The intersection of individuals, children, families and the legal system, including the balance between the right to privacy and government intervention, and social disparities in the legal system. Topics include: establishing the legal parent relationship, adoption, the rights of children and parents, marriage, divorce, dependency and neglect, family violence, disability and estate planning, juvenile delinquency, legalities of gender, and landlord/tenant and housing policy.
Course Learning Objectives:
- Be familiar with the legal system and parameters within which the family and its individual members operate.
- Recognize elementary legal issues in family law and other subjects covered.
- Understand legal constraints governing the establishment and dissolution of the family unit and the legal relationship between parents and children.
- Recognize certain situations in which it is appropriate to seek legal advice.
- Be aware of alternatives to litigation alternative dispute resolution processes in the family law context.
Prerequisite
Completion of 60 credits
Textbooks and Materials
Please check the
CSU Bookstore for textbook information. Textbook listings are available at the
CSU Bookstore about 3 weeks prior to the start of the term.
Instructors
Holly Panetta
9702155974
|
holly.panetta@colostate.edu
Holly Panetta is an attorney who works primarily with families and children in Colorado. She provides mediation services and is routinely court-appointed as a Child and Family Investigator ("CFI") to make recommendations regarding allocation of parental responsibilities. She previously served as director of the Office of Dispute Resolution and as the Court Programs Manager for the State Court Administrator's Office.
In addition to "Families in the Legal Environment,"Holly Panetta also teaches mediation and public policy courses for the CSU School of Social Work.
Holly Panetta attended law school at the University of Denver and received her Juris Doctor in 2003. She holds a Master's of Science in Human Development and Family Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, both from Colorado State University.
