Knoxville, Tennessee Family Law Blog

For Tennessee residents who are thinking about adoption, the rise of genetic testing available in direct-to-consumer kits has changed older ideas about confidentiality and secrecy. In the past, birth parents could place a child for adoption anonymously, in a closed process. In this type of adoption, the child or adoptive family would know little about how to contact the biological parents. While there were abuses associated with the closed adoption system and many parents had moved toward more open adoptions, that process has been changed through the use of at-home DNA kits.

An increasing number of people are learning about previously hidden histories of adoption or finding their biological relatives through the use of test kits. By sending a saliva sample to one of the testing companies and paying the required fee, people can submit their information to a database, receiving reports of biological matches and relatives scattered around the world. If any relative has taken a similar DNA test in the past, a person will find matches. This means that kids who were placed for adoption could find their biological family members.

Individuals in Tennessee and throughout the country who wish to become adoptive or foster parents generally have the right to do so. Typically, an individual must show that he or she is able to care for a child. In many cases, the sexual orientation of the prospective parent doesn't influence whether he or she can have the child. However, some adoption agencies are allowed to discriminate against same-sex individuals based on religious grounds.

The state of Michigan has decided that it will no longer work with agencies that place children in its custody in foster homes or with adoptive parents. This assumes that the parents are otherwise fit to take care of them. However, the state will not be able to take action against agencies that discriminate against same-sex couples while engaging in private placement or other actions.

Prenuptial agreements are growing more popular in Tennessee and across the United States. While many people think of prenups as solely a matter for celebrities or the ultra-rich, couples can use prenups to address situations that fit their own unique needs. As more people marry later in life with advanced careers, they may need to clarify their business interests and properties in a document. However, prenuptial agreements can address a wide range of concerns. Approximately 84 percent of Modern Orthodox rabbis in the United States require prenups that aim to prevent the use of a religious divorce as a bargaining chip.

Under Jewish religious law, a husband must give his wife a bill of divorce, or a "get," for the divorce to be considered legally valid. Women who have not received the get cannot remarry religiously until they receive this document. Some husbands refuse to give their wives the get; in most cases, this is an attempt to extract certain demands in terms of property division or child custody in the civil divorce process. As a result of this problem and demands from Orthodox women for a solution that fits with religious law, rabbis developed a prenuptial agreement that mandates extensive financial support for a wife if the husband fails to provide the get.

A previously married bride or groom preparing to walk down the aisle again in Tennessee may have accumulated a lot of assets. For this reason, there is usually a need for individuals to protect accumulated assets and children from previous relationships in the event of divorce or death. It's generally suggested that someone planning a remarriage give themselves enough time prior to exchanging vows to identify their priorities and set immediate and long-term financial goals.

Remarriage plans may also include prenuptial agreements, which can dictate such details as the division of assets and liabilities should a subsequent marriage end. Contrary to popular belief, it's a document that can actually provide important safeguards for both parties, regardless of who brings what into the marriage. With a remarriage, there's often a need to address previous obligations and arrangements involving such things as debt payments, alimony, college tuition funds for children from a prior marriage and other expenses from previous lives.