FAMILY LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2022) Joseph Perry In Matter of Office of Public Advocacy, 514 P.3d 1281 (Alaska 2022), the supreme court held that when a party in a child custody case is represented by a pro bono volunteer attorney through Alaska Legal Services Corporation (ALSC), that attorney is “provided by a public Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2022) Flora Lipsky In Notti v. Hoffman, 513 P.3d 245 (Alaska 2022), the supreme court held that “rape by fraud” wherein one person induces another to sex through fraudulent assurances is not an actionable tort claim. (Id. at 249). An estranged couple was in the process of divorcing when Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2022) Elza Bouhassira In Rainer v. Poole, 510 P.3d 476 (Alaska 2022), the supreme court held that a court cannot modify a custody order without a substantial change in circumstances. (Id. at 481). The parents in this case had a child in June 2013 and their relationship ended in Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Melissa Gustafson In C.L. v. OPA, 500 P.3d 995 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that the Alaska Rules of Professional Conduct are used to determine whether a guardian ad litem (GAL) has a disqualifying conflict of interest and the superior court must permit limited discovery for determining if a disqualifying conflict exists. Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Maddie Ayer In Ronald H. v. Department of Health & Social Services, Office of Children’s Services, 490 P.3d 357 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court affirmed the lower court’s order to terminate a father’s parental rights, holding that the lower court did not err in finding that the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) had Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Melissa Gustafson In Mariah B. v. Department of Health & Social Services, 499 P.3d 1021 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that the mother in a parental rights termination hearing did not waive her evidentiary objection by failing to raise the objection for each question during the hearsay testimony. (Id. at 1022). The Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Megan Mason Dister In In re Baron W., 498 P.3d 1045 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that the removal of a guardian is not a termination of parental rights nor a foster care placement under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), 21 U.S.C. §1912, and the standard used for removal of guardians Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Melissa Gustafson In Cynthia W. v. Department of Health & Social Services, 497 P.3d 981 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that Alaska’s child-in-need-of-aid (CINA) laws for determining if a child is at substantial risk of sexual abuse do not require the superior court to distinguish a sexual abuse indictment from a conviction Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAW, FAMILY LAW Mary Beth Barksdale In Walker E. v. State, Department of Health & Social Services., Office of Children’s Services, 480 P.3d 598, 607 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court upheld the termination of parental rights under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and AS 47.10 where the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) had Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Megan Mason Dister In In re Protective Proceedings of Nora D., 485 P.3d 1058 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held, under Alaska’s guardianship statute, Alaska Statute section 13.26.241(a), a respondent may refuse to answer questions in an interview other than questions about the respondent’s capacity to make personal medical decisions. (Id. at 1060). Continue Reading »
