Created in partnership with the Central Ohio Association of Collaborative Professionals, this program will take practitioners through a live collaborative law case in the family law practice area. This is part three of a six-part series.
This session will educate participants on the role of neutral professionals in the collaborative divorce process, focusing financial neutrals from the legal perspective. Neutrals play a key role in bringing cases to resolution. The program will provide insights on how to work with the financial neutral to obtain the best outcome for your clients and how to prepare your clients for working with the neutral.
Neutrals
- Overview of neutrals in the collaborative process
- Value neutrals bring to attorneys and clients
- Why are both key to process
- Difference in roles of attorneys and neutrals
The Role of Financial Neutrals
- Planning for equitable solutions
- Tax considerations
- Costs & considerations related to selling assets or otherwise dividing up assets
- Liabilities vs assets
- House, goods, life insurance, savings, 401(k), inheritance, etc
- Legal considerations and impacts of financial decisions
- Importance of ensuring neutrality in all professional roles.
- Legal underpinnings of agreements (e.g., life insurance, inheritance, and trusts).
- Preparing clients for full-team meetings and understanding the process.
Legal Considerations and Neutrality
Live Collaborative Case Scene Three – Meeting with the Financial Neutrals
This scene you will walk through the initial meeting with the financial neutral. The scene demonstrates how the neutral explains financial information to both clients and how the neutral helps both clients understand how values are determined, as well as considerations when settling on financials and issues. It outlines what to expect and how to move forward in future team meetings with clients, attorneys and neutrals. Walks through considerations for getting the numbers right and what steps clients should take since this is a collaborative process. It also shows how neutral helps keep clients focused on one step at a time so they don’t get ahead of the process. Demonstrates how the neutral can ask the right questions to help keep the focus on a collaborative process even when dealing with tough and/or emotional issues related to assets and finances.
1.0 CLE Credit
Producers:
Elaine S. Buck, Esq.
Heather G. Sowald, Esq.
Assistant Producers:
Donald Morris, C.D.F.A.
Jessica Simmons, C.F.P., C.D.F.A.
Mary Lewis, Esq.
Terrie Austin, C.F.P., C.D.F.A.
Cast and speakers:
Eric Johnson, Esq.
Elaine S. Buck, Esq.
Martha is played by Lynne Rouzer, Ph.D.
Henry is played by: Brian Henry
Martha’s attorney is played by: Mary Turner Lewis, Esq.
Henry’s attorney is played by: S. Scott Haynes, Esq.
Financial Neutral is played by: Beth Petrie, C.P.A., C.V.A.
Family Coach is played by: Mary T. Johnston, M.B.A., M.S.E., LPCC-S