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FEATURED CONTRIBUTOR A CHANGING, CHALLENGING, AND CARING AREA OF LEGAL PRACTICE Janis Walter BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Janis Walter has coordinated the paralegal program at the University of Cincinnati for thirty years. She is an author and frequent speaker at national and statewide forums. Professor Walter is an active member of the American Association for Paralegal Education and has served as editor of The Paralegal Educator. She has also served on the ABA's Standing Committee on Paralegals and currently presides over the American Bar Association's Approval Commission on Paralegals. In this capacity, she has chaired site visits of paralegal programs across the United States. Professor Walter is also a partner in the Wright Law Group. I have focused my practice on advocating for the individual. The areas of family law and estate administration allow us to assist clients grieving the loss of their family and help them protect the family unit. Changes in Society These areas of law are challenging because they are constantly evolving, as Is the characterization of what constitutes a fam- ily. Changes in mariage, divorce, and fertility mean that family structures are changing and becoming more diverse. Recent decades have seen a dramatic rise in divorce, cohabitation rather than marriage, civil unions, blended families of both gay and heterosexual design, and nonmarital children. Changes in Technology The advancement of technology has also played a major role in chang- ing what constitutes a family. The ability to freeze sperm and conceive children posthumously through a surrogate affects issues such as custody and Inheritance rights. While there are many forms of family structures, the family itself is not disappearing. Indeed, the issues in family law and estate administration are diverse and numerous. Technology has also had an impact on estate planning and administration. Digital assets have essentially replaced tangible ones in today's world. People need to carefully plan the fate of their online presence after their death. For example, many people use direct deposit and automatic monthly payments that need to be terminated when they die. Other aspects of one's digital presence may The Paralegal and Family Law Because paralegals who practice in family law and estate admin- istration play such an integral role in the delivery of legal services to clients, perhaps more than in most areas of law, it is essential that they stay current with changing and evolving developments. Such competency requires substantive legal knowledge and inter- personal skills that enable the paralegal to work with clients about sensitive personal issues. Family law paralegals must be able ; ; e today's to thrive in a fast-paced work environment FIORIEK: ol Scoaul s, phcios musio, o EN with constant deadlines. Those in estate BB B TR RO R paralegal must be administration must pay close attention onlllne mar?uscnms i blogsf, c(_)mputer COEe, knowledgea ble ye'l to detail while working independently. In online gaming avatars, and bitcoins. Often, user Roxdbie g both, the legal team works with emotion- names and passwords are not provided to sur- vivors, and current federal privacy laws restrict disclosure of private electronic communications. Changing Rules in the Digital Age States are responding to these issues by enacting laws on fidu- ciary authority regarding digital assets following death. The Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (UFADAA), which is being adopted by many states, vests fiduciaries with the authority to man- age, distribute, copy, and access digital assets. For the benefit of survivars, provisions should be made during the estate planning process to attend to various digital assets. Doing so will protect the gstate against economic losses and will preserve prized mementos and memories of the decedent. ally charged clients. A paralegal can be extremely valuable not only in assisting the attorney in handling the legal work and tend- ing to the client's needs, but also in being cost-effective. Through close contact with the client and by understanding his or her strug- gles and desires, the paralegal is often able to assess the situa- tion and offer practical resolutions to the client's issues. Each case involves unique issues, just as each client is unique. One day, the paralegal may be interviewing a client, filing doc- uments with the court, or completing an investigation. The next day may be spent preparing legal documents, analyzing discovery requests, or organizing trial exhibits. As a result, today's paralegal must be knowledgeable yet flexible in order to deliver quality legal services