Hi Carla I was just thinking about a few things and thought I would throw an idea out at you. In TECL you have the section on selecting and buying land. This is a great help to many people as it presents things they might not have thought about. Another thing you might want to throw in has to do with selecting the STATE in which you choose to reside. We know of several families that have moved to a certain state in order to be near family or for a better job only to realize later that they had moved to some of the worst states in regards to laws dealing with home schooling, midwifery and/or gun laws. One young couple we know has had to fudge their way around midwife laws, by not hiring the midwife, but âvisitingâ with her and then âmentioningâ to her that the wife was going into labor. At which point the âoff duty midwifeâ just so âhappened to be in the neighborhood and dropped in,â didnât assist, but was present during the birth. The couple later gave her a âlove offering.â Not a big deal to some people, but it weighed very heavily on their Christian consciencesâ and they are now looking to move to a state with friendlier laws. We decided to stay in Texas because of home school and homebirth laws, or the absence of them actually. Anyway, it seems to me that many folks who desire the country life also like to do these things themselves and would be better equipped if reminded to check out laws before moving. I was really surprised at some of the laws in the Southern states. Having grown up in GA, I considered moving much closer to home, but the laws in several of those states have prevented us from doing so. Just a thought, do with it as you see fitâ¦. Stephen
Very good observations...we have considered moving several times but each time we do we take a good hard look at the homeschooling laws and midwifery situation. Being a midwife who is homeschooling her children, I do not forsee ever leaving Texas at this point...
Great idea Stephen and Leah! I would be so grateful if we could create a list, just as you suggested. How about if we rate states from bottom (worst) to top (best)--and do two? different ratings, one for homeschooling laws, one for homebirthing laws. In that case, so far we have??? Do I have this right? Homeschooling Maine Texas Homebirthing Maine Texas
Oklahoma has outstanding homeschooling laws, or rather lack of them. No curriculums to file with the state, no mandatory testing, etc. We have concealed carry and as far as I know no problems with homebirths. In rural areas building codes are practically non-existant, a boon for the creative homesteader.
Thank you for the information, Tabletop! I just passed it on to somebody who is desperately seeking a place where it's legal to have a junkyard! Carla
Here's some information that I stumbled across... o In Texas, common-law marriages are legally binding if the couple present themselves publicly as husband and wife, file a joint income tax return and live together as man and wife within the state. o Arlington, Texas, tax-preparer Kathy Womack says she has had to warn couples many times that filing a joint tax return establishes the legality of a common-law marriage in Texas; that's usually when the filers change their minds. o A special form may be filed in any county clerk's office to legalize a common-law marriage. o A formal divorce is required to end a common-law marriage if there are children involved or if the couple has undivided property and debts.
Hi Carla, we can reply to these posts but can't access testers; says we aren't logged in but we are. What gives?
Hi Narita. I'm mystified. Everything works as usual for me. Testers is no longer a cloaked forum so everybody and anybody should be able to view it. If you go to www.homesteadingtoday.com and register again, maybe that would solve the problem??? Carla
I see it's been nearly a year since anyone has posted on this. If anyone is still interested, toss in Alaska as a wonderful state for homeschooling and home birthing. Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a wonderful organization. They have the laws about homeschooling for each state. It may be on their website. If you like, I'll be glad to hunt around and try to find a listing/chart of some sort. Most homeschool families check into the laws for their state before starting. In AK, it sounds pretty much like TX regarding lack of laws. Very nice. You don't have to tell anybody anything. Even if your children are already in public school and you want to start homeschooling, you can just withdraw them, or if you're starting at the beginning of a new school year you simply don't enroll them in public school. Well, if this is a dead topic, then I'm sorry ----- never mind Jenny
