A tort is a civil wrong not based on contract law that results when a defendant engages in socially unreasonable conduct that harms another person. Generally, in tort claims the suing party (called the plaintiff) asks for monetary damages from the defendant (sometimes called the tortfeasor or person who committed the tort) to compensate him or her for the harm he or she has suffered. If you punch someone in the face, you have committed the tort of battery. If you drive your car recklessly and hit another vehicle, you have committed the tort of negligence. If you write false things on the Internet that harm another person’s reputation, you have committed the tort of defamation. If you take pictures of a person changing clothes in a restroom, you have committed the tort of invasion of privacy.

• Can stepparents adopt their spouse’s biological children?
• Does a biological father have the right to notification that his child may be placed for adoption by the child’s mother?
• What age restrictions are imposed on prospective adoptive parents?
• What expenses do adoptive parents pay to the birth mother?
• Can prospective adoptive parents advertise that they wish to adopt a child?
• Can adoption agencies consider the race of the adoptive parents or children when making decisions?
• What is a foreign adoption?
• What is the court or judge’s role in the adoption process?
• What information does an adoption agency consider when determining whether to place a child with prospective adoptive parents?
• Can birth mothers withdraw consent to an adoption?
• Who must consent to an adoption?
• What methods of adoptions are there?
• What is adoption?
• If you think you are the father of a child, but you are not married and the mother refuses to let you see the baby, is there anything you can do?
• If you are a pregnant and unmarried woman, and the father refuses to acknowledge paternity, what can you do?
• Can courts modify child support obligations?
• What happens if a person refuses to pay child support?
• How does a court determine the amount of child support?
• Can a court require a parent to pay child support?
• Can grandparents have visitation rights?