Elston Law Office, PLLC

Elston Law Office, PLLC

Central Kentucky Family and Estate Planning Attorney, with a focus on the needs of LGBT families. ///simply.laws.index

18/03/2024

"Silence is not democracy." -- Rep. Pam Stevenson on being threatened by Speaker Osborne with being kicked out of the Chamber for her opposition to the anti-DEI legislation that is barreling its way through the GOP-dominated Kentucky legislature.

Legal Recognition Of 3-Plus-Parent Families Slowly Expanding 23/10/2023

Legal Recognition Of 3-Plus-Parent Families Slowly Expanding Many families looking for legal recognition of more than two parents do not involve polyamory.

31/03/2023

I just found out I am the recipient of the 2023 Leading Family Law Practitioner Award by the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. I'm deeply humbled and honored (and a bit flummoxed, tbh).

Flying Alone With Your Kids? Make Sure You Have Proof of Your Relationship 21/11/2022

Flying alone with your kids? Make sure you have proof of your relationship.

Flying Alone With Your Kids? Make Sure You Have Proof of Your Relationship Recent incidents at airports suggest that carrying your child’s birth certificate, passport or other documents will help mitigate alarming, and often time-consuming, incidents in security.

When Teens and Parents Can't Get Along 03/11/2021

When Teens and Parents Can't Get Along Teenagers are landing in the child welfare system simply due to parent teenager conflict, not because they have been abused or neglected. Learn how needless placements can contribute to a teen's downward spiral.

American Psychological Association opposes transgender conversion “therapy” in historic statement 08/03/2021

The biggest professional psychologist organization in the U.S. has come out against transgender conversion therapy in a new statement, saying that the practice puts “individuals at significant risk of harm.”

American Psychological Association opposes transgender conversion “therapy” in historic statement "Transgender or nonbinary gender identities are normal variations in human expression of gender. Attempts to force people to conform with rigid gender identities can be harmful to their mental health and well-being...

A Divorce Lawyer Just Gave Incredibly Powerful Marriage Advice and It’s Only 4 Words Long 20/02/2021

Keeping your marriage healthy boils down to four little words.

A Divorce Lawyer Just Gave Incredibly Powerful Marriage Advice and It’s Only 4 Words Long He’s handled divorce cases for 20 years. Here’s how to avoid needing his services.

I’m a Former Foster Youth; How a Few Words From My Attorney Changed My Life - Youth Today 09/02/2021

I’m a Former Foster Youth; How a Few Words From My Attorney Changed My Life - Youth Today I’m a Former Foster Youth; How a Few Words From My Attorney Changed My Life - Opinion - Youth Today adheres to high-quality journalistic standards, providing readers with professional news coverage dedicated to examining a wide spectrum of complex issues in the youth services industry from diversi...

The Adoption Letter - The One I Never Received - ADOPTING FAITH: A Father's Unconditional Love 25/01/2021

I wish every prospective adoptive parent would get a letter like this. Every child who is in foster-to-adoptive care has experienced trauma that could echo throughout their lives. Whether it was a birth family that, for whatever reason, was unable or unwilling to protect them from harm, or was abusive to them, these children have suffered first from the trauma of neglect or abuse, and then from the trauma of being removed from their birth family.

This is so whether the child comes into out-of-home care as an infant, as an older child, or as a teen. Those children who have experienced some of the most severe traumas will have behaviors that will challenge even the best parents.

Preparing adoptive families for the trauma their children have experienced, and providing meaningful and on-going support services to those families is essential if we are to avoid disrupting an adoptive placement (which causes more trauma for the child). Sadly, as the author of this article points out, we may never know the full extent to which these children have been traumatized.

My husband, Mark, and I have adopted three children. One came to us at 15 months. The other two were older when they came to us from disrupted adoptive placements. Each of them have experienced substantial trauma and we sometimes struggle to ensure that they feel safe and loved, even as we become stressed out from time to time as we strive to understand and deal with their traumas.

Child protection services have an obligation to train adoptive parents about trauma and provide on-going support services to the foster and adoptive families. But even they may not have a complete picture of the trauma any particular child may have endured. Still, CPS needs to be honest with the families with whom they place these children. I have seen (and my adoptive children have experienced) the additional trauma that comes from disrupting an adoptive placement, and it frequently has to do with parents who are unprepared to cope with their children's traumatization and the behaviors that come with it.

Adopting children is not for the faint of heart. Many new adoptive parents see the world of adoption through rose-colored lenses. Babies can be cute and cuddly, even though they have experienced trauma in their brief lives. Teens may use charm as a coping mechanism or a way of getting what they want. But children don't stay babies, and charm doesn't overcome the trauma. As they grow, those traumas will repeatedly manifest in behaviors that can be sometimes overwhelming to parents. Therefore, it is just as essential that those who are interested in forming forever families through adoption are honest with themselves about whether they are prepared for the lifelong commitment to helping their children heal from the trauma they have experienced.

The Adoption Letter - The One I Never Received - ADOPTING FAITH: A Father's Unconditional Love I wouldn’t trade my 23-year adoption journey for anything. Yet on numerous occasions, I walked in the dark – much more than expected – and occasionally do… Read more "The Adoption Letter – The One I Never Received"

Biden LGBTQ Order: Sweeping but Incomplete 22/01/2021

It is time to pass the Equality Act.

Biden LGBTQ Order: Sweeping but Incomplete What it is, what it can’t be, and the next steps

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Monday 09:00 - 16:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 16:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 16:00
Thursday 09:00 - 16:00
Friday 09:00 - 16:00