Family Law

The federal child support enforcement program provides services to locate noncustodial parents, establish paternity and child support orders, enforce support payments, and collect and distribute payments.

Yes, the federal government helps collect child support across state lines through the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program, which requires states to cooperate and use uniform procedures.

Yes, your U.S. passport can be denied or revoked if you owe $2,500 or more in past-due child support, under federal law enforced through the Child Support Enforcement program.

Yes, the federal government can intercept federal tax refunds to pay overdue child support through the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program, authorized under the Child Support Enforcement Act.

Yes, it is a federal crime to travel across state lines to avoid paying child support under the Child Support Recovery Act of 1992 — not under 42 U.S.C. § 651, which only authorizes funding for enforcement programs.

Federal law criminalizes interstate domestic violence under 18 U.S.C. § 2261, making it illegal to cross state lines or enter tribal lands to commit domestic violence, stalk, or violate a protection order.

No, under federal law, a person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence or subject to a qualifying domestic violence restraining order is prohibited from possessing firearms.

No, there is no federal civil protection order available to domestic violence victims; federal law does not create a standalone federal court process to issue protective orders. Victims must seek protection orders in state or tribal courts.

Yes, it is a federal crime to cross state lines with the intent to violate a protection order under 18 U.S.C. § 2261.

A state must submit and maintain an approved state plan that meets all requirements in 42 U.S.C. § 671, including case planning, reasonable efforts to prevent removal, permanency hearings, and timely termination of parental rights when appropriate.

The state must file a petition to terminate parental rights (TPR) within 15 months after a child enters foster care, unless an exception applies.

U.S. courts may refuse to order a child’s return under the Hague Convention if one of six statutory defenses applies—such as grave risk of harm, child’s objection (if mature), or acquiescence by the left-behind parent.

The state where the child has lived for at least six consecutive months immediately before the custody proceeding begins — known as the 'home state' — generally has priority jurisdiction under federal law.

You can file a petition under the Hague Convention through the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues to seek your child’s prompt return. The International Child Abduction Remedies Act (ICARA) implements this treaty in U.S. law.

Foster parents in the U.S. have no automatic legal right to adopt a child in their care under federal law, but they must be given timely notice and an opportunity to be heard in adoption proceedings when the child has lived with them for at least six months.

No, the federal government does not mandate how states calculate child support; it requires states to have guidelines and review them every four years, but allows each state to set its own calculation method.

No, a state generally cannot modify another state's custody order unless it has jurisdiction under the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA) and the original issuing state no longer has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction.

Yes, certain immigrant victims of domestic violence may obtain legal status under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), though 18 U.S.C. § 2261 itself is a criminal statute and does not directly grant immigration benefits.

Yes, wages can be garnished for child support without a separate court hearing if a valid child support order already exists and the garnishment follows federal and state procedures.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) originally included a civil rights remedy allowing victims of gender-motivated violence to sue in federal court, but that provision was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2000 and is no longer in effect.

No, a state court generally cannot refuse to enforce another state's custody order if that order was issued by a court with proper jurisdiction under the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA).

When a child is placed in foster care across state lines, federal law requires compliance with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC), and states must ensure the placement serves the child’s best interests and meets safety standards under the Adoption and Safe Families Act.

Yes, international adoption involving U.S. citizens and children from other countries is governed in part by federal law — especially when the child’s country is a party to the Hague Adoption Convention, which the U.S. implements through federal statutes like the International Child Abduction Remedies Act.

The federal government helps locate parents who owe child support through the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program, which authorizes funding and mandates cooperation among state agencies, federal databases, and employers to identify and locate noncustodial parents.

Federal law does not automatically change child custody or support due to military service, but it provides protections against unfair jurisdictional changes and ensures full faith and credit for valid custody orders across states.