The assignment was simple – talk about parent communication in high conflict cases. What lawyers can teach their clients, and why. So simple, and yet so involved. As I make this post go live, I’ve just received an email from...
The assignment was simple – talk about parent communication in high conflict cases. What lawyers can teach their clients, and why. So simple, and yet so involved. As I make this post go live, I’ve just received an email from...
The Arizona Court of Appeals’ decision in Washburn v. Houston offers a stark warning about the risk of reliance on AI tools in legal practice — something that unfortunately is being done by self-represented parties as well as attorneys who...
Maybe it’s in your court orders. Maybe your attorney is telling you to do it. Maybe your parenting coordinator has imposed it on you. Maybe your ex-partner/ coparent is telling you to do it. But somewhere during your divorce case,...
“Forensically-informed” is a term thrown around a lot in family court. Orders will sometimes specify that a person (or child) must see a forensically-informed therapist, which significantly narrows the range of options for therapy. Unfortunately, very few forensically-informed therapists take...
Rule 81 is a new Rule designed to help the court, through appointed professionals, enforce parenting time orders. The Petition to adopt new ARFLP 81 was filed in November 2022 and was open for comments from January to May 1,...
I just reviewed over four dozen Rules Amendments that were signed into effect by Justice Brutinel on August 24, 2023. I narrowed down the Amendments to those that directly modify the Family Rules, and listed a few additional ones (Rules...
I want to mention a recent (unreported) custody case out of Nebraska, not for its ultimate resolution (which isn’t surprising) but for its description of a therapist’s involvement in a difficult custody case. The involvement is concerning and it’s likely...
Not all parental separations are alike. Not all parental separations have to be disastrous for the children. Social science research tells us that the biggest factor for poor developmental outcomes for children of separation/ divorce is the level of conflict...
The Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure may have several new amendments in 2023. This is an overview of several pending Rules Petitions which may be adopted later this year. Note that these changes to the Rules are NOT in...
I get a lot of questions about how professionals can get the domestic violence/ child abuse training that’s required by ARS 25-406 for any person who makes reports to the court about child custody issues. This would include Court-Appointed Advisors,...
In Engstrom v. McCarthy (January 9, 2018), the Arizona Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s finding of domestic violence based on insufficient findings. “It may well be that some of Father’s actions constituted domestic violence under the statute. The...
This is Part III (third and last) of the 2022 Arizona family court appellate review. The Saba/ Femiano cases, which I wrote about here, discussed the calculation of a community interest in real property where one party signed a Disclaimer...
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