PC Training in Domestic Violence and Child Abuse

July 17, 2014

Arizona Revised Statutes 25-406C requires that any person who submits reports to a court must have completed minimum requirements in domestic violence and child abuse. 25-406C. The court shall require a court appointed attorney for a child, a court appointed advisor or any person who conducts an investigation or prepares a report pursuant to this […]

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Courts and Technology: Constant Changes and Updates

May 22, 2014

In a seminar I attended recently on technology issues and family law, a speaker correctly noted that the courts are always going to be 10-15 years behind the times as to how to handle  technology in the courtroom.    Back in the early 90’s, we used to hear that Maricopa County would ‘soon’ be providing internet […]

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ODR

May 19, 2014

What is ODR? ADR is “Alternative Dispute Resolution”, which includes settlement conferences, mediation, arbitration, parenting coordination, and other general means of trying to settle a family law case or family dispute without going to court and litigating.     Some would argue that attempts to settle without litigation is no longer an “alternative” meaning these mechanisms are […]

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PCs (and the Court) Would Prefer Not To Parent Your Kids

May 16, 2014

Parenting Coordinators really don’t make all the decisions for the parents.   I’ve had PC cases where one parent starts out by chastising the other parent, saying “Well, now you’ve done it.  Because you’ve gotten a PC involved, we’ve lost all control over our own lives and now she’s going to make all the decisions about […]

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Expedited Services Proceedings Can Meet Due Process Test

May 15, 2014

A Wisconsin court affirmed that due process considerations were met when a Family Court Commissioner approved the recommendations of a GAL regarding placement of a child. (“Placement” is Wisconsin’s term for what we call parenting time in Arizona.) Nehls v. Nehls, Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2012. A court cannot simply delegate its decision-making authority […]

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Arizona AFCC Summit Project Report on Domestic Violence is Released

April 21, 2014

The Arizona Chapter of AFCC has released its 2013 Summit Project, titled Domestic Violence Preliminary Intervention Plan:  Assessment and Early Intervention for Alleged Abusers, Abused Persons, and Children.    Compiled by AzAFCC board members, AFCC members, Arizona judges, and other professionals familiar with domestic violence interventions, this project joins the Summit Projects of 2011 (Parenting […]

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AFCC Online Resources

March 11, 2014

AFCC maintains a resource website called Center for Excellence in Family Court Practice that, not surprisingly, holds great resources. I visit this site pretty frequently, to find everything from the Wingspread Report (the report which was the result of a think tank/ conference on domestic violence issues in the family court) to various guidelines for […]

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Coparenting resources

August 19, 2013

There are lots of resources for coparenting information and suggestions for communication.   If everyone was willing to track down, read and use these resources on their own, the need for parenting coordinators and coparenting counselors would go WAY down, and frankly I’d be glad to lose the business for that reason. List of Coparenting […]

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August 16, 2013

And another tax court case finds against a payor-parent who wanted to claim a child dependency exemption, because the other parent had not executed Form 8332.   (A follow up to You Almost Can’t Win With the IRS, posted January 2013).      This  divorce judgment language stated that Father could claim all three children […]

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Mutually Assured Divorce Destruction

August 16, 2013

In college I studied Soviet-American relations, as they were a big deal back then (1978-1981). Foreign, Soviet and national security policies were on everyone’s mind, and we studied the SALT talks, missile silos, second-strike capability, nuclear weapons (they weren’t then known as WMDs), and the acronyms were everywhere: SALT II, ICBMs, SAMs and MIRVs.  Most […]

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