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Includes study of the elements of a valid marriage; grounds for and defenses to annulment and divorce; separation, support and custody laws and
prenuptial and property settlement agreements. The course also includes material on the juvenile and domestic courts, including the law and
procedures governing dependent children, children in need of supervision, delinquent children, foster care, termination of parental rights and adoption.
The final units of the course cover conflicts between parents and the state, the financial safety net for families, and new developments in family law brought
about by changing role expectations and new reproductive technology.

TEXT: Family Law for Paralegals, by J. Shoshanna Erlich (Aspen Press, 3rd edition)

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. Students will list the reasons for governmental support of marriage, types of legal marriages, common marriage restrictions, and legal benefits associated with marriage.
2. Students will describe the mutual legal rights and duties of married couples, and will differentiate their legal status from that of cohabitating unmarried couples.
3. Students will explain the reasons for laws governing spousal and child support obligations, and will be able to compute guideline child support for hypothetical situations.
4. Students will describe the main principles of the law governing child custody, and will draft simple custody petitions and agreements.
5. Students will list the grounds for annulment and divorce and the defenses
to these actions, and will draft simple bills of complaint and answers.
6. Students will describe the main principles of laws governing equitable distribution of marital property in the absence of an agreements. Students will draft simple property settlement agreements and will explain the effect of the provisions of such an agreement.
7. Students will describe the procedures used to obtain a divorce in Virginia, and will explain the purpose of the forms used in divorce cases.
8. Students will describe the purpose and operation of the juvenile court and foster care systems.
9. Students will list the major social security and welfare systems in the United States, and will describe the effect of these laws on families.
10. Students will describe how the due process and equal protection clauses of the United States Constitution impact upon family law, particularly as it applies to non-traditional families and to new reproductive technology
11. Students will use the Internet to locate relevant statutes in various states.
12. Students will be proficient at completing and understanding the provisions of forms commonly used in family law matters.
13. Students will integrate the knowledge gained in the course, and will apply that knowledge to spot ethical dilemmas and to resolve hypothetical family law related problems.

SAMPLE COURSE OUTLINE:
Each session below represents 3 classroom hours

Session One: Course Introduction. Summary of course content, requirements and grading policies. Group survey and discussion: current issues in family law.

Session Two: Sources of Family Law. Constitutional Changes and Current Issues. Marriage as a preferred status. Internet Research: Civil Unions in
Vermont and Marriage Restrictions in Virginia.

Session Three: Cohabitation agreements between unmarried partners, alternative to marriage. Common law and ceremonial marriages. Internet
Research Session: Living Together Agreements. Small group issue spotting and analysis problem: Annie's Case.

Session Four: Engaged Couples and the Law. Marriage Restrictions. Statutory research on the Internet. Void and Voidable Marriages.

Session Five: Civil Annulments. Small group reviews and issue spotting/problem solving sessions. Review for unit one exam.

Session Six: Prenuptial Agreements and Rights and Duties of Married Couples in the Absence of a Prenuptial Agreement. Classroom Exercise:
Negotiating and Drafting Prenups.

Session Seven: Children in Families. Rights and Duties of Parents and Children. Principles of Child Custody. Video on Gender Roles.

Session Eight: Special Issues in Custody. Moot Custody Court and State Court Decisions. Ethics and custody decisions.

Session Nine: Child Support Laws and Virginia's Child Support Guidelines. Spousal support obligations during marriage, upon separation, and
after divorce. Hypothetical problem solving in class. Ethics and child support.

Session Ten: Grounds for Divorce. Equitable distribution of marital property. Property settlement agreements. Other legal rights, responsibilities, and
special rules for married couples. Review for second exam.

Session Eleven: The roles and ethical obligations of divorce attorneys and paralegals in Virginia. Virginia forms and procedures. Alternatives to
litigation. Overview of pleadings project.

Session Twelve: Health, moral and religious values, and education: what happens when parents and the state disagree. Video on Public Education.

Session Thirteen: Child neglect and termination of parental rights.Delinquent children and CHINS. Ethical issues for attorneys and paralegals
When the client is a child. Video: Juvenile Courts

Session Fourteen: Adoptions. Ethical issues, procedures and forms.

Session Fifteen: New Reproductive Technology, privacy, and the law. Research assignments: surrogate pregnancies in different states. Virginia's
statute on children and assisted conception. Ethical implications. Hypothetical problem solving. Review for final exam.

Session Sixteen: Family Law and the Future. Review terms and concepts for CP Exam.