The eLearning Center for Gatlin Education Services

With more than 50% of all marriages ending in divorce, the field of family law provides vast employment opportunities for the paralegal professional. This course acquaints the student with the basic areas of a family law practice: marriage, divorce, property rights, custody of children, separation agreements, and maintenance. A practical hands-on course.

Objectives:

• Explain the reasons for laws governing spousal and child support obligations
• Discuss the mutual legal rights and duties of married couples
• Describe the main principles of the law governing child custody
• Understand the available methods of legal adoption
• Recognize the main principles of laws governing equitable distribution of marital property as well as the purpose of the prenuptial agreement

Supplementary Course Documents:

• Family Law
• Ethics
• Immediate Advice as to Separation
• Marriage
• Marriage Continued
• Ex Parte Divorces
• Initial Client Interview
• Detailed Procedural Framework
• Basic Service of Process
• Temporary Custody
• Temporary Alimony
• Income and Expense Statements
• Preparation for Trial
• Division of Property Upon Divorce
• Equitable Distribution Considerations
• Divorce and Child Custody
• Final Custody Order
• Enforcement of Child Support
• Joint Custody
• Visitation Rights
• Modern Issues
• Alimony
• Cases:
• In re Visitation of Troxel
• DeLorean v. DeLorean
• Pyatte v. Pyeatte
• Audio Lectures (MP3 Format)

Discussion Topics

Week 1:

• DeLorean v. DeLorean Case
• Additional Discussion Topic TBA

Week 2:

• Pyeatte v. Pyeatte Case
• Additional Discussion Topic TBA 

Week 3:

• Child Custody
• Additional Discussion Topic TBA

Week 4:

• Private Placement Adoptions
• Additional Discussion Topic TBA 

Practical Assignment (required):

The Practical Assignment is due by the end of Week Three.

Optional practical assignments are also available for extra credit.

Quizzes and Tests

All students are required to take a final test during the final week of the course. Tests are administered in the online classroom, and all answers must be submitted by the last day of class.

Grading:

Grading is calculated as follows:

Course Topics:

Week 1:

• The Scope of a Family Law Practice
• Paralegal Roles
• Legal Assistant Job Description
• Antenuptial Agreements and Cohabitation Agreements
• Kinds of Agreements
• Antenuptial Agreements
• Cohabitation Agreements 
• Formation of Marriages
• Ceremonial Marriages
• Common Law Marriages
• Regulating Who Can Marry
• Homosexual Marriages, a Modern Day Controversy

Week 2: 

• Annulment
• Annulment Distinguished from Divorce and Legal Separation
• Void Marriages
• Voidable Marriages
• Overview of Grounds for Annulment
• Grounds Relating to the Legal Capacity to Marry
• Prior Existing Marriage (Bigamy)
• Consanguinity and Affinity Limitation
• Nonage
• Physical Disabilities
• Homosexual “Marriages”
• Grounds Relating to the Intent to Marry
• Sham Marriages
• Mental Disabilities
• Duress
• Fraud
• Conflict of Laws, Marriage Evasion Statutes
• Consequences of an Annulment Decree
• Legitimacy of Children from an Annulled Marriage
• Alimony and Disposition of Property Acquired Before the Marriage was Annulled
• Problems of Revival
• Custody and Child Support
• Inheritance
• Social Security and Workers Compensation Benefits
• Criminal Law Consequences
• Tax Return Status
• Separation Agreements
• Legal Issues and Drafting Options
• Litigation
• Negotiation Factors
• Checklists for Preparation of a Separation Agreement
• Uncovering Financial Assets
• Interrogatories
• Alimony Payments and Property Division
• Effect of Bankruptcy
• Effect of Remarriage and Death
• Availability for Contempt
• Court’s Power to Modify Terms
• Federal Income Tax Treatment
• Distinguishing between Alimony and Property Division
• Alimony and Support Provisions in a Separation Agreement
• Court-Ordered Alimony
• Property Division, General Principles
• Categorizing Property
• What Property is Divided and Who Gets What
• Unlawful Dissipation
• Pensions and Degrees
• Insurance
• Taxes
• Debts
• Wills
• Miscellaneous Provisions
• Legal Expenses
• Non-molestation Clause
• Modification
• Arbitration and Mediation
• Reconciliation

Week 3: 

• Child Custody
• Kinds of Custody
• Separation Agreement
• Custody
• Visitation
• Court-Ordered Custody:  The Child’s Perspective
• Parent v. Parent:  Considerations in the Custody Decision
• Court’s Discretion
• Stability
• Availability
• Emotional Ties
• Morality and Lifestyle
• Religion
• Wishes of the Child
• Expert Witnesses
• Court Decisions on Visitation
• False Allegations of Child Abuse, the New Terror Weapon in Custody Battles
• Biological Parent v. Psychological Parent
• Modification of the Original Order by the Court
• Jurisdictional Problems and Child Snatching
• Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act
• Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act
• Children Abroad, Special Problems 
• Child Support
• Separation Agreement
• Initial Court Decision
• Who Pays?
• Standards
• Modification
• Enforcement
• Civil Contempt Proceeding
• Execution
• Prosecution for Criminal Nonsupport
• Income Withholding
• License Denial or Revocation
• Tax Refund Intercept program
• Unemployment Compensation Intercept
• Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)
• Credit Bureau Referral (“Credit Clouding”)
• Posting Security
• Protective Order
• Divorce
• Historical Background
• NO-Fault Grounds for Divorce
• Living Apart
• Incompatibility
• Irreconcilable Differences
• Fault Grounds for Divorce
• Adultery
• Cruelty
• Desertion
• Others
• Defenses to the Fault Grounds for Divorce
• Judicial Separation
• Separate Maintenance
• Divorce Procedure
• Kinds of Divorce
• Domicile
• Jurisdiction
• Pre-Trial Matters
• Complaint
• Guardian ad Litem
• Venue
• Pleading
• Waiting Period
• Discovery
• Preliminary Orders
• Trial
• Divorce Judgment
• Enforcement
• Civil Contempt
• Execution
• Garnishment
• Attachment
• Posting Security
• Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)
• Legal Rights of Women
• Status of Women at Common Law
• Sexuality and Reproductive Rights
• Battered Wife
• Marital Rap

Week 4:

• Adoption
• Kinds of Adoption
• Who May Be Adopted
• Who May Adopt
• Adoption Procedure
• Consequences of Adoption
• Confidentiality
• Equitable Adoption
• Wrongful Adoption 
• Surrogacy and the New Science of Motherhood
• Methods of Surrogate Parenting
• Major Arguments For and Against Surrogate Parenting
• Issues in State Law
• Adoption Laws
• Paternity Laws
• Custody Issues
• Contractual Duties