In Legal Terms

It’s two weeks before our election but we’re not talking about voting today – don’t forget you can vote early if you’re 65 or over or have a reason you'll be away from your home county on Election Day. Get more information at the Secretary of State's voting information website.We’re very proud to have members of the Mississippi Special Education Coalition as our guests today to discuss the education rights for your student and the report the Coalition published. Joining us are Julian Miller from the Southern Poverty Law Center, Cassie Tolliver from Disability Rights Mississippi, and Ayanna Hill from American Civil Liberties of Mississippi.The SPLC has created a guide for parents of children with disabilities titled “Helping Your Child With a Disability Get a Good Education,” including state-specific guidance for parents in Louisiana and Mississippi.Article: Coalition trains advocates of children with disabilities in MississippiThe Office of Special Education website is designated to provide important information to families of students with disabilities. Links to a variety of resources are provided related to child developmental milestones and ways to help your child succeed in school. If you are unable to find answers to your questions on their site they suggest you contact their office at 601-359-3498.On the Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Special Education website, you can access the Access for All Guide which was developed by the MDE in collaboration with educators across the state to help teachers address issues that impact learners with a wide variety of needs. I would hope that having access to this information might help families better understand the classroom environment.In Legal Terms has had 3 shows dealing with education this fall – on October 15th we learned about Special needs law and Able accounts. We talked generally about student rights on August 27th. August 6th was MPB Think Radio’s Education Week. Our broadcast /podcast was about Mississippi’s law schools. 

Is your home yours to do with as you please? Maybe not if your property is within a Homeowner’s Association. What are your rights if you buy a home with an HOA? We’ll learn with the help of attorney Reed Martz from Freeland Martz.Are you a fan of CCR – Creedence Clearwater Revival? What do you know about C, C & Rs? Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions are, in essence, the rules of a community. They describe the HOA’s obligations and rights to its members and vice versa. An association’s CC&Rs are recorded and filed officially with the state.Two weeks from today, Mississippians will go to the polls to elect our president and vice president, our four representatives to Congress and one of our senate seats. I’m also voting for a Supreme Court Justice and an Election commissioner. What’s on your ballot? You can find out by going to yallvote.ms or you could go to your County Circuit Clerk and vote early if you’ll be away from your home county on election day or you have another qualifying event - like you’re 65 or over.If you are intrigued or vigilant about HOAs, we’ve got some podcasts for you. Today’s guest Reed Martz from Freeland Martz has also talked about gun rights.HOAs podcasts 05/21/2022 , 05/26/2020 , 06/18/2019   Gun rights 04/04/2023 , 11/24/2020

In Legal Terms has been so grateful that Richard Courtney has been a guest on our show to discuss Estate Planning, Elder Law, Special Needs Law and other topics. You’ll find links to all his broadcasts on the information for this recording. In Legal Terms is heard live Tuesdays at 10am Central on MPB Think Radio and at mpb online / radio https://www.mpbonline.org/radio/10/15/2024 Special Needs Law Month http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-special-needs-law-month 04/23/2024 Medicaid http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-medicaid08/16/2023 Marriage & Estates http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-marriage-estate-planning05/02/2023 National Elder Law Month http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-national-elder-law-month11/20/2022 Trustees http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-trustees03/08/2022 Wills http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-wills-with-richard-courtney10/12/2021Elder Abuse http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-elder-abuse04/13/2021 Executors http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-executor10/27/2020 Special Needs Law http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-special-needs-law07/02/2019 Gap Act http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-gap-act05/14/2019 Wills and Probate http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-wills-and-probate-and-executors08/08/2017 Estate Planning http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/5cd2d695f9e59c996625766b10/28/2016 Special Needs Law Month http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/5cd2d695f9e59c996625768b8/23/2022 In Legal Terms: Estate Planning http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-estate-planning

We’ll discuss Special Needs Law – what are the laws around estate planning and protecting vulnerable adults. Rick is the first attorney in Mississippi designated a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the American Bar Association-accredited National Elder Law Foundation. Rick is a former Director of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) where he serves on the Trusts and Special Needs Law Sections Steering Committees.I love our shows but sometimes you needs a hand out or information you can refer back to when you want additional information. Our guest: Rick Courtney has a wonderful website with blog articles, Frequently Asked Questions section, and even a book: A Lawyer's Guide to Working with Special Needs Clients.Our show is about you and your rights. Rights that are derived through laws made by lawmakers. Our next election is in 3 weeks. November 5th. If you think you’ll be away from your home county on that day you can vote absentee right now. The Mississippi Secretary of State’s website y’allvote.ms has so much information or call your County Circuit Clerk for the information you need.If elder law is interesting to you, you’ll find our Monday Talks podcasts of value. Just last week, a representative of the Social Security Administration was the guest. You can listen to that podcast now. Or you can send them an email with a question for the next time the topic is discussed (money@mpbonline.org) – or use the Talk To Us feature on the MPB Public Media App.  

Family Law can vary from state to state. What are some of the Mississippi specific issues you might need to know? For instance, our state doesn’t have no fault divorce. Do you know what constitutes irreconcilable differences? Our guest, attorney Matthew Thompson from Thompson Addison, will help us learn.https://mscenterforlegalservices.org/ (800) 773-1737I love that you’re listening to our show. But, if you want some quick information about divorce, The Mississippi Bar's website has a one page that you can read.We’ve passed the date to register to vote for our next general election on Nov 5th. But you can vote early. If you know you’ll be out of your county on Nov. 5th head over to your circuit clerk’s office and go ahead and vote or get an absentee ballot and put it in the mail and make sure it’s postmarked Nov 5th or earlier. https://www.sos.ms.gov/absentee-voting-informationWe love talking about the laws surrounding our families. We’ve done it quite a lot in the past year.http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-adoption-2024 http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-youth-family-defense-program http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-estate-planning-2024 http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-wills-2024 http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/gifts-and-estate-planninghttp://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-wills-2023http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-child-support http://inlegalterms.mpbonline.org/episodes/in-legal-terms-marriage-estate-planning

One of the best websites in the state belongs to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office. Among other information, It has all the voting details, dates, and facts you could need. But, some folks can’t get to a website so we’re talking about what you need to know to vote next month in our elections with Mississippi’s Secretary of State himself, Michael Watson.An application for voter registration must be postmarked or hand delivered to the Circuit Clerk’s Office located in the county of your voting residence no later than 30 days before an election. That’s Monday, October 7th this year. Online you can verify your voter registration and update your voter registration information from the sos.ms.gov website. Let’s assume you are registered to vote, but you’d like to vote absentee early. IF you’re sixty-five (65) years of age or older you can either vote in person or by mail absentee before November 5th. Under Mississippi law, there are many categories of people who are entitled to vote by in-person absentee or entitled to vote absentee by mail-in ballot. . Your County Circuit Clerk, is responsible for absentee voting and providing absentee ballots. Please contact your County Circuit Clerk to see if you are entitled to vote under Mississippi’s absentee voting laws.November 5th is our next election day. That night, after the polls close at 7pm, MPB Think Radio and mpbonline.org will have coverage of the results.

Last month when the dean of the Ole Miss law school was one of our guests, we mentioned their Air and Space Law division. We’ve got one of the directors of that program, Charles Stotler, as our guest today. We’ll learn about drones and electric aircraft among other topics.Thank you to law students Lonnie Cain and Caleb Baily for participating with our show.For our farmers who are listening: Those interested in learning about the use of unmanned aircraft systems as row crop application sprayers are invited to a seminar at Mississippi State University.The MSU Spray Drone/UAS Seminar will be held at the Bost Extension Center Oct. 9 from 9 to 11 a.m. This meeting will be presented in person and available online. Topics include regulatory updates, the current Federal Aviation Administration-approved spray drone list, current and potential spray drone restrictions and ongoing spray drone research at MSU.In 2023 the governor signed Senate Bill 2853 with the description: Small unmanned aircraft systems; require state purchase and servicing of from American companies only.  Make sure you know our Federal and Mississippi air and space laws.Earlier this month MPB News reported: Electric plane startup partners with UMMC, MSU and Jackson airportA network of electric aircraft charging stations is being built by BETA across the eastern United States so the needed infrastructure is there when electric planes are actually being flown. One of the chargers was unveiled at the Jackson airport on Tuesday, September 3rd, the fourth in the state.

The topic of generative AI encompasses so much of our lives today. We’re going to focus on how it affects our legal practices. And we’ll learn what “generative AI “ means. To help us, we’re pleased to welcome attorney Molly Walker from Bradley.In Current events - Sample ballots are ready for the national election. You can see yours from the Secretary of State’s website. They’ve got a handy way to reach the website: https://yallvote.ms/Absentee ballot applications are available now. Absentee voting starts Monday. If you think you’ll be away from your home county on November 5th, you can vote early. Check with your county’s Circuit Clerk’s Office.With the election soon, you can’t vote if you’re not registered! Last week County Election Commissioners met to purge rolls in Mandatory Voter Roll Maintenance. You can check to see if you’re registered by going to the Secretary of State’s website. You can reach out to your county’s Circuit Clerk’s Office of you need a voter registration application mailed to you. But you must be registered by October 7th to vote November 5th.Former In Legal Terms host Rita Brent is presenting: "Rhythm, Blues, & Ballots" A spirited night of LIVE music, political insight, and fellowship! Friday, 9/27, at Johnny T's in Jackson, MS. Panel discussion with community leaders about the upcoming election and other important voting matters starts at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. for the LIVE concert starting at 8:00 p.m. Voter registration will be available on-site

The Mississippi Center for Justice is about advancing racial and economic justice. We could take a week to talk about everything they do there, but we’ve only got President and CEO Vangela Wade for the next hour to learn about their work and upcoming events.The Mississippi Center for Justice opened its doors in 2003 with a simple mission: dismantling the policies that keep Mississippi at the bottom of nearly every indicator of human well-being. If you’d like to help with that – consider registering to vote. You can print off a voter registration application from the Secretary of State’s website or maybe ask your county’s circuit clerk’s office to mail you an application.The MS Center for Justice - They’re some busy folks! There’s a Health Law – lunch and learn in Indianola next week in addition to a Fair Housing and Expungement Education event in Gulfport. The 3rd week of October holds a Small Farmer’s Conference, a Social Justice Empowerment Brunch, the Champions of Justice Signature Event. and the Great Mississippi Road Trip scheduled. We haven’t even made it out of the month. There are more events on their calendar with many more months of events taking place.Their website has ways to donate, their social media links, events, and ways to “join their fight”. https://mscenterforjustice.org/Look for the Legacy Leadership podcast of MPB Think Radio's Money TalksPast podcasts with MS Center for Justice staff:05/07/24 Robert McDuff MCJ10/17/23 Champions of Justice - MCJ 08/01/23 Expungements   03/14/23 Loans05/24/22  MCJ Heirs' Property01/25/22 Educational Rights11/09/21  Heirs' Property Help01/12/21 Asylum and Immigration