Mediated Agreement Parties execute it. Enforceable under contract principles. May be submitted to the court as a binding order or for incorporation or merger into the judgment or decree. Unresolved Issues May be litigated. – Child Custody Joint and shared custody arrangements are much more common than with negotiation or litigation. Parties may trade financial claims for custody rights. Lawyers Attending Mediation Page 920 – Children Attending Mediation Pages 920–21 – Confidentiality Uniform Mediation Act Recommendations Pages 921–22 – Rules of Evidence and Procedure Page 922 – State Laws Page 922 – Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect States vary. Mandatory Reporters Must report if child abuse or neglect is reasonably – suspected to have occurred. Permissive Reporters May report suspected acts, but not required to. – Collaborative Divorce [See article on portal, which was the only assigned reading.] Each party has its own lawyer, but if the divorce goes to litigation, each lawyer must withdraw because of waiver of the attorney-client privilege. This places some fire under the clients to resolve their issues together. Neither wants to pay for a new lawyer or new experts. Lawyers are not acting as normal lawyers do. A lawyer is not zealously pursuing his or her best interests to the exclusion of the other best interests. client’s party’s Experts are shared between the parties. Lawyers are barred from testifying if the collaborative endeavor fails. There is a lot of discretion in family law. A lot of the law is unclear. Having a lawyer to help a party sort out the law is helpful, but the uncertainty counsels in favor of working with the other party rather than going to litigation. These attorneys attempt to avoid riling animosity between the parties. Prenuptial Agreements Who should have a prenuptial agreement? One party has a lot more money than another. Family money; family informally insists on a prenuptial agreement. Husband is elderly and wealthy, and the wife is young and without wealth. Both parties are older, have assets, and do not want to merge their assets. They want to ensure that their own children and grandchildren receive their wealth. List of Premarital Agreement Acts Based on the UMDA Model Jurisdictions’ – Supplement Page 47 Minority Approach No special law governing prenuptial agreements. E.g., Pa. –
Mediated Agreement Parties execute it. Enforceable under contract principles. May be submitted to the court as a binding order or for incorporation or merger into the judgment or decree. Unresolved Issues – May be litigated. Child Custody Joint and shared custody arrangements are much more common than with negotiation or litigation. Parties may trade financial claims for custody rights. Lawyers Attending Mediation – Page 920 Children Attending Mediation – Pages 920–21 Confidentiality Uniform Mediation Act Recommendations – Pages 921–22 Rules of Evidence and Procedure – Page 922 State Laws – Page 922 Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect States vary. Mandatory Reporters – Must report if child abuse or neglect is reasonably suspected to have occurred. Permissive Reporters – May report suspected acts, but not required to. Collaborative Divorce [See article on portal, which was the only assigned reading.] Each party has its own lawyer, but if the divorce goes to litigation, each lawyer must withdraw because of waiver of the attorney-client privilege. This places some fire under the clients to resolve their issues together. Neither wants to pay for a new lawyer or new experts. Lawyers are not acting as normal lawyers do. A lawyer is not zealously pursuing his or her client’s best interests to the exclusion of the other party’s best interests. Experts are shared between the parties. Lawyers are barred from testifying if the collaborative endeavor fails. There is a lot of discretion in family law. A lot of the law is unclear. Having a lawyer to help a party sort out the law is helpful, but the uncertainty counsels in favor of working with the other party rather than going to litigation. These attorneys attempt to avoid riling animosity between the parties. Prenuptial Agreements Who should have a prenuptial agreement? One party has a lot more money than another. Family money; family informally insists on a prenuptial agreement. Husband is elderly and wealthy, and the wife is young and without wealth. Both parties are older, have assets, and do not want to merge their assets. They want to ensure that their own children and grandchildren receive their wealth. List of Jurisdictions’ Premarital Agreement Acts Based on the UMDA Model – Supplement Page 47 Minority Approach – No special law governing prenuptial agreements. E.g., Pa.
Family%20Law%20Outline_Ross.docx