THANKS TO OUR SILVER SPONSOR

Presented by Jerry Simon Chasen, Esq.
Today’s family patterns bear less a relationship to Ozzie and Harriet (or Homer and Marge, depending on your age or socio-economic situation) than those of previous generations. Some couples choose not to marry; some can’t; some do, but live in places where the marriage isn’t recognized. Those choosing to rear children will do so, but will have to make their arrangements across a legal patchwork. All of these present particular planning challenges. We’ll discuss these challenges as well as the few (but powerful) planning opportunities that non-traditional family presents.

Collaborative Divorce: Divorce with Dignity, Civility and Respect

Presented by Elaine King, CFP®; Robert Joseph Merlin, Esq.; Rosemarie S. Roth, Esq.; Sammi Siegel, Ph.D.; Lana M. Stern, Ph.D.; Richard Tejera, Esq.
Collaborative Divorce is a process that allows parties, each represented by a collaboratively trained attorney, to proceed through a divorce in a civil, respectful and safe environment without going to court.  The result is resolution and settlement of all issues. The financial planner’s role in the Collaborative process is significant and cost effective.  The financial planner is agreed upon by the parties, serves in a neutral role, and analyzes the parties’ assets and liabilities for the purpose of equitable distribution as well as advising the parties in the disposition of their marital assets and liabilities, in family support matters, their children’s education, insurance and investment counseling. A panel of collaboratively trained experts in law, finance and mental health will educate and enlighten attendees, with a question and answer period to follow.

AGENDA
5:30 - 6:00 PM - Registration and Networking
6:00 - 8:00 PM - Dinner and Presentation
 
COST
In Advance - Members: $45; Non-members: $55
At the Door - Members: $55; Non-members: $70
 
TO REGISTER

• CLICK HERE FOR PDF REGISTRATION FORM
• Fax or mail registration form and credit card payment (Fax: 305-470-7487 / Mail: FPA of Miami-Dade, P.O. Box 560982, Miami, FL 33256-0982)
• Mail registration form and payment by check to FPA of Miami-Dade, P.O. Box 560982, Miami, FL 33256-0982
• Call 786-390-7655 to register by phone with a credit card
• Payment must be received by September 8, 2009, or guaranteed with a credit card. Cancellations received 48 hours prior to the meeting will receive a full refund. No-shows will be invoiced

WHERE
Hurricane 100 Room, University of Miami BankUnited Center, 1245 Dauer Dr., Coral Gables
CLICK HERE FOR PDF DRIVING DIRECTIONS AND PARKING INFORMATION

CE
Accepted for 2 hours of CFP and insurance CE.

ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS

JERRY SIMON CHASEN, ESQ.
Jerry Simon Chasen is the principal of the Miami based Chasen & Associates, P.A., concentrating in the areas of estate planning and probate administration. He has been a Visiting Adjunct Professor at the University of Miami Law School Graduate Programs in both Tax and Estate Planning, from which he also received an LL.M. degree in Estate Planning. His J.D. degree with honors was granted by New York University School of Law in 1976, where he was an editor of the Law Review. Past President of the Miami-Dade County Planned Giving Council and longtime member of the Council’s Board of Directors, Mr. Chasen is a frequent speaker about estate planning and related matters particularly those involving non-traditional family situations, and effective client relationships. Mr. Chasen has served as a member of the national Board of Directors of Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund. He is on the Professional Advisory Committee of the Foundation of Jewish Philanthropies, the United Way of Miami-Dade County, and the Dade Community Foundation, and is also chair of the DCF's LGBT Community Projects Fund Committee. Mr. Chasen is a member of WealthCounsel, a national collaboration of estate planning professionals, and serves on the organization’s Editorial Board. Through his firm, Mr. Chasen has created The Advisors Project, an ongoing educational program designed to encourage and support advisors in creating client relationships that are both satisfying and productive for philanthropy. He is a credentialed life coach by the International Coach Federation and certified by the College of Executive Coaching, focusing his coaching work on the non-financial aspects of retirement planning. In addition to the Florida bar, Mr. Chasen is admitted to the practice of law in California, New Mexico, and New York. Named to Worth Magazine’s Top 100 Attorneys in the United States for 2005, 2006, and 2007, Mr. Chasen’s mission, and that of his firm, is “empowering conscious vision,” and he assists his clients in intentionally creating their future, both through their legal documents and otherwise. jchasen@chasenlaw.com.

ELAINE KING, CFP®
As the Director of Gibraltar Private Bank and Trust’s Wealth & Well-Being Center that she helped established, Elaine King provides families with planning strategies by helping clients understand, organize and manage their wealth around an actionable strategy. Her multi-faceted role includes advising on retirement planning, saving for educational needs, estate planning, family meetings and financial competency for children. Prior to joining Gibraltar Private, she worked as an advisor for The Royal Bank of Scotland (US division) $8 billion investment service where she evaluated client portfolios and personalized recommendations to meet client’s objectives. In a similar role at Citigroup, Ms. King served in a sales management capacity for a $13 billion investment advisory service. Ms. King has worked and studied in Austria, Japan, Mexico, Peru and throughout the United States. She received a Bachelor degree in Business Administration from St. Mary’s University and her Masters in Business Administration from Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management. She is currently enrolled at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family Postgraduate Program. She also holds Series 7 and 63 licenses; she is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator and a Certified Financial Planner® professional. Elaine is the 2009 President –Elect for the Miami-Dade Financial Planners Association, a member of the Certified Financial Planning Board of Standards Advisory team and an active member of the Family Collaborative Law Institute. She has appeared in CBS and Univision and has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal, The Journal of Financial Planning, The Miami Herald, The Sun Sentinel and other national news organizations. Ms. King also mentors children for Educate Tomorrow, and supports CIMA, a shelter for homeless children, in her native Peru. An avid golfer, she also enjoys flying ultra lights, diving, boxing and reading in her free time.

ROBERT JOSEPH MERLIN, ESQ.
Bob is a partner in the Law Offices of Robert J. Merlin, P.A. in Coral Gables, Florida specializing in Marital and Family Law, especially Collaborative Family Law. Bob is Florida Bar Board Certified in Marital and Family Law and has been practicing law in the State of Florida for 30 years. He is a member of The Florida Bar, the American Bar Association, the Dade County Bar, the Coral Gables Bar, the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, the Collaborative Family Law Institute and Collaborative Family Lawyers of South Florida, the last three organizations being dedicated to the promotion of the practice of Collaborative Family Law as a means of amicably dissolving marriages and resolving family disputes. Bob is also a member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court Parenting Coordinators Advisory Board and the University of Florida Levin College of Law Center on Children and Families Advisory Board. Bob graduated with honors from the University Of Florida College Of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1978, where he also was an associate editor of the Law Review, and also attended Cambridge University, Cambridge, England, The Institute of Law-Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland and the Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Bob received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. Bob received the 2006 Dade County Bar Pro Bono Outstanding Law Firm Award and the 1998 Florida Eleventh Judicial Circuit Ray H. Pearson Guardian-Ad-Litem Award. He is listed in the Leading Florida Attorneys in Family Law with the Network of Leading American Attorneys, is among the Florida Super Lawyers and the Florida Trend Magazine Florida Legal Elite, he is AV rated with Martindale-Hubbell and he is listed in Martindale-Hubbell’s Preeminent Family Law Attorneys. Bob has a long history of involvement in various community organizations. He received the 2008 Gator Award from the University of Florida Hillel, he is a Past Chair of Jewish Community Services of South Florida, Inc., he is on the Board of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and is Chair of the Human Resource Development Committee of Federation. Bob is married to Michelle and they have three great kids, Elysa, Rachel and Craig.

ROSEMARIE S. ROTH, ESQ.
Rosemarie S. Roth is a sole practitioner and Certified Family Mediator in Miami, Florida and trainer in Collaborative Law. She has specialized in Family Law for the past 18 years. Rosemarie received her Bachelor of Education from the University of Miami and her J.D. Degree from Nova University Center for the Study of Law. She is a member of the Florida Bar, the Miami-Dade County Bar Association, the Dade County Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers, the South Miami Kendall Bar Association, the Collaborative Family Lawyers Institute and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. She has served on the Florida Bar Family Law Section Legislation Committee, Florida Bar Grievance Committee, co-chair of the ADR, Mediation and Collaborative Lawyering Committee of the Family Law Section, Chair of the Collaborative Law Committee of the Family Section and the Family Section Rules and Forms Sub-Committee charged with creating a proposed Collaborative Law Statute. Rosemarie is past president of the South Miami Kendall Bar Association and served for several years as a board member for the Dade County Florida Association for Women Lawyers. Rosemarie has participated in pro bono legal services for indigent women in domestic violence throughout her years of practice and has received an ABA Special Recognition Award for Pro Bono Activities in the Field of Family Law. Rosemarie founded the Collaborative Family Lawyers Institute in Miami in 1999 and serves as the Institute’s first president. Rosemarie has lectured on Collaborative Law for the Florida Bar, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, University of Miami Law School and for various professional and civic organizations. She has trained law students and attorneys in Collaborative Law at the Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Florida. She has appeared on NBC 6 and on WLRN, the local NPR affiliate, discussing Collaborative Law. Rosemarie co-authored the chapter on “Collaborative Law” in the Florida Bar CLE book Dissolution of Marriage. She can be contacted by-email at rlsroth@aol.com or at her office at (305) 596-7303.

SAMMI SIEGEL, LMHC, Ph.D.
Dr. Siegel graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in Music Therapy. She received her Clinical Psychology degree from the Michigan School for Professional Psychology. She was employed 10 years at Miami Children's Hospital in Adolescent Psychiatry working with teens and families in crisis, In addition to establishing music therapy protocols in Child Life Therapy, she served for five years on the faculty of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and at The University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.  For the past 12 years, Dr. Siegel has been in private practice in Michigan specializing in eating disorders and divorcing families. She is a regular speaker with the S.M.I.L.E. program (Start Making It Livable for Everyone) through the Oakland County Friend of the Court in Michigan.  Most recently, Dr. Siegel completed a degree in Integrative Medicine and Wellness and treats individuals with chronic illness.  She sits on the Medical Advisory Board of the Florida Chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. Currently, Dr. Siegel has her private practice at Coral Gables Counseling. 

LANA M. STERN, LMFT, Ph.D.
Dr. Stern is a Licensed Psychologist and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, (University of Miami) has been in private practice in the Coral Gables, Florida area for the past 25 years. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, Florida Psychological Association, Dade County Psychological Association, Collaborative Family Law Institute and International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. She has been a member of the Collaborative Family Law Institute of Miami for the past 3 years and is the Chairperson of the Mental Health Committee and serves on the Executive and Marketing committees. She is the Miami-Dade delegate representing Mental Health for the Collaborative Family Law Council of Florida. Dr. Stern has served as an educator, elementary counselor, and trainer for the Human Growth and Development program in Dade County Public Schools. She worked for Drake, Beam, Morin, an outplacement corporation, as a Career Consultant and corporate trainer. She treats depression, anxiety disorders, trauma, child sexual abuse and works with couples/divorce counseling, individuals, adults and adolescents. She taught the divorce education course for divorcing parents as part of a private group “Positive Transitions”. She is currently an Adjunct Instructor at Florida International University, supervising Master’s level, Mental Health and School Counselors during their Practicum and Internship. She received the FPA “Outstanding Contribution to Psychology in the Public Interest” award and DCPA “Certificate of Commendation” award in 1993 for her work in the area of Child Sexual Abuse.

RICHARD TEJERA, ESQ.
Richard E. Tejera was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1980 and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in 1981. Mr. Tejera graduated from the University of Florida in 1976, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Economics with High Honors. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Boston College of Law in 1980. Mr. Tejera is A.V. Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and certified as a Family and Matrimonial Mediator by the Florida Supreme Court. He is a member of the First Family Law Inn of Court and is regularly appointed to serve as a Guardian Ad Litem for children in custody litigation. Mr. Tejera is a member of the Collaborative Family Law Institute and the International Association of Collaborative Professionals.