Women and the law
June 15, 2011
ATLANTA – The College of Law and the nonprofit organization, Women Alone Together®, co-sponsored a Spring 2011 event featuring women lawyers speaking on life-planning issues. Dr. Carolyn Curry founded Women Alone Together® in 2002 to provide a community through educational and social events for women who are alone because of divorce, death of a spouse, single by choice, or alone in a marriage.
Curry explained the organization’s mission over lunch one day to Jerri Nims Rooker, associate director of the law school’s Center for Law, Health & Society, and the women realized that it would be a natural fit for the nonprofit organization and the law school to partner together on a speaker program.
Dean Steven J. Kaminshine supported the collaboration from start to finish.
“Carolyn Curry is an inspriration,” he said. “She has built an organization that advances a vital mission, and we are proud that our faculty has teamed up with her on this particular program.”
"The ‘Women and the Law’ program really benefitted our members, and we have received great feedback about the important information shared by the speakers,” said Carolyn Curry. “This was the first time that Women Alone Together® partnered with Georgia State University, and due to the success of the event, we look forward to many future collaborations.”
Legal educators from GSU addressed a range of life-planning issues in the 3-hour program, including wills, advance health directives, and financial planning. Mary F. Radford, the Catherine C. Henson professor of law, discussed wills and estates; Nims Rooker explained advance directives for health care planning; and Anne Tucker, an assistant professor of law, addressed financial planning. Tucker summed up the goal of the event by explaining, “Taking control of one's future is critical for women, regardless of their age or status."
“I was honored to be invited to speak with this group of accomplished women about planning for the distribution of their property after death. Most people shy away from the topic, but these women understood completely the importance of estate planning and the fact that any actions they take today will be of great benefit to their families later,” Radford said of the event.
Nims Rooker explained the importance of advance planning for unforeseen events. She said, “End-of-life healthcare planning is important for women of all ages. If something happens and a woman is unable to speak for herself, an advance directive lets her doctors know what kind of end-of-life healthcare she does or does not want to receive. It also helps avoid conflicts among loved ones about her care.”
“While spending the morning discussing finances and end-of-life planning may not seem like the best way to spend a spring morning,” said Tucker, “we had a blast. The women were engaged, asked great questions, and had a real enthusiasm to gain a better understanding of these difficult, but important issues."
Contact:
Wendy Cromwell
Director of Communications
404.413.9050