Advanced Family Law

Agenda / Content Covered

All times are shown in Eastern time.

1. NON-TRADITIONAL FAMILY STRUCTURES AND PATERNITY DISPUTES
   8:30 - 9:30, Vanessa A. Bartlett
   1. Cohabitating Couples/Domestic Partnerships
   2. Grandparent Rights
   3. Guardianships
   4. Emancipation of Minors
   5. Current Paternity Case Law
   6. Paternity Fraud
   7. Paternal Rights
   8. Update on Paternity Affidavits
2. NAVIGATING COMPLEX ASSET CASES
   9:30 - 10:40, Jonathan M. Dunitz
   1. Commingled Separate and Community Assets
   2. Vacation Homes or Investment Real Estate Interests
   3. Family Business Assets
   4. Interests in Closely Held Corporations
   5. Stock Option Compensation
   6. Complex Retirement Plans
   7. Financial Misconduct
   8. Spotting Hidden Assets
   9. Using Forensic Accountants and Business Valuation Experts
   10. Enforceability of Prenuptial Agreements
3. EFFECTIVELY ARGUING CONTEMPT ISSUES
   10:55 - 12:00, Stephen C. Smith
4. ADVANCED CHILD AND SPOUSAL SUPPORT ISSUES
   12:30 - 1:30, Stephen C. Smith
   1. Arguing Spousal Maintenance: What Works and What Doesn't
   2. Voluntary Impoverishment
   3. Enforcement Options
   4. Support Modification Procedures and Tactics
   5. Support Termination: When and How
   6. Case Law Update
5. ETHICS
   1:30 - 2:30, James C. Munch III
   1. Client/Lawyer Relationship
   2. Researching and Preventing Conflicts of Interest
   3. Communication with Adverse Party
   4. When Your Client is Dishonest or Abusive
   5. Attorneys' Fees
   6. Handling an Ethics Complaint/Grievance
6. VIOLENCE IN THE HOME
   2:45 - 4:10, Stephen C. Smith
   1. Restraining Order vs. Protective Order
   2. Disputing False Allegations
   3. Adult Protective Services
   4. Child Protective Services
   5. Child Abduction
   6. TROs Post-Dissolution

Accreditation Details:

VANESSA A. BARTLETT is a sole practitioner with offices in Brunswick and Portland, Maine. She graduated from Southern New Hampshire University and University of Maine School of Law. Ms. Bartlett practices in the area of family law. She received her paralegal certificate from Mid-State College in Auburn, Maine. She is a member of the Maine State Bar Association.

JONATHAN M. DUNITZ is counsel with the Portland, Maine law firm, Verill Dana LLP, where he practices in the areas of commercial litigation, insurance coverage and extra-contractual litigation, family law and appellate advocacy. He has lectured for the Maine State Bar Association on shareholder oppression litigation, business interruption insurance coverage and the art of legal writing, for Business Valuation Resources on various lost profits damages issues, including exclusion of financial damages experts, discovery, spoliation and the context of lost profits damages claims, as well as for National Business Institute on advanced legal writing for paralegals. Mr. Dunitz is the co-editor for the upcoming 2013 edition of The Comprehensive Guide to Lost Profits and Other Commercial Damages, published by Business Valuation Resources. Mr. Dunitz earned his Bachelor of Arts in history, with a minor in music from Ithaca College and his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Syracuse University College of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Maine State Bar Association, the Cumberland County Bar Association and Defense Research Institute.

JAMES C. MUNCH III is an attorney with Vafiades, Brountas & Kominsky in Bangor. His areas of practice include bankruptcy, divorce and family law, commercial litigation, collection matters, and educational law. He is admitted to the Penobscot Tribal Court, United States District Court and the United States First Circuit Court of Appeals and is a member of the Maine Trial Lawyers Association, the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and the Penobscot, Maine State, and American bar associations. Mr. Munch received his B.A. degree, with honors, from Brown University, his M.A. degree from New York University and earned his J.D. degree from University of Maine School of Law.

STEPHEN C. SMITH is an attorney with Steve Smith Trial Lawyers. He has been a trial lawyer for 20 years with a statewide practice in criminal defense, personal injury and family law. Mr. Smith brings a businesslike approach to his litigation practice. He assists clients in divorce and custody cases, homicides, sex crimes, domestic violence, abuse and drug-related charges. Admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the First Circuit Court of Appeals and federal and state courts, he has also been a longtime member of the Bar of the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy Tribal Courts and once acted as the Penobscot Tribe's child protective attorney general. Mr. Smith is a member of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Maine State Bar Association, and National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He earned his B.S. degree from the University of Maine, University of Kharkov in Kharkov, Ukraine and his J.D. degree from the University of Maine School of Law.