Review: Third Party/Visitation and Modification

1
Review Third Party/Visitation and Modification

• Third Party Visitation
• After Troxel, state cts must give deference to
  fit parents denial of visitation request to 3rd
  party.
• MD statute has been held unconstitutional as
  applied to order visitation over reasonable
  denial by fit parent
• Modification
• Test substantial and material change in
  circumstances? If so, court will take another
  look and best interests applies
• Relocation When relocation prompts modif.
  request important factors in best interests
  analyses. current custody/visit. arrange (joint
  vs. sole extent of visitation)and extent of
  disruption to non-custodial parents relationship
  w/child

2
Alternative Dispute Resolution and Custody

• April 6, 2004

3
ADR Resolving Conflicts Without Resort to
Litigation

• Negotiation Two parties (usually through
  lawyers) seek to reach a settlement
• Arbitration Neutral Third Party resolves
  dispute by rendering a decision after hearing
  from both sides
• Mediation Neutral Third Party assists two or
  more disputing parties to reach a mutually
  agreeable settlement of dispute

4
Types of Mediation

• Problem Solving
• Transformative
• Evaluative

5
Mediation and Child Access

• Most states (including MD) now require parties to
  attempt to mediate child access disputes before
  resort to litigation
• See e.g. Md. Rule 9-205 requires parties to
  custody or visitation dispute to participate in
  up to two mediation sessions

6
Lawyers as Mediators

• Ethical Issues Conflicts Confidentiality
  Non-Attorney Practice of Law Mediation and
  Domestic Violence
• Training Varies from jurisdiction to
  jurisdiction
• MD -Need not be lawyer
• -40 hours of general mediation training
  plus 20 hours specialized training if
  child access mediation
• See Title 17, Md. Rules Vol. 2
• Practice Opportunities
• - Mixing mediation with traditional law
  practice
• - Building a mediation practice