Message from the Editor

Dawn Gray

It is my pleasure to take over as Executive Editor of the Family Law News with this issue. I hope to continue the commitment to excellence of my predecessor, Naghmeh Bashar, and continue the tradition of ensuring that the Family Law News educates, challenges and encourages our members to the highest standards of family law practice. I urge you to contribute to FLN with articles on topics of your interest. Did an interesting issue come up in a case you just handled? Write about it and share it with colleagues. If you are concerned about a case or its application, share your thoughts and brainstorm approaches in an article. And there are always niche cases that don’t fit within our usual legal arguments and that require a creative approach. Share the knowledge you gained with our family law community. Don’t be shy!

This issue includes some of those very things. Paula Lawhon, CFLS, discusses some of the conflicts between a litigation approach and a mediation approach to family law cases and suggests ways in which litigators can shift their thinking to better assist clients who are interested in alternate dispute resolution. It is often not easy to change "hats," as the two approaches require different skillsets. In her article, Paula thoughtfully analyzes how this can be handled.

Ann Fallon, CFLS, AML, and renowned pension and employment benefit specialist, gives us practical advice regarding term life insurance benefits and how they interact with the ATROs during the dissolution process. She discusses how to use a court order to secure life insurance benefits early in the case if your client should be the beneficiary and the community is no longer paying the premium, or if you suspect that the insured changed the beneficiary. She also provides us with a model QDRO governing term life insurance benefits.