The HSC Foundation has developed a booklet designed to help parents of children with health or mental health care needs learn about available resources and partner with he child's school. The booklet is available in English and Spanish here.
Technorati Tags: Alternative Family, Non-traditional Family, Nontraditional Family
All children want to know where they came from. In non-traditional families, the answers may be more difficult.
The Family Equality Council sums it up like this:
The presumption of a mother and father creating a child (which may be valid for some of our children) is one with which our children will be saturated through their daily interactions with children’s books, the media, school personnel, peer discussions and exposure to various family models. It is your job as a parent, whether you identify as part of the LGBTQ community or not, to teach your children about different family constellations.
The council offers a free publication Talking To Children About Our Families that contains age-appropriate language and examples for some of the questions you might get from your own kids and others in your life. Download it here. Check out their other publications here.
Hat tip to: Family Equality Council
Mombian has a post today regarding a recent Washington Post Article on same-sex divorces. The article highlights several areas where the law is unsettled and same-sex couples are at a disadvantage, such as:
Read the Mombian Post here and the Washington Post article here (free registration may be required).
Abbie E. Goldberg, Ph.D., as guest author, provides information on why it is important for you to participate in research if you are LGBT. Abbie writes:
When I started researching lesbian parenthood, about seven years ago, I quickly learned that I was entering a field in which any research that I produced had the capacity to be used for good or misinterpreted for evil. Studies that demonstrated the positive adjustment of children of lesbian and gay parents are cited repeatedly in courtrooms, as evidence as to why it is not fair to deny a parent custody on the basis of his or her sexual orientation (i.e., in divorce proceedings). At the same time, critics of gay/lesbian parenting have often argued that the flaws in these studies preclude us from drawing these conclusions. In response, we as researchers of LGBT parent-families have often had to carefully (and repeatedly) explain and defend our findings and research methodology. In addition, our critics have pushed us to improve the rigor of our research designs (for example, including larger numbers of participants in our studies, and seeking out more diverse participants for our studies), which is, ultimately a good thing: Better science and fewer flaws means that our findings are less vulnerable to hen-pecking.
Continue reading "Why Research Matters - a Perspective on LGBT Research" »
Mombian reports on a recent case involving a lesbian mom in Texas who may lose custody of her son to the sperm donor. When Tamila and her partner, Jennie, decided to have children, Jennie's uncle seemed like a good choice as donor. The child would have genetic links through both parents since Tamila would carry the child. While Tamila and Jennie were together, the arrangement worked out fine. However when they split, the situation deteriorated. Now, the donor is suing for custody and Tamila faces the prospect of spending only one weekend a month with her son. This case illustrates the need for consulting with an attorney before entering into a sperm donor arrangement.
Thanks to Mombian for the post.
Read more about the case here.
Technorati Tags: Alternative Family, Non-traditional Family, Nontraditional Family
The Family Pride Blog has a recent post on the current definition of family. As they note, the traditional definition of family as mom, dad, two kids and Fido leaves out many families. Among them:
Family Pride quotes a post in Constant Chatter:
"So what is a family in 2007? …A family is (and always has been) an ongoing creation – if home is where when you have to go there, they have to take you in, then family are the people who take you in, no matter what. For some people, family is the nucleus of two parents and two or three children, living in a simple home. For others, family is a much larger, multigenerational structure, sometimes living together in a large dwelling, helping one another, getting into one another’s business, and raising generations of children together. For many city dwellers, family is one’s circle of friends, to whom we turn for everything from Sunday brunch to Passover Seders, acting as one another’s advisors in all things from childcare to divorce, and being there for one another in a world that can sometimes overwhelm and frighten even the toughest among us. With or without children, with one parent or two, gay or straight, we all cobble together families as best we can, because, in the end, there is something exceedingly human in our desire, our need, to be a part of a loving and supportive group that will be there for us. The world will change, our society will evolve, but our need for family, that is eternal."
Family Pride sums it up like this:
"The defintion [sic] of family will continue to evolve with our society, but the language of bedtime and bath time, hugs and homework bonds us all together as parents."
Can't say it better than that.
Sources: Family Pride Blog, Constant Chatter
Mombian has a recent post highlighting articles on gay parents. One in particular comes from the Washington Post and discusses the various challenges same-sex couples face regarding retirement planning, such as:
These are just a few examples. The legal backdrop of laws protecting married couples in these situations doesn't apply to same-sex couples. There are ways to work around many of the problems, but obtaining what comes routinely to married couples may involve lawyers and financial planners, and more money out of pocket.
Read the Washington Post Article here.
If you are part of a of a same-sex couple and planning to adopt for the first time, your help may be needed in a study on the transition to adoptive parenthood. Participants will be interviewed individually by phone during the pre-adoption period, and then again three months after the adoption. For more information about the The Transition to Adoptive Parenthood Project contact Abbie Goldberg, Ph.D., at 508/793-7289, or by email, at agoldberg@clarku.edu.
Download a brochure describing the study here:
Thanks to the Human Rights Campaign Family Newsletter. Check out their website here.
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit upheld a lower court decision striking down, as unconstitutional, an Oklahoma law barring recognition of adoptions by same-sex couples already finalized in another states. The Adoption Invalidation Law, passed in 2004, said that Oklahoma "shall not recognize an adoption by more than one individual of the same sex from any other state or foreign jurisdiction." The case involved three same-sex couples who had adopted children in other states. The 10th circuit held:
"We hold that final adoption orders by a state court of competent jurisdiction are judgments that must be given full faith and credit under the Constitution by every other state in the nation. Because the Oklahoma statute at issue categorically rejects a class of out-of-state adoption decrees, it violates the Full Faith and Credit Clause. "
The case is Finstuen v. Crutcher and can be read online here.
Thanks to Grant Griffiths of the Kansas Family Law blog for this post.
Technorati Tags: Adoption, Non-traditional Family, Nontraditional Family
Have you been named as an executor or has someone asked you to serve as one? Maybe a family member or friend has recently died and you were named as administrator. What now?
Executors vs. Administrators
An executor is a person named in a will to take care of the deceased's estate. An administrator serves basically the same function when a person dies without a will. In either case, the person so named must act as a "fiduciary" with respect to the deceased's assets. Acting as a fiduciary generally means you must do your best to protect the assets of the deceased and act in the best interest of the estate.
Here is an overview of some of the of the tasks you'll need to do.
To Do List:
- Collect information about the deceased's assets and liabilities. You and your attorney will use this information to come up with a list filed with the court.
- Find and safeguard all business interests, valuables, personal property, important papers, the residence, vacation homes, and other properties.
- Pay the decedent's bills and taxes.
- File tax returns such as the deceased's income tax return and an estate income tax return (in some cases). You may also need to file an estate tax return.
- Keep detailed records of all receipts and payments.
- Prepare and file a final accounting with the court.
- Distribute property to heirs.
Being an executor or administrator is a serious and sometimes time-consuming commitment. Fortunately, your estate attorney can assist you along the way.
