Training Course Syllabus:

Oddities and Challenges of Family Law

Get the Skills, Knowledge and Tips to be Successful

Family law practice is filled with emotional and complex situations that require a skilled attorney who is able to negotiate and work through the procedural mine-field of marriage and divorce. Finances, children and debt are all intimately involved with any family law case; and these issues create emotionally-charged clients and situations. In order to be a successful attorney you need to not only have compassion and understanding, but also knowledge and sure-fire techniques for navigating family law cases. Learn from experienced attorneys as they review best practices and insider tips only available in a real-life setting. Register today and move your practice to the next level!

• Review the latest developments and issues in family law today.
• Be able to draft prenuptial agreements that both parties can agree on while also protecting your client's best interests.
• Recognize how to balance rights of relocation.
• Know what to expect if a spouse challenges paternity rights to a child.
• Confidently negotiate and draft stipulations, consent decrees, mergers and Rule 69 agreements.
• Know how to read and interpret meaningful information from financial documents like tax returns and retirements plans.
• Gain a better understanding of community property and equitable distribution laws.
• Identify key litigation tactics, including effective strategies used to counter-argue trusts as assets.
• Avoid unethical situations by appropriately communicating with the adverse party while maintaining confidentiality.

1. Drafting Common Marital Agreements (With Checklists and Sample Forms)
   9:00 - 9:45, Thomas J. Griggs
   
   1. The Lawyers Role in Drafting Agreements
   2. Prenuptial Agreements
   3. Marital Agreements
   4. Marital Settlement Agreements
2. Ethical Dilemmas in Family Law
   9:45 - 10:45, Monica Donaldson Stewart
   
   1. Understanding the Client/Lawyer Relationship
   2. Representing Both Sides
   3. Determining and Collecting Attorneys' Fees
   4. Maintaining Confidentiality
   5. Communicating With the Adverse Party
3. Working Through Custody and Visitation Issues
   11:00 - 12:00, Mervyn T. Braude
   
   1. Understanding the Pros and Cons of Joint Custody
   2. Temporary and Preliminary Orders
   3. Handling Visitation Issues for Non-Custodial Parents
   4. Dealing With Grandparent and Third-Party Rights
   5. Parental Alienation and Relocation
   6. Establishing and Challenging Paternity
   7. Termination of Parental Rights
   8. Custody Hearings
   9. Modification of Custody and Visitation Agreements
4. Stipulations, Consent Decrees, Merger and Rule 69 Agreements
   1:00 - 1:45, Bonnie L. Booden
   
   1. Benefits of Stipulations
      1. Drafting Stipulations
   2. Consent Decrees
      1. Drafting Consent Decrees
      2. Provisions That Must be Included
      3. Provisions That You Might Want
      4. Pitfalls
   3. Merger
      1. What is Merger?
      2. How it can be Counter Productive to Your Client's Goals
   4. Rule 69 Agreements
      1. Technical Requirements
      2. Reasons to do a Rule 69 Agreement
      3. Enforcing a Rule 69 Agreement
   5. Lodging Final Documents
      1. What is Lodging?
      2. When do You do it?
      3. The Things That Happen After You do
5. Reading and Interpreting Financial Documents
   1:45 - 2:30, Laurence B. Hirsch
   
   1. Personal Documents
      1. 401K and IRA Funds
      2. Bank and Loan Statements
      3. Income Tax Returns
      4. Insurance Plans
      5. Investment Portfolios
   2. Business Statements
      1. Balance Sheets
      2. Income Statements
      3. Statement of Cash Flow
      4. Footnotes
      5. Ratio Analysis
6. Dividing Trust Assets in Divorce
   2:45 - 3:30, James S. Osborn Popp
   
   1. Locating Trust Assets
      1. E-Discovering
      2. Valuation and Forensic Accountant Assistance
   2. Present and Future Value of Trust Asset
      1. Community Property and Equitable Distribution Laws
      2. Income Trusts and Remainder of Interests
      3. Family Limited Partnerships (FLP) and Limited Partners
      4. Establishing a Standard of Value
      5. Preparing Counterarguments
      6. "Fair Market Value" Approach on Assessing the Value of the FLP Share
   3. Tax Considerations and Transfer Fees of Trusts During Divorce
      1. Tax Ramifications of Transfer
      2. Transfer Fee
   4. Essential Litigation Strategies Needed to Prove Your Case
      1. Key Tactics Used to Prove Trusts as Assets
      2. Effective Strategies Used to Counter Argue Trusts as Assets
7. Constitutional Conflict and Child Relocation
   3:30 - 4:30, Thomas P. Alongi
   
   1. How do we Balance one Person's Fundamental Right to Migrate with Another's Fundamental Right to Parent a Child?

Seminar Summary:

Learn from experienced attorneys as they review best practices and insider tips only available in a real-life setting. (see full course description)

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