C5 – Mediation and Modern Family Building – Stephanie Favilli Bodolay (1.5 CME Credits Family)

Assisted reproduction is becoming increasingly more common and plays a major role in modern family building, however, in some areas the law is still playing catch up with situations arising from disputes in this area. This workshop is aimed at introducing and working through the various mediation situations that could arise in cases involving assisted reproductive technology (i.e. sperm/egg/embryo donation and gestational surrogacy). This workshop will address a summary of the law as well as the potential problems that could arise with assisted reproduction in cases involving divorce, estate planning, and family building. It will explore the different scenarios that creating, using, and storing genetic material could bring and the interconnectedness of the various parties that are involved in getting to that point. It is important as a mediator to know what to look for and where to look for it to resolve disputes of this kind.The presentation will have various examples, both hypothetical and real life cases, to help illustrate the various situations and show the importance of having a familiarity with the subject. With the uncertainty that families using assisted reproduction face in the courts, mediation is an incredibly important step to reaching a resolution for something that is arguably one of the most important and personal decisions in a family, the potential to have a child.

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