Family & Per Law

Bankruptcy Survey This course will examine the federal Bankruptcy Code. Issues to be discussed include property of the estate, the automatic stay, claims, preferences, exemptions, priorities, and discharges. We will review these issues as they arise in liquidations under Chapter 7, corporate reorganizations under Chapter 11, and wage earner adjustments under Chapter 13. Students enrolling in this course can not also register for nor have taken Law 421 Business Bankruptcy, Law 406 Consumer Bankruptcy. Close Window

This course covers requisites for marriage, pre-nuptials, paternity, property management during marriage, spousal abuse, parental child rearing rights, grounds for divorce, property distribution upon divorce, consequences of cohabitation prior to marriage, alimony, child support, and child custody and visitation. Close Window

A study of the tax and non-tax rules applicable to wealth transfers. The course will emphasize planning for intra- family transfers. It will also cover 'liviling' wills, durable powers of attorney, and special problems associated with disability. The student will be required to synthesize federal gift, estate and generation skipping transfers with state property, decedent's estate and trust law considerations. Prerequisites or co-requisites: Law 311 Federal Income Taxation and Law 305 Trusts and Estates. Close Window

A study of the law governing inter vivos and death time gratuitous transfers of property. Aspects covered include transfers under intestate succession statutes; the law of wills, including the formalities of execution, testamentary capacity, undue influence and fraud, interpretation, and revocation; non-probate transfers; the law of trusts, including methods of creation and termination, rights and interests of the beneficiary, and special problems relating to resulting, constructive and charitable trusts; and fiduciary administration, including an introduction to probate proceedings and problems of trust administration. Close Window

Advanced Family Law Advocacy This course will introduce students, in the context of Virginia substantive and procedural law, to the major practice areas typically encountered in a family practice: child abuse and neglect; domestic violence; child custody and support; and divorce. Through readings, class discussion, and simulated exercises, it explores concepts of client-centeredness and the development of case theory. Students will practice and develop necessary lawyering skills that include client interviewing, client counseling, negotiating, and litigation skills (pretrial practice, pleadings/motions drafting, and trial advocacy skills). Close Window

This seminar offers a practical survey of legislative and regulatory effects and litigation on behalf of animals under U.S. and International law. The course will address the historical status of animals in the law; the current application of animal protection laws for companion animals, wildlife, and farm and other domesticated animals; legislative efforts and citizen initiatives to strengthen animal protection laws; and the limitations on implementation and enforcement of laws addressing anti-cruelty, wildlife, marine mammal and other areas of animal protection and the impacts of free speech, religious expression, and other Constitutional provisions on animal protection statutes will be explored. Close Window

Constitution & the Family The Supreme Court has in many ways 'constitutionalized' the family­ mandating application of select constitutional clauses in deciding many family law disputes. This seminar examines the development of the Court's jurisprudence and explores how (and whether) it implicates numerous contemporary issues, including: the extent to which certain family practices should escape state regulation; the constitutional status of marriage (including same-sex and polygamous marriage); limits on child-rearing and parental rights (including the parental rights of adults not biologically related to a child); and reproductive rights, including rights to alternative methods of reproduction and surrogacy. The seminar will also examine state policy-making responses to changing family structures and shifting constitutional doctrine. Texts: There is no assigned casebook. Readings will include relevant Supreme Court opinions; secondary literature, including law review articles and book excerpts (e.g., addressing theoretical underpinnings of law, providing historical backdrop, and including biographical material); and some state statutory excerpts. Requirements: The seminar requires that students attend and participate actively in class sessions. Students will also present to the class an original research paper of publishable quality. Students with more than one unexcused absence may be dropped from the course. Prerequisites: The family law survey course is useful but not a prerequisite. Grading Policy: Both the research paper and class participation contribute to the final grade for the course. Close Window

An examination of principles of school law by use, in part, of the care study approach. Legal foundations of public and non-public schools are studied with consideration given to the Virginia School code. Basic legal principles and guidelines for assisting teachers, administrators and professional support personnel are developed. Close Window

Since most states routinely refer contested family-related cases to mediaton or other forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution ('ADR'), any student who intends to practice family law should possess a practical understanding of the family dispute resolution process, a problem-solving approach to resolving disputes, where the parties to the dispute, with assistance of an impartial mediator, are in charge of the resolution. The course is designed as an advanced legal skills course with the emphasis on mediation skills and techniques. Through demonstrations, role plays, videotapes, coaching, class discussions, presentations, readings and written assignments, you will be provided with a comprehensive summary of family mediation theories and practices, including the nature of family conflicts and how families fight and will learn about the theory of mediation and its practice from the perspective of a mediator, a party, and an attorney representing clients in mediation. The course is open to 3Ls who have taken General Mediation or other students by instructor permission. Close Window

A study of the basic laws relating to federal income taxation of the individual. Included are problems relating to computing gross income, the reduction of gross income to taxable income, and the recognition and character of gains and losses from disposition of property. Close Window

A in-depth study of the state's role in creating legal family relationships and in encouraging or discouraging particular social relationships, with a primary focus on the parent-child relationship. The course will take a multi-disciplinary and comparative approach, drawing materials from the social sciences (e.g., sociology, psychology, political science) and the humanities (e.g., philosophy, history, literature) as well as from law, and examining the laws and social circumstances relating to intimate associations in other countries as well as in the U.S. The course will also have a law reform orientation; we will study the topic with an eye to determining whether and how state legislatures should rewrite the laws that dictate who a child's first legal parents will be. Students will also attend a conference on this topic to be held at the law school, where academics from various disciplines will present papers. Close Window

This course will deal with residential and commercial real estate transactions both from a practical and a theoretical perspective. The course will cover purchase and sale agreements, deeds, recording acts, financing, residential and commercial leases and real estate development. Class discussion will focus on both the analysis of case decisions and practical aspects of real estate law. Close Window

This seminar will consider various topics regarding juvenile law. The nature of the topics will change from term to term. Close Window

Selected Topics in Estate Planning and Elder Law Seminar This seminar will examine the issues involved in crafting comprehensive plans for the management of financial and medical affairs for diverse clients, and the practical application of principles covered in Trusts & to the analysis of client situations and the preparation of appropriate documents. Case studies will progress from basic planning considerations to the more complex issues issues involved in planning for blended families, minors, the disabled, and the elderly, including incapacity, long term care and Medicaid issues; the consequences of the failure to plan or poor planning; and alternate courses of action. Classes will include simulated client conferences, discussion of ethical issues, and practical exercises. Prerequisite: Trusts & Estates Close Window

This course covers child abuse and neglect, adoption, legal representation of children, emancipation, status offenses, delinquency, trial of minors as adults, and the constitutional rights of youths. There is no exam for this course. Students will write a research paper on a topic of their choice. Close Window