Effective Strategies for Litigating Child Custody in Contested Domestic Violence Cases

Sessions Closed!

Focus 
The stakes are increasingly high in contested domestic violence cases when child custody is also involved. With vastly expanded grounds for obtaining a protective order, the landscape for handling the child custody facets has changed. A finding of domestic “abuse” triggers a presumption that tips the scales against a joint legal and physical custody award. This program will focus on the practical aspects of navigating through the Domestic Violence Protection Act in child custody proceedings, from intake to resolution. You will hear litigation and resolution strategies from experts in the field and, whether you represent the petitioner or the respondent, learn how best to take on a case involving these difficult issues.

Faculty 
• Judge Thomas Trent Lewis
• Anne C. Kiley, CFLS
• Staci M. Lambright, CFLS

Course Highlights

• What constitutes “abuse” under the Domestic Violence Protection Act • How the Fam.C. §3044 presumption impacts a child custody award • Proving or disproving the impact of domestic violence on children • Rebutting the Fam.C. §3044 presumption against a joint custody award

• The role of counseling orders in domestic violence proceedings • Protecting the victim and children while providing the offending parent appropriate and meaningful access to the children • Testimony from the children as percipient witnesses and for the purpose of stating a preference • Interplay with the UCCJEA and Hague Convention

Course Materials 
Enrollees will receive a complete version of all slides used by the presenters, plus other supplemental materials. You have the option of receiving either printed course materials OR course materials on a USB drive, which allows you to save them to your hard drive and take notes directly next to the material covered. See order form to make your selection.

Enrollees may also purchase at special prices TRG’s three-volume California Practice Guide: Family Law, written by Judge William P. Hogoboom (Ret.) and Justice Donald B. King (Ret.), and the two-volume California Practice Guide: Family Law FORMS.

6 HOURS MCLE/Specialization Credit: Approval of specialization credit in Family Law has been granted by the California Board of Legal Specialization, and approval of MCLE credit for this activity has been granted by the State Bar of California in the amount of 6 hours.