The tragic and premature end of a famous country singer's life has laid the groundwork for a tug-of-war over her children. Singer Mindy McCready recently committed suicide, leaving her two children in foster care. The children -- two boys ages 6 and 10 months -- were in foster care initially after child services took them away from McCready just 10 days before her death.
Consultant: Make divorces harder to get
Some people believe that divorce is prevalent in choice states because those state's laws make it easy for spouses to dissolve a marriage. In line with this school of thought, if states designed laws that made it difficult for spouses to split, they would enjoy higher marriage rates.
Plan for the costs tied in with adoption, surrogacy
Parents who cannot - or simply do not want - to conceive a child in traditional fashion can turn to adoption and sometimes surrogacy. While these processes present their fair share of challenges, none of them are greater than the financial strains that can accompany.
Louisiana senators appeal Russia's adoption ban
An adoption ban put in place by Russian leaders has taken its toll on Louisiana parents and hopeful mothers and fathers around the rest of the country. The ban forbids American parents from adopting Russian children. Some families were in the middle of the adoption process when the ban was put in place by Russian president Vladimir Putin. It took effect on the first day of this year.