The court system is still at work every day, despite Georgia and the nation almost coming to a standstill because of COVID-19. People continue to have life issues that must be addressed.
When a local man was forced to bury his grown daughter in February, the grief process was followed by some very practical and important issues as he found himself caring for his grandchild. The process of obtaining guardianship was made slightly more difficult in March as Henry County Probate Court transitioned to a very different way of operating. But it all still got done.
“A lot of times when there is a family tragedy, people just do what they have to do each day until it occurs to them that these kinds of things are needed,” said Probate Judge Kelley Powell. “One day this man realized that he needed legal paperwork for this child so he can take her to the doctor if need be.”
He called the court for guidance. Soon he was able to fill out the necessary paperwork and deposit it in the drop box in front of the building, allowing court staff to retrieve it more quickly than if he had mailed it.
Taking an official oath was required to complete the process, and that was done by Skype. Then the man was issued a letter from the court that proves his authority to make legal decisions for his grandchild.
“Even though he could come in the office and we could do it here, we want to keep people in the safety of their homes and cars whenever possible right now,” said Powell. “The law allows us to administer an oath this way because we can see the person taking the oath, and he or she can show ID that we can also see.”
Another area in which the probate court has made similar strides is with death certificates. An external station with multiple mailboxes, like what might be seen in an apartment complex, is being installed outside the building so that each funeral home in the county can have its own box. This allows the transfer of death certificates and related documents, of which funeral homes have many in any given week, without unnecessary physical contact.
“The funeral home people don’t want to come inside, and we don’t want them to,” said Powell. “We figured this is the best way to do it so they can come at their convenience. They submit everything to us electronically, we finish it and they come pick it up. This way they can do that whatever time of the day or night they need to.”
All of the county’s courts are still operating, although most of the employees are working from home most of the time. Hearings are being conducted by video conference when necessary, and other concessions are being made so that the most vital tasks are fulfilled.
“We’ve got a lot of technology that we thought was really nice, but now we’re having to figure out ways to make it work,” said Powell. “That’s what a crisis will do for you.”
