Family Law

The Family Law subjects in the LLM (Applied Law) deal with the legal aspects of working with families.

COURSE DETAILS

FLP1NZ Foundations of Family Law Practice

This family law subject is concerned with people, rather than property or financial matters. It includes the law and practice concerning parenting after separation. It also examines the law and practice of marriage dissolution. The subject aims to provide you with a strong foundation for practising in family law and covers most common issues encountered by family lawyers in practice.

Topics

• factors considered when determining the best interests of a child
• the legislative pathway for decision making about children
• parenting after separation
• child abuse and family violence as they relate to parenting disputes
• relocation and recovery of children
• variation and enforcement of parenting orders
• ethical issues in children’s matters, and
• dissolution and nullity of marriage.

FLP2 Property and Maintenance

This subject provides students with an introduction and overview of the process for resolving property and maintenance disputes with a focus on issues encountered in everyday practice.

Topics

• the process used to identify relationship and separate property
• the factors considered by the court in determining how to divide relationship property
• the issues specific to the presence of trusts in relationship property matters
• the rules of evidence, and their application to relationship property proceedings
• the process for resolving a relationship property dispute
• the factors relevant to the determination of costs in relationship property proceedings
• drafting issues with affidavits and and relationship property agreements
• when specialist advice should be sought on tax and revenue issues in financial proceedings.

FLP3NZ Conducting Family Law Matters

Conducting a family law matter, whether it involves relationship property, parenting, child support or other issues, requires a range of skills and procedural knowledge.

This subject covers the steps involved in reaching a settlement, from your first conference with the client through to the end of a final hearing. At the end of this subject you will be able to apply a problem-solving methodology and knowledge of procedural law to the conduct of all aspects of family law matters, both in and out of court.

Topics

• the procedural law in regards to family law matters
• problem-solving methodology to the conduct of all aspects of family law matters in or out of court
• dispute resolution options and advising clients on whether to initiate proceedings or use non-litigation-based dispute resolution methods
• drafting interlocutory and substantive applications, affidavits, notices and orders
• case strategy for a final hearing
• ethical and professional practice issues which arise in the conduct of family law matters.

FLP11NZ Advanced Parenting Issues

This subject provides an in-depth and practical study of the complex and emerging issues relating to family law and parenting.

Topics

• practice, procedure, and evidence for advanced parenting issues in Family Court
• special situations involving standing, definitions, social, and cultural issues
• drafting and enforcement of orders in special situations
• child representation and expert evidence in children's matters
• financial aspects of matters affecting children
• international child abduction
• adoption and child welfare, and
• hearings, appeals, and costs.

FLP12NZ Advanced Issues in Property and Maintenance

This practice-based LLM subject advances on students’ knowledge towards specialised and integrated understandings of the advanced issues around Property.

At the end of this subject you will be equipped to advise your clients on the more complex issues impacting on matters that involve property and financial issues.

Topics

• jurisdiction in relationship property matters
• classification and valuation of property
• business structures and assets
• contracting out and relationship property agreements
• interim relief and other claims available
• relationship property and death
• international issues and property, and
• appeals and limitations.

FLP13 Development & Management of a Family Law Practice

This subject is about the development and management of your family law practice. As you will be aware, managing any legal practice requires a different set of skills to the technical and practical aspects of working as a lawyer on legal matters. Establishing a new legal practice and managing that practice for growth can be challenging. The personal circumstances and particular pressures facing many family law clients bring another dynamic to management of a family law practice. This subject considers a range of issues that are relevant to the effective and efficient conduct of a family law practice.

Topics

• Introduction to developing and managing a family law practice
• Getting started
• Financial Management - Pricing and costs, and leveraging for productivity profit
• Financial indicators
• Risk Management Systems Management
• Marketing Management
• Managing People and Managing Clients
• Managing Yourself

FLP14NZ Family Dispute Resolution

This skills based subject aims to focus on the use of mediation and other forms of dispute resolution in family law matters including how parties may resolve their disputes on their own ("self-managing”) or with the assistance of a third party (sometimes generically described as the “third party neutral"). Learning methods will include role plays, simulations and other means of learning by doing.

Topics

• The legislative framework
• Understanding disputes
• Less adversarial approaches
• Negotiation
• Mediation
• Conciliation and arbitration
• Communication skills
• Issues of power and culture
• Non-adversarial practice and family law: representing a client

FLP15NZ Advocacy in Family Law

This subject focuses on developing and/or refreshing advocacy skills used in the Family Court. The aim of this subject is to confer on students the skills necessary for preparing for, and conducting in court, family law matters which have reached the court-room stage, all in an ethical context and in accordance with the rules set by legislation and the rules of court.

Topics

• Role of the advocate
• Preparing a case for trial
• Rules of evidence in family law matters
• Oral evidence in chief
• Cross-examination
• Oral and written submissions
• reviews, stay applications, and the slip rule, and
• interlocutory applications and appeals.

FLP00NZ Capstone

The Capstone Project is taken as the final subject in a major. Drawing from the skills and knowledge you have acquired throughout the program, the Capstone Project will challenge you to integrate these skills and apply them effectively to sophisticated and realistic legal scenarios. There is a strong focus on practical experience and active learning; your performance throughout the subject will be continuously evaluated through a series of assessments.

These Applied Law programmes are delivered by The College of Law Limited in Australia which is a self-accrediting Higher Education Provider within the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) regulatory framework. The programmes are fully compliant with the Australian Qualifications Framework at Masters level. The College has delivered these programmes for over 10 years and is now the second largest provider of LLM qualifications in Australia.

It should be noted that these Applied Law programmes are not accredited by the NZQA.

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