Courts
Every now and then the courts work the way they are supposed to and reverse an egregious and heartbreaking trial court error. Every now and then justice prevails -- not in theory but in the lives of real people, real parents, and real children. Today the Michigan Court of Appeals unanimously reversed trial court's stripping of children from their mother who gave birth, parented and cared for them for seven years. Today she was restored as apparent able to participate in the medical care, education and parenting of her children and she is no longer relegated as a "third party" without rights. The court issued an additional opinion recognizing the other non-genetic parents constitutional right to parent regardless of whether they have given birth. Read for yourself our victory and the real result we were able to accomplish through the expertise and partnership of Attorney Cathy Sakimura and her colleagues from the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Attorney Jay Kaplan from the ...
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Divorce is an emotional and challenging time. No one gets married planning for divorce. Yet, it is becoming more and more common. Although divorces are about so much more, from a legal perspective they are about care of the children and division of property. Here are five quick tips to consider that are often overlooked because a person is not legally entitled to these items: 1) TUITION. A custodial parent is entitled to child support and certain calculated percentages of uninsured medical expenses, but not tuition. Ask for it! It benefits your child and can make a huge difference. Whether college tuition and expenses, or private school tuition, it is a real expense that will need to be paid and planned for -- preferably in advance. 2) HEALTH INSURANCE. Although you are entitled to pay for continued health insurance coverages for anywhere from 18-36 months. Why not ask for your soon to be ex-spouse to pay your premiums for you for a transitional period? 3) PASSPORT & WRITTEN PERMISSION TO TR ...
Are you a parent that worries your child is turning in the wrong direction? Hanging out with kids you do not prefer? Are you a young person that has made poor decisions for your life? Have you finally decided to leave for college and moving on from past poor decisions? I have good news for all of you!
The Holmes Youthful Training Act (HYTA) has expanded!! What is the Holmes Youthful Training Act? It is a law that gives youthful offenders a second chance. A law that allows a young person that has committed an offense after the age of 17 years old and before the age of 21, the opportunity to have their single conviction cleared from public record if they plead guilty and successfully meet certain conditions of a judge’s sentence. Effective August 18, 2015, the law has expanded to allow youthful offenders between the ages of 17 and now 24 years old to have this opportunity. The process for a youthful offender between the ages of 21 and 24 will require the prosecutor’s consent. Other conditions may have to be met for any HYTA youthful trainee (e.g., maintain employment, electronic tether monitoring, etc.). The law also involves certain exceptions for which the opportunity is not available (e.g., felonies punishable by life in prison, major controlled substance offenses, certain sex offenses, traffic offenses, etc. ).
It is often rare that new possibilities arise for persons charged with crimes to have expansion of second chance opportunities. This is such a new possibility! If you or someone you know finds themselves or their family member dealing with a first time youthful offender ask about the Holmes Youthful Training Act and find out if it applies to you. Perhaps this can be your or your family member’s wake up call to turn their life in a new direction.
Check out the full text of the law: Holmes Youthful Training Act - Effective 8/15/2015.