In Thanksgiving
Wednesday, November 25th, 2020
Held Law Firm is grateful for so many things this year. 2020 has been a year of struggle and pain for so many of us, and we are aware of the compromises being made by all: hard decisions about sharing this time with others, and finding ways to express our love for those who are […]
Read More »LGBTQ+ Adoptions in Tennessee
Wednesday, November 11th, 2020
Tennessee law permits persons who identify as LGBTQ+ to adopt children to the same extent as persons identifying as heterosexual and cisgender, so long as they meet the general requirements for adoption under Tennessee law. However, persons identifying as LGBTQ+ should be aware that Tennessee law does not require private adoption agencies—even those that get […]
Read More »Grandparent – Grandchildren Adoption
Tuesday, November 10th, 2020
How do grandparents with custody of their grandchildren decide whether to adopt? Often, grandparents find themselves (sometimes rather suddenly) the legal or physical custodians of grandchildren that they did not plan to raise. Of course, the first hope is that the parents will be able to move past whatever difficulty keeps them from raising the […]
Read More »Spotlight Article: Camelot Care Centers Therapeutic Foster Care Program
Monday, November 9th, 2020
Camelot Care Centers offers community-based family therapeutic foster care and behavioral health services throughout the state of Tennessee. There are over 8,000 children currently in Tennessee’s foster care system, and Camelot works with the Department of Children’s Services to place some of these children in loving and supportive foster homes while they wait to see […]
Read More »Grandparent Adoption
Thursday, November 5th, 2020
You Are Not Alone When you are in your fifties or sixties, you are likely looking forward to retirement. It probably doesn’t occur to you that you might need to raise your grandchildren. But grandparent adoption happens. According to a study conducted by the Council on Aging, in Tennessee, over 70,000 grandparents are raising their […]
Read More »Divorce and Narcissism
Monday, November 2nd, 2020
What is Narcissism? We, as a society, are becoming more aware of the relationship between mental illness and the destruction of marriages; in particular, the Narcissistic Personality Disorder. This Personality Disorder has a difficult combination of symptoms. Sustaining a marriage with a narcissist is problematic and it becomes a very complicated problem when it’s time […]
Read More »What Foster and Adoptive Parents Should Know About Caring for Children Who Have Witnessed Domestic Violence
Wednesday, October 28th, 2020
A Hurt you Cannot See: In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Held Law Firm is highlighting the many issues that domestic violence causes with our clients and in the communities we serve. The impact of domestic violence in a home does not stop with the direct victims; it also impacts other people in the […]
Read More »Domestic Violence Awareness: A Conversation
Monday, October 26th, 2020
Talk about Advocating October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. On October 21, 2020 the YWCA Knoxville and Tennessee Valley featured a fantastic virtual event entitled – The Intersectionality Between Domestic Violence and Race: A Conversation. The guest, ZaKiya Bell-Rogers, is a board member for the YWCA in Asheville, NC and an advocate for empowering those […]
Read More »Mediation, Divorce, and Orders of Protection
Thursday, October 22nd, 2020
Mediation and Orders of Protection Mediation is a process using a trained third party, usually an attorney, to facilitate the settlement of a case without having a trial. In Tennessee, mediation is required in most divorce cases; however, in domestic violence situations, mediation may be excused. If a spouse has an Order of Protection (OP) […]
Read More »Get Out and Vote!
Saturday, October 17th, 2020
Early voting for the Nov. 3 State and Federal General Election is going on now through Thursday, Oct. 29. You’re vote matters, Knoxville! Early voting easily allows you to avoid Election Day crowds and take advantage of the flexibility of evening and Saturday hours. In addition, there are multiple polling locations in many counties. Unfortunately, […]
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