FAMlaw Seminar Announcement

April 16, 2014

Robin Graine to Speak at FAMlaw Seminar

May 13, 2014 ~ Fairfax, VA

Virginia State Bar Approved for MCLE Hours

             On Tuesday, May 13, 2014, Robin Graine, JD of Graine Mediation will be speaking, along with a distinguished panel of lawyers and judges, at FAMlaw’s Fairfax Seminar: “Practicing Family Law; Avoiding Malpractice”

 To pre-register for this seminar, visit www.famlawseminars.com or call 800-272-5053.

 8:30am – 4:30pm on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 – Fair Oaks Marriott

11787 Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy, Fairfax, VA 22033

$249 registration fee for the first attendee

$189 for 2nd and 3rd registrant from same firm

            Ms. Graine will be giving a talk on the importance of mediation as a settlement option when couples decide to get a divorce. She will also give the nuts and bolts of practicing mediation in Virginia. Specifically, Ms. Graine will cover:

  • What is mediation?
  • What does a typical mediation look like?
  • What needs to be included in an Agreement to Mediate?
  • Do clients have rules to follow in mediation?
  • Do mediators have rules to follow?
  • How do mediators maintain their neutrality?
  • Is mediation confidential?
  • Are mediators allowed to also practice law?
  • What do you do, as a mediator, when clients “lose control”?
  • Is there a difference between court ordered and voluntary mediation?
  • What does the term “mediator as educator” mean?
  • Are there differences between a Mediated Property Settlement Agreement and an attorney drafted Property Settlement Agreement?
  • What is the criteria and training necessary to become a mediator?

Other seminar highlights include:

  • How to avoid QDRO and divorce malpractice lawsuits
  • What does divorce litigation look like from the bench?
  • How to properly use support-based QDROs
  • Expert Analysis of Virginia Code §20-107.3 (equitable distribution of property & debt)
  • Strategies for tough child custody & spousal support cases

Other speakers include:

Raymond S. Dietrich, JD

– Founder of QDRO Trak

– Author of Qualified Domestic Relations Orders: Strategy and Liability for the Family Law Attorney (Matthew Bender 2013 ©)

– Principal attorney in the Galleon Network – a national network of licensed attorneys specializing in the drafting and litigation of QDROs and COAPs for lawyers and clients

Honorable Lorraine Nordlund, 19th Judicial Circuit of Virginia (Fairfax)

– Serving Fairfax County as a judge since 1996; sworn in Circuit Court on February 1, 2010

– Reputation in the legal community for thoughtful and fair decision-making

David L. Duff, JD

– Founding, principal attorney at The Duff Law Firm (Fairfax, VA)

– Practicing law since 1976

– Divorce attorney as well as personal injury, auto accidents, and legal malpractice

John C. Whitbeck, Jr., JD

– Founder of Whitbeck Cisneros McElroy, P.C.

– Practice focuses on family law, education law, criminal law, mental health law and civil litigation

– Former professor of law at George Mason University Law School

– Former director of George Mason Mental Illness Clinic

Alanna C.E. Williams, JD (Duff Law Firm)

– Reputation in the community as a tenacious advocate for divorce clients as well as an effective negotiator

– Joined The Duff Law Firm in 2004; made a Principal of the firm in February 2009

Wesley P. Gelb, JD

– Partner at Ain & Bank, Washington, DC

– Practice focuses on family law and general litigation

– Broad experience litigating family matters in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland

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BEWARE: DIVORCE IS HAZARDOUS TO SINGLE MOMS’ CREDIT-WORTHINESS

January 19, 2012

PNC bank has a new policy, I have been told by a trusty loan officer in the higher ranks of that enterprise, that child support no longer counts as income for the purpose of obtaining a home equity line of credit or small business loan.  This is true even for very large amounts of child supports. I was told, straight-up, that married female applicants whose husband’s who have jobs, earning the same amount of money as an ex-wife’s child support allotment, are much more credit-worthy than single moms who are receiving regular, provable, court-ordered child support.  Is this prejudiced against single moms?

In my line of work, I see lots of mother’s whose husbands leave the marriage — without warning.  Of course, those husbands take their jobs with them!  As a mediator, though, most of my clients are decent people that pay their child support obligations. Nevertheless, even women who have upstanding child-support paying ex’s, and are seeking a loan, can no longer count that cash-flow as part of their income.  This is absurd considering the same woman could have counted that same amount of family income as cash flow, for purposes of obtaining a loan, if she were still married to her children’s father – even if he spent that money foolishly and contributed nothing to the family.

I was also told, by my PNC informer, that no amount of money in the bank is worthy of consideration when it comes to approving a loan – unless that money is in PNC’s own coffers and can be used as direct collateral.  That means that people who are responsible and work hard to save their money and put it in the trusty hands of a good broker, are considered, at least by PNC Bank, to be a greater credit risk than people who spend every penny they have with no thought for the future. Essentially, PNC prefers loan applicants with a low-paying job, with no hope of putting anything away for the future, over a person who has a pile of dough at the ready.

This doesn’t make sense.  People are losing their jobs right and left.  There is no security in an individual’s employment.  However, if a person defaults on a loan, the bank can get a judgment against that person and garnish their bank or brokerage account.  When is the last time, though, you ever heard of a bank forcing an employer to keep a person on the payroll so that that person could pay off a loan?

And, finally, we all know that the equity in your home is worth nothing to the bank.  They don’t want your home if you default.  They have enough homes to keep them busy for a long time.  They have so many homes, that they cannot even afford to heat and cool them properly and residences across the nation are molding and rotting as a result.

So, if you want to start or grow a business with a home equity line of credit or a small business loan from your local bank – as was the norm for many, many years – forget about it, unless you have a regular paycheck, with at least a three year record of earnings– even if you have a hefty court-monitored source of cash flow, a flush bank account and tons of equity in your home.

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