Iowa Family Legal Questions

You didn't state where the order was signed (Iowa or Missouri) as to the custody and support.  If the order was signed in Missouri, you need to talk to a Missouri attorney. If the order was signed in Iowa, I would contact an Iowa attorney to review the order. It is impossible to give advice over the internet on this subject without reviewing the order to see what the order states. Normally, support is cut off at 18 or while the child is still in school.  However, the law in Iowa has changed several times in the past years, and the decree would have to comply to the law at that time.... Read More

If you miss too much school, you can be declared a truant, and you can be subject to juvenile court action.  Your parents can also be subject to criminal action and be involved in a juvenile court action.  You are advised to continue with school, missing as few days as possible, and graduate to obtain decent employment in your future.... Read More

Guardianship is a court action and would need to be dismissed by the court.  You need to contact a local attorney to discuss this case. The court will want to be assured that the original reason for the guardianship has been resolved.  If so, the court may dissolve the guardianship.  Contact a local attorney to discuss your case.... Read More

There are several sources for affordable attorneys in Iowa. Iowa Legal Aid may provide an attorney if the individual is qualified and Iowa Legal Aid has resources available. Iowa Legal Aid only handles certain types of cases. The Drake Law Clinic will also provide student attorneys working under the supervision of an attorney (again depends on availability of resources. Another source is the local bar association.  For Polk County, the Polk County Bar Association has a volunteer lawyer program that lawyers sign up to accept volunteer cases. Another source is that each attorney is ethically required to provide some volunteer aid every year.  You can contact local attorneys to determine if they will provide some volunteer aid or even assistance with payment plans, etc.... Read More

To apply for a court appointed attorney, ask the clerk of court in your county for an application for court appointed attorney.  Fill out the form and turn it back into the clerk of court.  If you qualify, the court will appoint an attorney for you. I have more information on court appointments on my website http://www.robertpetersonlaw.com/Criminal%20Law%20Issues/Court%20Appointed%20Attorney%20Representation.aspx  ... Read More

If the visitation is in a court order, you cannot voluntarily violate the court order.  Violating the court order, can lead to contempt and if found guilty, leads to mandatory jail time.  You cannot change the court order, but a judge can change it.  If you have the grounds for modification, you would need to go back to court to modify the order.  I would suggest contacting a local attorney to discuss if you have grounds for modification.... Read More

You will need to terminate the father's parental rights prior to the adoption.  This can involve two complicated legal fights (termination and adoption), so I would suggest contacting a local attorney to discuss the issue. Also, you mention marriage. When children are involved, I would always suggest marriage.  Marriage provides protection and rights that a partnership does not- especially concerning property.  Realize that when your boyfriend adopts your child, he will have the same rights as you do, and even though you are the birth mother, he can receive sole physical care in the future in a court action and you lose physical care.  Thus, this is not an action to be taken without good legal advice.... Read More

Parents can agree to extra visitation. Visitation is determined in the best interests of the child.  The court decree provides a baseline of visitation in the child's best interests in case parents cannot agree. Parents are encouraged to work together to modify visitation as they deem necessary.  Modification of a decree concerning visitation requires a substantial change in circumstances.  Getting extra days for weeks would not normally rise to the statutory requirements for a modification.  Getting extra days for years and then being cut back, might meet the requirements.  I recommend contacting a local attorney to discuss the situation.  However, if the other parent is voluntarily granting extra visitation, why go back to court prior to being denied those days in the future?... Read More

I'm assuming that there is a court order in your case dictating custody.  If so, you cannot voluntarily violate the court order or risk contempt charges.  You will need to have the court modify the decree to prevent contempt.  For you to obtain the modification a district court case would need to be filed. As there is a family resource worker, I'm assuming there must be a juvenile court case.  If there is a juvenile court case, you must have permission from the juvenile court to file a modification in district court (concurrent jurisdiction).  If there is a juvenile court action, you can present evidence to the juvenile court and the court can determine if your daughter should be returned to your ex-wife. If you believe that abuse or neglect has occurred, you need to contact DHS to inform them of the abuse or neglect.  If you fail to report the abuse or neglect, you can also have problems since you may have failed to correct the situation.  Prior to contacting DHS or taking any legal action, I would suggest contacting a local attorney to discuss your case and determine the necessary actions to take.... Read More

I'm assuming that you asked Child Support Recovery for a modification.  Child Support Recovery can only modify child support every 2 years. You can file a Modification lawsuit in district court if your child support would change by 10% (not income has changed by 10%).  I would suggest contacting a local attorney to discuss your case and determine if modification can be supported in your case.... Read More

You need to contact a local attorney to discuss this case.  Parental rights are a constitutional right and may not be easy to dissolve.  A termination of parental rights case will be required to dissolve the father's rights.  As the father is in prison and the child has not seen him for 2 years, you may have grounds to dissolve the father's rights.  However, it will take a court case to dissolve those rights, so an attorney should be contacted.... Read More

Unless paternity has been established by some method (for instance Child Support Recovery may have required a paternity test prior to requiring child support payments), the father may have no rights.  Paternity must be established, and this may require a Paternity lawsuit to establish rights. I would suggest contacting a local attorney to discuss this situation. A lawsuit would clearly establish the rights of the father including visitation and support.... Read More

Of course it depends on what you mean by record.  If the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a locker room or bathroom, you cannot video tape without violating several laws and also be subject to civil litigation. I'm assuming that you mean to make audio recordings of phone conversations.  Iowa is a one party state, meaning that one of the parties in the conversation must know of the recording if the conversation is conducted in Iowa.  Thus a person can call you and record the conversation as long as they knew they were recording.  This issue can be complicated with cell phones as the cell phone is mobile and can actually be present in a state other than where the home state is located. Some states are two party states (requiring both parties' permission and knowledge) and a few states are all-party states (requiring all parties to the conversation to have knowledge and permission.)... Read More

I would tend to agree with you concerning the fraud.  ANYTHING coming from Nigeria and utilizing wiring funds should be suspect. Nigeria has warehouses filled with people committing fraud. As a retired military officer, I can tell you that there is no need for funds for starting paperwork for leave. The person merely goes into the office and fills out paperwork. Plus, there is no need for a person in the U.S. military to get funds via Nigeria. While there is not much that can really be done for Nigerian scams, the U.S. Secret Service should be notified as to the scam and possibly his facebook account can be immediately shut down by contacting Facebook. Contact a local attorney for the divorce and how to tie up your assets to prevent draining the marital assets.  ... Read More

Unfortunately student loans can be difficult to resolve due to legal protection for the student loan.  Student loans are difficult to discharge in bankruptcy, and can be difficult to refinance.  You do have a right to refinance if someone will deal with you.  If you are in default, they can garnish your wages or seek a judgment and execute against that judgment.  In some cases, they don't even have to go to court to seek reimbursement (unlike other creditors). Often you can seek a repayment plan, or deferment/forbearance from the company.  You are entitled to a total amount owed.  If you cannot obtain this from the company, you should hire an attorney to assist you. If a third party collector is attempting to collect the debt, they are subject to the Fair Debt Collection Act. A discussion of this act is on my website www.robertpetersonlaw.com .  I also have a discussion of student loans in my bankruptcy section.... Read More

There is a common myth, that if the child is 14 or older, he/she can chose which home he/she wants to live in.  This is not true.  During a divorce, one of the factors that helps a judge determine which parent has custody is the child's wishes. It is less of a factor usually in a modification, but is still a factor. However, the child's wish is merely one of the factors. In this case, the couple has shared physical custody.  By leaving the school district, it may be impossible to continue the shared physical custody, and the case may need to go back to court for a modification and for sole physical custody to be awarded to one of the parents. A move of 150 miles can be grounds for a modification by law.  A move less than 150 miles may or may not be grounds for modification based on the circumstances, but probably would be grounds based on the shared physical custody arrangement which may now be impossible to implement due to school requirements. I would suggest contacting an attorney to thoroughly discuss your options.  Couples can reach an agreement without an attorney, but custody is one of the most difficult areas in which to reach an agreement.... Read More

Under international law, you are married and the marriage would be recognized in the United States in most cases.  Normally, you can take your marriage certificate to be registered in Iowa by taking it down to the courthouse or state and paying to register the certificate.  If you have a question, as to whether the marriage was legal in the other country, you could get remarried in Iowa (as long as it is to the same person). Iowa also has common law marriage, so if you maintain that you are married in Iowa, and hold out yourself as husband and wife, you may already be common law married in Iowa.  To be certain of your circumstances, I would contact a local attorney to verify the legal status of your marriage.... Read More