Handling Gender Identity Issues in Family Law Cases (Recorded)

Best practices when working with transgender, nonbinary and gender expansive clients

While transgender people have always existed as part of our society, the topic of gender identity has only recently reached mainstream discussion and it is still a topic with which many practitioners feel unfamiliar. Additionally, transgender and gender nonconforming clients are still facing several social and political threats that make finding an attorney who understands and accepts their identity even more crucial. This program aims to educate the everyday family law attorney on both the background context and best practices of working with transgender and gender non-conforming clients and discussing gender identity openly and comfortably with clients.

The intersection of gender identity and the families we create and raise can come into conflict when clients are in front of the Probate and Family Court. We cover what the legal ramifications of a name change and/or gender marker change can mean in the context of a divorce, parentage, or custody action, as well as how to best advocate for your clients in a Probate and Family Court that is still catching up with best practices. Further, legal custody and decision making for a client’s transgender or gender nonconforming minor children has increasingly become a high conflict and fraught area of litigation in Probate and Family Court matters, and this program equips you to better represent your clients in these cases.

Practitioners leave this program with an understanding of:

• How to feel comfortable and make clients feel comfortable discussing gender identity;
• Legal name change and gender marker changes and how to reflect those on Probate and Family Court pleadings;
• The social and political reality faced by transgender and gender nonconforming clients;
• Best Practices for representing transgender and gender nonconforming clients in family law matters; and
• Best Practices for representing parents with transgender and nonconforming children in family law matters.