Trask Divorce

Michael Wheeler

Two-party, multi-issue negotiation between lawyers representing a divorcing couple regarding alimony and financial support for a special-needs child; involves ethical issues

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SCENARIO:

Kate and Bill Trask are in the midst of divorce proceedings. Kate supported Bill through architectural school, but he has supported her for the last several years as she has stayed at home with the children, one of which is retarded. At issue are the family home, a difference of opinion in how to care for the retarded child, alimony, and child support. The pair’s attorneys have agreed to meet to discuss an out of court settlement.

 

MECHANICS:

Ideally this case is run as a one-on-one negotiation. However, making one or both sides a two person team can be interesting. Give participants approximately a quarter of an hour to prepare after distributing the instructions. The remainder of the hour should be spent negotiating. At least that amount of time should be spent on de-briefing.

 

MAJOR LESSONS:

  • This is a good case for exploring the alternate claims concerning financial support.
  • One of the parties in this negotiation has hidden several relevant facts, that would doubtless come out at trial. How this is handled in the negotiation provides an excellent opportunity to discuss the ethics of disclosure in a pre-trial settlement.

 

SUBJECTS:

Divorce, family, disclosure, support.

 

Trask Divorce Attributes

Time required:
2-3 hours
Number of participants:
2
Teams involved:
No
Agent present:
Lawyer
Neutral third party present:
None
Scoreable:
No
Teaching notes available:
No
PON Clearinghouse

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Ordering a single copy for review

If you wish to review the materials for a particular role simulation to decide whether you’d like to use it, then you should order a single Teacher’s Package for that role simulation. A PDF, or soft copy, version of the Teacher’s Package is also available as a free download from the description page of most role simulations and case studies. There is no need to order participant materials as well as a Teacher’s Package, as all Teacher’s Packages include copies of all participant materials. In addition, some Teacher’s Packages (but not all) include additional teaching materials such as teaching notes or overhead masters. Please note that the materials in Teacher’s Packages are for the instructor’s review and reference only, and may not be duplicated for use with participants.

Ordering copies for multiple participants

If you wish to order multiple copies of a role simulation for use in a course or workshop, simply enter the total number of participants in the box next to “Participant Copies.” There is no need to calculate how many of each role is required; the Clearinghouse will calculate the appropriate numbers of each role to provide, based on the total number of participants. For example, if you wish to order a 2-party role simulation for use with a class of 30 students, you would enter “30” in the box next to “Participant Copies.” You then would receive 15 copies of one role and 15 copies of the other role, for use with your 30 participants. As another example, if you ordered 30 participant copies of a 6-party role simulation, you would receive 5 copies of each role.

In the event that the number of participant copies you order is not evenly divisible by the number of roles in the simulation, you will receive extra copies of one or more roles. Participants receiving the extra roles may partner with other participants playing the same role, thus negotiating as a team. So, for instance, if you ordered 31 copies of a 2-party role simulation, you would receive 15 copies of the first role and 16 copies of the second role. One of the participants playing the second role would partner with another participant playing that same role, and the two would negotiate as a team.

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