Clients need information when they start working with a family lawyer that's a given. How can you best share important information to save their time and yours, while helping to avoid future claims that they were not informed about key issues upfront? Formal client handouts are an invaluable resource for accomplishing both objectives.

Client Letters for the Family Lawyer offers practice-tested forms, letters, and checklists that are designed to educate and inform your clients. Sample informative handouts in plain English clearly explain various issues involved in the legal process, while using these checklists and forms are a convenient and logical way to obtain and manage critical client information. Author Mark E. Sullivan makes it easy for family lawyers to adopt this handout strategy" in their daily legal practice.

The numerous documents in Client Letters for the Family Lawyer cover the most common topics in family law practice, including legal fees, the trial process, adoption, custody, property division, and much more. Many handouts are written in question-and-answer format that is easy for clients to understand. Forms are organized logically for easy use by the lawyer and law firm staff:

Part 1: Office Procedures, including dispute resolution, firm procedures, and fees

Part II: Discovery and Trial Procedures

Part III: State-Specific Issues, ranging from adoption and custody to wills and property division

Part IV: General or Federal Law, coving topics such as custody, family support and separation Aspects of the same topic can be discussed in different parts of the book, such as the state-specific aspects of property division and the federal aspects of the same issue.

Many of the book's forms are provided on the accompanying CD-ROM.