022: The Family Court Fix: Improving Family Court Justice with Fran Fontana

Too often, family courts focus on viewing cases through a typical civil court lens rather than considering the children and families who need nuanced solutions that best preserve coparenting and meet specific needs of specific children. Typical courts that rotate judges and have little background in these nuances often fail to meet such needs, leading to debate about whether dedicated family courts can serve families and children better.

On this episode of Children First Family Law, Krista sits down with Fran Fontana, an attorney and thought leader in Colorado who is a thought leader in the dedicated family court debate. Fran brings significant authority to the conversation, including serving on the Colorado Supreme Court Standing Committee on Family Issues, where conversations are occurring regarding how best to meet the unique needs of family law cases. Fran is a past chair of the Family Law Section of the Colorado Bar Association, past president of the Colorado Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), and a former Domestic Violence Task Force member. She also serves as a Peer Professionalism Assistance Group member to encourage professionalism amongst attorneys across all disciplines.

Krista and Fran’s conversation touches on many issues facing family courts, including the lack of problem-solving between attorneys in family law cases. Fran shares the work her Peer Professionalism Assistance Group is doing to help attorneys manage conflict and identify cases that need faster intervention. She is a strong advocate for a court system that meets people where they are, which has led her to work to make changes in Colorado toward a better approach Having worked for decades as an attorney in hundreds of family law cases, Fran also shares her insights on the negative impact divorce has on children and parents and what her dream court model would look like. Finally, she shares with Krista how conflict manifests in children and discusses how good problem-solving techniques between attorneys and parents can benefit kids, helping parents navigate divorce in a far more healthy way.

 

Keeping kids front and center in a divorce can help create the best outcomes for them, and Fran Fontana has spent her career making children and families a priority. Don’t miss this episode for a peek into the future of Colorado family courts and how a dedicated family court can be a picture nationally and internationally of how to help children flourish despite divorce by fixing the divorce court itself

In this episode, you will hear:

• Fran Fontana’s proactive path to family law and her varied career experiences
• The use of “custody” when discussing parenting time and assignment of parental responsibilities and the negative connotations “custody” evokes 
• The importance of identifying cases that need intervention faster and creating better outcomes for families
• Reasons why family courts need to meet people where they are and recognize the nuanced issues that impact families and in particular children
• Fran’s work to make changes in family courts in Colorado and how problem-solving has evolved from earlier in her career
• Why advocating isn’t the same as problem-solving
• The divorce industry’s negative impact on children and families
• Fran’s dream court model and what she proposes for better family outcomes

 

Resources from this Episode

www.childrenfirstfamilylaw.com

All states have different laws; be sure you are checking out your state laws specifically surrounding divorce. Krista is a licensed attorney in Colorado and Wyoming but is not pro