Family law encompasses a wide variety of legal issues such as: child custody, support payments, divorce, domestic partnerships and restraining orders. As a family law attorney you are called upon to act on behalf of your client during what is often one the most troublesome times in their life. The stakes and emotions are extremely high and your rights must be protected.  

That is why my number one objective is to be a zealous advocate for my clients' rights. As a zealous advocate, it is my job to effectively communicate with my clients to develop the important facts, apprise them of the law, and keep them continuously updated about the status of their case. As a zealous advocate, I am ready to fight for my clients' rights until the very end.

The family law court system can be very frustrating. If you or a loved one is involved in the system, you need a zealous advocate to help you fight your way through.    

Kyle Puro, Attorney at Law
Claery & Green, LLP

CNN reported that the Pentagon will start to ease its enforcement of the military's "don't ask, don't tell policy" that prohibits gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

The decision to start rethinking the military's policy was announced by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Gates said that one issue the Pentagon plans to address is raising the threshold for what is considered an appropriate level of information necessary to launch a "credible inquiry" into allegations of homosexual behavior.

Gate's said the change to the policy is a matter of common sense and common decency, and that the change also "reflects some of the insights [the military has] gained over 17 years of implementing the current law, including the need for consistency, oversight and clear standards."

Both President Obama and the chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff support repealing the ban, however several seniors members of the military expressed concerned about how the repeal will affect cohesion, unity, and morale among service members. But Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee that great effort will be made to "minimize the disruption and polarization within the ranks, with special attention paid to those serving on the front lines."

The change is expected to take effect within a month's time.

Since the "don't ask don't tell" policy went into effect back in 1993, over 13,500 service members have been discharged from the military under the policy.

A recent CNN/Opinion Research poll found that 69% of Americans feel gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military.

At Claery & Green, not only do we have experience in military law, but we are also strong advocates of gay and lesbian rights. If you feel your civil your rights are being violated, whether by the U.S. military or by anyone else, you can trust Claery & Green to provide you with the committed, experienced and driven legal counsel needed to address the issue. Contact Claery & Green today by calling (877) 756-4111!

A lesbian couple from Santa Cruz has agreed to settle their paternity suit regarding their twin sons.

The case centers around Kim T. Smith and Maggie Quale, who were joined in a committment ceremony in 2008 but never registered as domestic partners. In 2009, Quale gave birth to twin boys conceived through artificial insemination. Smith never formally adopted the boys, but she and Quale agreed to raise the children together, and both Quale’s and Smith’s names are on the twins’ birth certificates. In addition, the boys have the hyphenated last name Smith-Quale.

Five months after the twins were born, Smith and Quale ended their relationship. Quale and Smith’s situation became complicated when, not long after they split, Quale became romantically involved with the sperm donor, Shawn Wallace.

Smith originally filed a lawsuit against Quale last September to maintain her parental rights of the twins. The settlement Quale and Smith finally agreed to recognizes both women as the boy’s legal parents. It’s not clear whether Wallace was granted any paternity rights as part of the settlement.

A Vermont judge has issued an arrest warrant for a woman involved in a same-sex custody battle.

Janet Jenkins asked the court for help after her former partner, Lisa Miller, disappeared with their daughter Isabella. After Jenkins and Miller separated, Miller renounced homosexuality, became an evangelical Christian, and disappeared with their daughter.

Vermont Judge William Cohen found Miller in contempt of court after she failed to appear at a custody hearing.

Miller and Jenkins were joined in a civil union in Vermont in 2000. In 2002, Isabella was born to Miller but was considered both women’s daughter. When the couple separated in 2003, Miller moved to Virginia. Initially, custody was awarded to Miller and Jenkins was given liberal visitation rights. But after Miller denied Jenkins access to the girl, Judge Cohen ordered a switch in custody.

A custody hearing was scheduled for January 1 to address the situation, but Miller and Isabella did not appear.

Involved in Child Custody Dispute?

A case out of Texas poses an important question to all same-sex couples who reside in California: What happens when a gay or lesbian couple is married in a state that recognizes same-sex marriage, but then relocates to state that does not recognize same-sex marriage but wants a divorce?

This is the situation that Angelique Naylor and Sabina Daly are dealing with. The women were married in Massachusetts, one of the first states to legalize same-sex marriage. They later relocated to Texas, where their relationship eventually soured. No longer wanting to be married, the couple tried to get a divorce, but because Texas does not recognize same-sex marriages, Naylor and Daly have not been able to get divorced.

Originally, State District Judge Scott Jenkins granted the women a divorce, but Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott quickly intervened. Abbott claims that because the state Constitution bans gay and lesbian marriages, to grant a divorce to a same-sex couple would be to contradict the constitution. For this reason, Abbott says Daly and Naylor cannot get divorced in Texas.

In a statement from Abbott’s spokesperson, Jerry Strickland, “The State maintains that the Court has no legal authority to grant this divorce, and as a result, the State must intervene in the case to defend the Texas Constitution.”