You’re sitting in an office building, waiting to meet with an attorney about a family-law matter. While you wait, you notice various plaques and certificates on the walls. One catches your eye—Certified Family Law Specialist by the Family Law Certification Board. What exactly is a Certified Family Law Specialist?
In Indiana, certification in family law is individual and voluntary. An attorney applying for certification must submit a detailed and comprehensive application that includes the following information:
- Proof that the attorney has been practicing law for at least 5 years;
- Proof that the attorney is of good character and reputation;
- A full and complete legal work history;
- A sufficient number of professional references who can attest to the attorney’s qualifications;
- Substantial involvement (shown by meeting numerical quotas) in the field of family law, including practice in specific family-law areas; and
- Sufficient continuing legal education in family law.
In addition to compiling the above information, the attorney must pass an examination prior to achieving certification. Certification in family law pertains to all aspects of family law, including divorce, taxation issues incident to family-law practice; contempt; enforcement proceedings; mediation and negotiation of family-law disputes; psychological and counseling aspects of family law; family law appellate practice; premarital agreements; non-marital domestic relationships; child custody; enforcement of child support; paternity; adoption; children in need of services (CHINS) cases; grandparents’ rights; and professional responsibility.
A Certified Family Law Specialist is a consummate legal professional and a recognized expert in the field of family law. Ruppert & Schaefer, P.C.’s founding partners, Michael G. Ruppert and Paula J. Schaefer, are Certified Family Law Specialists and are available to speak to you about your family-law issue at any time. Call us at 317-660-8150; your future is our concern.