Determining the fate of children is an exposed nerve in nearly every divorce case. This fundamental reference guide offers you the skills to get started on the custody practice and the tools to come out of any divorce case involving it with your sanity intact. Build a solid foundation for your parental rights practice with real-world tips from experienced practitioners and a family law judge. Order today!

1. Defining Major Parental Rights and Responsibilities Concepts
2. Basic Procedural Steps
3. Effective Discovery – Proving Who the Current Primary Residential Responsibility Parent Is
4. Making the Best Use of Custody Mediation and Parenting Coordinators
5. Judge's Perspective on Parental Rights and Responsibilities Determination Process
6. Ethical Considerations
7. Taking Parental Rights and Responsibilities Beyond the Basics

Defining Major Parental Rights and Responsibilities Concepts
9:00 - 10:00, Alisha Ankers

• Clarifying “the Best Interests of the Child”
• Developmental Stages of Children
• “Continuity” and “Permanence” in the Child's Psychological Attachments
• Guardians' Ad Litem and Parenting Investigator's Role and Responsibilities in Parental Rights and Responsibilities Proceedings
• Residential Placement Arrangement Variations
• Decision Making Responsibility- Sole vs. Joint
• Residential Responsibility (Overnight Parenting Time, Supervised Parenting Time, etc.)
• Third Party Residential Responsibility (the De Facto Parent, Same Sex Families, Guardianship, etc.)  

Basic Procedural Steps
10:15 - 11:15, Alisha Ankers

• Jurisdiction and Relevant Law (UCCJEA)
• Who is the Decision-Maker? (Judge vs. Other Neutrals)
• Parental Rights and Responsibility Disputes Process Step by Step
• Sample Petitions and Motions
• Obtaining and Using Guardian Ad Litem/Parenting Investigators Report – Sample Report Review
• Modification Procedure

Effective Discovery – Proving Who the Current Primary Residential Responsibility Parent Is
11:15 - 12:00, Jason W. McLean

Making the Best Use of Mediation and Parenting Coordinators
1:00 - 1:45, Jason W. McLean

• Do you Need an Investigator?
• Preparing Your Clients for the Investigation
• Determining the Fee Arrangement
• Attorney's Role in the Mediation Process
• Preparing Your Client for the Negotiations
• Must-Have Components of the Parenting Plan/Agreement
• The Court's Role in the Process
• The Role of Parenting Coordinators Under North Dakota's new Statutes

Judge's Perspective on Parental Rights and Responsibilities Determination Process
1:45 - 2:30, Hon. Steven L. Marquart

• Guardian ad Litem or Parenting Investigator's Evaluation Report
• Pretrial Conference
• Courtroom Do's and Don'ts
• Parenting Time Issues at Trial

Ethical Considerations
2:45 - 3:45, Jason W. McLean

• Limits of Confidentiality and Appropriate Disclosures
• Representing the Child vs. Representing the Parent – Conflicts of Interest
• Ethical Considerations in Settling a Child Custody Case: Balancing the “Wants” of the Client With Realities in Negotiations

Taking Parental Rights and Responsibilities Beyond the Basics
3:45 - 4:30, Alisha Ankers

• Relocation
• Domestic Violence in Parental Rights and Responsibilities Proceedings
• Challenges Unmarried Parents Face
• Appropriate Role of Counselors, Therapists and 3rd Party Forensic Evaluators
• The Effects of Residential Responsibility Arrangements on Child Support Determination
• Collaborative Law – a Better Option?

HON. STEVEN L. MARQUART is a district court judge of the East Central Judicial District, chambered in Fargo. Prior to taking office in January 2005, Judge Marquart practiced law for 23 years. In that practice, he acted as a mediator in more than 250 disputes. Judge Marquart has been a frequent speaker at CLE seminars. He presently serves on the Family Law ADR Subcommittee of the Joint ADR Committee, the ADR Committee, the Jury Standards Committee, and the Informal Complaint Panel. Judge Marquart earned his B.A. degree, cum laude, from Moorhead State University and his J.D. degree from the University of North Dakota School of Law where he was Order of the Coif. Following law school, he was a law clerk for the Honorable Paul Benson, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court of North Dakota.

ALISHA ANKERS is a sole practitioner in Fargo, North Dakota, where her main areas of practice are family law, custody investigator and guardian ad litem. Ms. Ankers previously worked in juvenile court and in family law matters. She is a member of the Cass County Bar, Clay County Bar, State Bar Association of North Dakota and Minnesota State Bar Association. Ms. Ankers has been secretary/treasurer since 2005 of the State Bar Association of North Dakota Family Law Section. She earned her B.A. degree from Hamline University and her J.D. degree from the University of North Dakota School of Law.

JASON W. MCLEAN is an attorney in the Fargo law firm of Gjesdahl Law Office, P.C. In addition to his duties as an advocate, Mr. McLean is a state approved parenting investigator and guardian ad litem in North Dakota. He also has been a presenter and lecturer for an adoption law seminar. Mr. McLean attended the University of North Dakota and earned his B.A. degree and his J.D. degree. He is licensed to practice law in North Dakota and Minnesota. Mr. McLean is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association and the State Bar Association of North Dakota. He joined Gjesdahl Law Office, P.C.'s team as an associate attorney in 2003.

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