Texas Supreme Court Accepts 2 Gay Divorce Cases

I typically do not recommend that same-sex couples in Georgia legally marry in another state if they are going to continue to reside in Georgia for one big reason: if things go badly and they want to get divorced, someone has to move out of state to do it.  (There are a few exceptions, depending on where they were married.)

Georgia has a six month residency requirement for divorces, which means that in most cases, a person must be a resident of the state of Georgia for at least six months prior to filing for divorce. And in Georgia, a court will not hear a same-sex couple's divorce petition because Georgia law does not recognize them as legally married in the first place.

Texas law is similar to Georgia law in that way, but something big is happening in Texas: last month, after placing two gay divorce cases on hold since 2011, the Texas Supreme Court accepted two cases where same-sex couples for review. Here's the link summarizing the cases: http://www.scotxblog.com/case-notes/the-texas-supreme-court-accepts-two-gay-divorce-cases-for-argument-this-fall/

Oral arguments will be broadcast live on November 5, 2013. You can listen here: http://www.texasbarcle.com/CLE/TSCSearch.asp

*I am not licensed in the state of Texas. If you have a Texas problem, you should find a Texan lawyer.

Show Me the Money: Finding Funds for Low-Income Children

Last week, I attended the first continuing legal education class offered by the newly-created Child Protection & Advocacy section of the State Bar of Georgia, titled “Show Me the Money! Financial and Other Resources for Georgia’s Children.”

The training brought together child advocates, case workers, attorneys, guardians ad litem, and policy makers to outline how foster parents, adoptive parents, appointed advocates, and others can access governmental funding to help the children in Georgia who have special needs, are living in poverty, or do not have permanent homes. These needs can include food, mental health services, a place to live, or cash payments for medical equipment.

As a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) who frequently conducts custody investigations pro bono to qualified low-income families via the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation and the DeKalb Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, I have been amazed at the resilience of some of the children I have interviewed, despite the crushing poverty around them.  I have also seen how something small like a little financial help or the presence of a committed mentor can be a game changer in redirecting the course of their lives.

The Georgia Family Connection Partnership has published a guide that outlines the forms of federal funding available to low-income children and their families. Communities seeking statistics and data to support their grant-writing efforts can contact GFCP for empirical data to support their grant proposals.

If you are adopting from foster care, or if your child is disabled and cannot work, or if you know a child who needs prescriptions, health insurance, or medical treatment, there may be funds available.

Resources:  Barton Child Law & Policy Center, Emory University School of Law; DeKalb Children's Advocacy Center; Voices for Children

Child Advocates Needed - No Legal Experience Required

On any given day, there are 7000 children in foster care in Georgia. Sometimes, all they need is a little support and assistance from a caring adult who will stick up for them, and help connect them with the resources they need.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) are trained volunteers who are appointed by juvenile court judges to work with certain children who are in the child welfare system. They are usually not lawyers. Instead, CASA volunteers help ensure that a child does not languish in foster care.

Today, about 60% of foster children have a CASA volunteer advocating on their behalf, but about 2,900 kids still need an advocate. 19 counties in Georgia have no CASA advocates at all.

To learn more about what CASA does, and find out how you can become trained as a CASA volunteer, visit www.gacasa.org. For more information about CASA programs in the metro Atlanta are, click here.

Source: "Call to Service: Georgia CASA" by Angela Tyner, Director of Advocacy and Program Development, Georgia CASA, THE YLD REVIEW, Volume 54, Issue 2, Winter 2012.

NOTE: The CASA logo is registered trademark that belongs to CASA, not to me.