By Elizabeth Lee, Paralegal

I have only been working here for about a year but have come to realize what a tremendous benefi family law legal advice can have in a Hmong famly.  It can help some people feel like they have a voice.  It can help divorced parents have a fair portion of time with their children.  Most importantly, it can open the doors for erasing the gender bias that exist within this community.

Currently a large majority of married Hmong couples are not "legally" married, but instead "culturally" married.  Being legally married requires having a Certificate of Marriage from the courthouse while being culturally married usually involves some sort of ceremony to solidify the marriage.  In the event a cultural marriage ends, the issues involved in separation can be far more complex than if there had been a legal marriage. Rights in real estate are different.  Rights to retirement assets are less clear (or may not exist at all).  The separation of household goods and other personal items can be difficult.

In the Hmong culture, there are different clans based on the last name. The eighteen clans are Cha, Chang, Chu, Fang, Hang, Her or Heu, Khang, Kong, Kue, Lee or Ly, Lo or Lor, Moua, Pha, Thao or Thor, Vang, Vue, Xiong, and Yang.  This is similar to the traditional Irish clan system such as Callaghan or Sullivan where the surnames play an important historical role in perhaps helping one determine where a person came from (geographically) or which Lord/Leaders a person is allied with.  In the Hmong culture, the clan leaders consist mostly of respected males who are chosen by members of their clan to lead.

In regards to marriages in the Hmong culture, any conflicts that arise go through your specific clan leaders before elsewhere.  Actions taken on these recommendations are made fairly quickly due to the cultural emphasis on maintaining group harmony.  This can create problems as the clan leaders can be biased (unfortunately, sometimes prideful) which can lead to unfair recommendations being made by the clan leaders.

From a Hmong woman's perspective, if you're going through a divorce, it may be hard to leave the fate of your future on a group of older men.  How would they ever understand where you're coming from?  Would they take the time to delve into the facts of your relationship and come up with a fair solution?  That would be where an attorney comes in.  The attorney would act as your voice and advocate for what is fair.  They would try to come up with the best possible legal solution for you.

I have been witness to a Hmong divorce where the mother received the children while the dad received nothing.  He couldn't pick up his children for visitations.  He couldn't call them to say "Hello."  What didn't make sense was that he was a good father before he got divorced.  If an attorney was involved, there could have been a fair distribution of the children's time where the father would have been able to spend with time his children.

Those who refuse to talk with the clan leaders certainly do have other options.  One option is to go and speak with the Hmong 18 Council, whose purpose is to help strengthen, integrate, and create partnerships within its own community as well as with the American society.  It's a great organization for the dedication that it has for its community.  However, when I see that a great percentage of board members are male, it concerns me that there are those out there who will not be heard because of the lack of a different perspective.

Certainly, the Hmong community can benefit in more ways than those stated above.  Family issues are complicated and it affects every aspect of your life.  Family law practice has already been integrated into this community, however, a large percentage of the community is still apprehensive about pursuing this option.  I hope that in the coming years of working in this field and gaining invaluable knowledge, I can help widen the doors for integrating family law practice in this community and get to see great results from it.