certain disputes to work through, you can address those in front of your arbitrator, instead of waiting for the court’s docket.

In summary, a fast-track dissolution may be appropriate for some parties, but most people have support or child concerns that make this dissolution option inappropriate for their circumstances.

One of the major issues that we see with dissolution cases in Oregon has to do with individual or joint retirement accounts. One of the major mistakes we see from people who are unrepresented or under-represented is that the separate party’s retirement account isn’t accounted for because of the mistaken belief that one spouses retirement is only theirs.

That’s not the way that Oregon views retirement accounts. According to Oregon state law, retirement accounts are a form of property, and the other spouse is entitled to a marital coverture fraction. In short, the court will look at the amount of time that the retirement has been added to while the marriage was in existence and determine how much should go to each spouse. That marital coverture fraction is entirely divisible in Oregon during marital proceedings, and can be offset by other items, such as equity in a house, or a different retirement account presumptively owned by the other party. These items should be considered in a manner that is fair and equitable to both parties. In summary, retirement accounts in Oregon are divisible, regardless of who owns the account in their name.

Once we determine that there are retirement accounts that need to be divided in a dissolution case, we then need to deal with the functional division of those accounts. The functional division is done through a qualified domestic relations order, or a QDRO.

A QDRO is an order we send to the judge, the judge signs, and then the signed order goes to the planned administrator, whether it is a PERS, a 401K, etc. Once the necessary forms are delivered to the planned administrator, they effectuate the actual division.

One of the common misconceptions is that divided retirement accounts will result in substantial taxes. However, a division incident of divorce is not a taxable event. Thus, those gross dollars that are in a 401k will be divided into two accounts, presumptively one for each spouse, with no tax penalty at all. Once they’re withdrawn, a tax penalty will then occur.

There are several different grounds for annulment, including fraud, duress, under the influence, lack of capacity, and bigamous and polygamous marriages. Annulments in Oregon are somewhat rare—they’re very detail-oriented, and they’re very fact-specific. If you’re interested in filing for an annulment for a short-term marriage, we encourage you to speak with a qualified attorney about your case.

A legal separation is very analogous to divorce, legally, though there are some differences. The primary difference between a legal separation and a divorce is that couples who divorce have irreconcilable differences that they know will never get better. In a legal separation, or an unlimited separation, the couple often believes there are reconcilable differences, which is why they do not officially end the marriage.

However, individuals who legally separate will essentially go through the entire divorce process without impacting the martial status and relationship overall. Custody, parenting time, child support, property division, and spousal support will all be addressed. A legal separation can be converted to a divorce, thus ending the martial relationship, with a motion from either party within two years from the date of the legal separation. The most common reason people opt for legal separations is because of a religious component between the parties that states that the marital relationship needs to stay intact. However, couples who are separated but do not want a divorce often need the court to settle various issues regarding custody, parenting time, child support, etc.

The duration of the dissolution process depends on the case and the parties involved. Some cases may take a couple of weeks to draft up paperwork, which then needs to be signed by the court. However, there are cases where people disagree on many, if not all, of the issues. These cases can be very complicated and require more experts to get involved. Thus, the duration of your dissolution really depends on the details of your case. The time frame can range anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, and on rare occasion, over a year.

Absolutely. You should make sure to execute any wills, trusts, as well as any documents that include your ex-spouse’s name. Any documents or accounts that require any changes of ownership outlined in your divorce decree or your dissolution of partnership must be altered accordingly.

Discovery in family law can take on several different forms. Initially, each case will deal with documents and paperwork. We will need to determine which physical documents are presently in existence that we can request to fill in the gaps by getting valuation of property, potential incomes, and any additional financial information. Discovery may also include depositions, or custody evaluations. The basic tenant of Discovery is that we want to gather as much information as possible so that we can be prepared for negotiation, trial, settlement conferences, etc.

Think of retainers as a security deposit for your case. When you’re initiating your case, we don’t know how much it’s going to cost, and we don’t know what’s going to come up. So, we take an advanced fee deposit that goes into our account and states that we have “X amount of dollars to put towards your case until we need an additional deposit. Retainers vary depending on where you are in your case, how complex your case is, how close you are to trial, and which legal team you’re working with. Each of our attorneys has a different hourly rate depending on their expertise and the complexity of your case.

With service of process in Oregon, we typically try to utilize a personal service first. If we can find the individual, that’s the method we want to use to serve them divorce papers. If we can’t find them, and after a diligent search, we can file an affidavit of non-service. This form means we did our best to locate this person, but we weren’t successful, so we need to ask the court for some manner of alternative service. The court may permit us to contact that person via email, Facebook, faxing, personal delivery to a home where we know they reside, first class mailing, or return receipt requested. These are all permissive ways to serve people after personal service has failed.

The payment or non-payment of child support does not entitle someone to more or less parenting time, nor does it allow one party to violate the other party’s parenting time. Parenting time and child support are two separate and distinct issues, and while the court does consider the annual number of nights each parent spends with the children when determining a fair child support order , there should be no direct association between the two. In layman’s terms, money and time are two separate issues as far as the court is concerned. Both child support and parenting time can be enforced once they are outlined in a court order, but they’re enforced separately. The court wants to keep money on one side, and parenting on the other.

Child support is a type of money judgement. Money judgments are typically issued by the court and they come out every month. Once the court issues a monthly money judgment, it is no longer modifiable. If you need to modify your child support obligation, you must do so by the date you serve a motion to the other party. It should also be noted that if someone is not paying their child support, those judgments can be executed on. In other words, the court may take action against the non-payer by garnishment of wages, wage withholding, garnishment of a bank account, seizure of personal property, a lean on real property, and potential foreclosure. If the state gets involved in collection and you have an arrearage balance that is marginally to exceedingly high, they can pull professional licenses, including your driver’s license. If you’re unable to make your child support payments, you need to file a modification as quickly as possible because as soon as those judgements are due, they are no longer modifiable.

Oregon child support is determined by a guideline calculation, which takes into account several major factors, including the gross incomes of either party and the annual number of overnight stays with the child or children. The court will also consider several secondary factors, including who pays union dues, who covers healthcare for the children, and the necessity for daycare expenses. That calculation creates what is called a rebuttable presumption. As parties earn more or less, or if circumstances change, child support awards can be modified through the court.

In Oregon, child support continues until a child reaches 18 or 21 years of age, as long as they continue to attend school, as defined by Oregon law. Someone between the ages of 18 and 21 who participates at least part-time in a degree-granting institution, (or attends certain trade schools), could qualify as a “child” under child support laws. T If an older child meets these standards, he or she could continue to receive child support from age 18 to age 21. A child attending school can take normal breaks, such as summer break and spring break. They do not have to fill up those breaks with classes, in order to qualify for support, as long as they are on a regular schedule at least half time and making satisfactory academic progress. If they don’t qualify as a child attending school, then standard child support obligations will end at the age of 18.

There is a formula under Oregon law, (AKA “the Guidelines”), that serves as a great starting point for parents hoping to calculate their potential child support. The formula uses a variety of factors, but the big ones include income, parenting time credit, work-related childcare costs, and healthcare costs. People commonly think that because they have legal custody, to the court cannot order them to pay child support. That is not true because custody is not a part of the calculation. The child support amount calculated by the Guidelines may be changed only if all parties agree or if the Guidelines can be successfully refuted.

Custody is modifiable anytime there has been a significant change in circumstances. As long as either parent can argue that a change in custody would be in the child’s best interest, the court may consider a legal modification. Generally, in order to modify a custody order previously issued by the court, you must file a motion, declaration, and order to show cause. At that point, the other party will be invited to court to explain why custody should not be changed.
General circumstances that may lead to a custody change include: one party is moving out of the area, a child is underperforming in school, abuse has occurred, etc. One of the things to keep in mind if you’re trying to modify child custody is the relevance of the inquiry since the issuances of the last custody order. You can bring in evidence prior to the last custody order to say what the circumstances were then, but the court will be far more interested in discovering what has changed since the last custody order. Ultimately, the court must be convinced that it is in the child’s best interest to change the custodial parent.

Traditionally, custody refers to the amount of time you get to spend with your children. Today, we legally use two terms: custody and parenting time. Parenting time refers to the scheduled time you spend with your children, (do they stay with you on Mondays or over the weekends, for example). Custody, on the other hand, refers to which parent has the legal right to make certain decisions for your children. There are two types of custody in Oregon: joint and sole. If you have sole custody, you get to decide where your child will go to school, what types of long-term medical your child will use, and whether your child will receive a religious education. If you have joint custody, you and your ex-spouse will share the responsibility of making these decisions together.

In Oregon, a judge cannot order joint custody unless both parties agree upon it themselves. That means, that if one party doesn’t want to share joint custody, the court will award only one spouse with sole custody. The parent with custody gets to make decisions on three major fronts: education, religious education, and long-term medical care. If you have joint custody, you should be working together with your ex to come to mutual decisions about these matters. If you have sole custody, it is still in good form to consult your ex-spouse regarding these decisions, even though you aren’t legally required to do so. However, if you and your ex disagree, you, the custodial parent, are at liberty to make whatever decision you feel is in your child’s best interest.

You have to modify your current agreement. Sometimes you can obtain a modification through the agreement of both parties, and sometimes a modification requires the court’s intervention. It all depends on the details of your particular case.

There are two types of situations where parents should seriously consider hiring a custody evaluator. If there is a legitimate question about whether you or your spouse are the primary caregivers for the child, and you can’t agree on where the child should live, you should hire a custody evaluator. In these situations, a custody evaluation can be very helpful when determining what the most appropriate parenting plan and custodial agreement should be for your kids. You should also consider bringing in a custody evaluator if there are concerns about domestic violence, addictions (such as drugs and alcohol issues), or any other domestic issues within your family that you think the court needs to have a heightened awareness of. A custody evaluation can be instrumental in providing information to the court about how to develop an appropriate and safe parenting plan for your children.

Absolutely. Oregon handles custody and parenting time separately, so even if you do not have custody, you can still spend time with your children. Custody refers to a parent’s responsibility to make major decisions for the kids (medical, schooling, religion, etc.), whereas parenting time refers to the kids' actual schedule. Oregon has two types of custody— joint and sole custody. If you have joint custody, you and your co-parent will make major decisions together. If one parent has sole custody, that parent will make the big decisions by themselves. Because custody and parenting time are not necessarily related, one parent could, hypothetically, have sole custody of the kids and the non-custodial parent could still have the kids 50% of the parenting time.

Generally, for a biological parent to revoke their consent and get the child back, they need to show there was fraud or duress. For this reason, it is incredibly important for the parents petitioning for adoption to ensure that the biological parent has his or her own separate legal counsel who can explain the process and potential ramifications to them.

Yes. In Oregon, jurisdiction for adoptions is based on whether or not either parent or the child lives in the state of Oregon. As long as one of those people lives in Oregon, the state of Oregon has the jurisdiction to carry out the adoption.

Yes, your spouse can adopt your child through the process of a stepparent adoption. In a stepparent adoption, the biological parent will serve as the co-petitioner alongside thespouse who is asking the court to preserve your parental rights. As a result, the stepparent can adopt the child and become their legal parent. If a second biological parent is present, their rights would need to be terminated before the stepparent adoption can take place.

An adoption can take anywhere from several months up to a year, or more. The duration of the adoption depends on the individual nature of your case, the background checks, and if the other biological parent consents to the adoption.

This duration of the adoption process depends on whether or not you need a home study, a background check of your recent homes, (including each of the states you’ve lived in within the last five years), and whether the biological parents are going to be consenting or not. An adoption can take as little time as a month, or as long as a year, depending on the home study process.

There are several potential exceptions in an adoption case. The most common exception is the abandonment or neglect of a child within the last calendar year before filing the petition for adoption. In other words, if the biological parent has been absent, the court may choose to override their consent, or lack thereof.

The biological parent of the child in question must consent to the adoption if he or she has established parental rights. If the other parent is the child’s father, he must give his consent if his paternity has been established either by filing with the vital statistics, (the birth certificate when the child was born), or by establishing paternity through a court order. If he did not establish paternal rights, you may not need his consent to adopt the child.
The court order is often established by the Dept. of Child Support,.Keep in mind, if the child is on OHP or if you ever received TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), the Oregon Child Support Dept. likely established paternity for the other parent. Even if that biological parent has never met, seen, spoken with or given gifts to the child, as long as his or her legal paternity has been established, and you will need to terminate their rights either through consent or through an exception to consent. About Us Our Team Join Our Team Your Better Tomorrow Starts Today First Name Last Name Email Phone Are you a new client?