Preservation Failures in Family Court: The Record, the Deadline, and the Lawyer’s Exposure

Walter J. Schouten, Jr., Shareholder | Toombs Imel & Associates

Walter J. Schouten, Jr. is a top-rated divorce and family law attorney and a shareholder at Toombs Imel & Associates. Licensed in 2014 but working in the field of family law since 2009, Walter has worked with, for, and against some of the best family law attorneys in the Houston area on complex family law matters at both the trial and appellate levels. His clients benefit from a practical, level-headed, and results-driven approach—one he adopted as early as law school and has carried throughout his career.

• Education & Credentials

Walter received his J.D. summa cum laude from South Texas College of Law Houston in 2013, graduating higher than more than 90% of his class and earning the highest grade in multiple courses while working as a law clerk at a boutique Houston family law firm. He earned his B.A. cum laude from the University of Houston in 2010. Walter is licensed by the Supreme Court of the State of Texas (2014) and is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

• Recognition & Leadership

Walter has been recognized as a Texas Rising Star by Thomson Reuters (2020–2023) and as a Top Lawyer by Houstonia Magazine (2022). His board certification in family law places him among a select group of Texas attorneys recognized for their specialized expertise in the field.

• Professional Involvement

Walter is an active member of the State Bar of Texas Family Law Section and the Houston Bar Association Family Law Section. His long-standing engagement with the Houston family law community—working alongside and across from the area’s leading practitioners—reflects his commitment to excellence and continuous growth in his practice.

• Experience

Walter brings a strong track record of victories across contested and complex family law matters. His representative experience includes obtaining primary custody for a mother after a lengthy period of no access to her child due to false abuse allegations; convincing a court of appeals to reverse a termination judgment against a father; persuading an appellate court to affirm a six-figure interim attorney fee award in a child custody case; securing primary custody for a father in a highly contentious battle in which the opposing party repeatedly attempted to conceal evidence; and obtaining court approval for a mother to relocate with her child beyond the standard geographic area courts typically impose—a notably difficult outcome to achieve. He brings this results-oriented approach to the benefit of Toombs Imel & Associates’ clients.

Marshal S. Willick, Esq., Principal | Willick Law Group

Marshal S. Willick is the principal of Willick Law Group in Las Vegas, Nevada, a firm devoted exclusively to family law. He litigates family law matters at both the trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts, including the Nevada Supreme Court and the federal appellate courts, and began his legal career as a staff attorney for the Nevada Supreme Court.

• Education & Credentials

Marshal earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1983. He is a Certified Family Law Specialist through the State Bar of Nevada and is admitted to practice in Nevada, before the Ninth Circuit and the Federal Circuit, and before the U.S. Supreme Court, where he was admitted in 1986.

• Recognition & Leadership

Marshal served as President of the Nevada Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers from 2007 to 2009 and chaired the State Bar of Nevada Family Law Section from 1995 to 1997. He holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.

• Professional Involvement

Marshal chaired the Nevada State Bar Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility from 2001 to 2003 and the Board of Certified Family Law Specialists Test Committee from 2005 to 2007. He has also held roles within the American Bar Association Family Law Section and on matrimonial law committees, and he currently serves as a Domestic Violence Special Master for the Eighth Judicial District Court.

• Experience

Marshal’s practice covers civil and federal appeals alongside contested divorce, property division, military divorce, spousal support, custody, child support, and paternity matters. After serving as a Nevada Supreme Court staff attorney from 1982 to 1984, he practiced as an associate at Thorndal, Backus & Maupin from 1984 to 1985 and as a partner at LePome, Willick & Gorman from 1985 to 1989, and he has led Willick Law Group as principal since 1989. His published articles address the division of military pensions and benefits, civil service retirement benefits, child support, judgment enforcement, and custody issues following domestic violence.

SESSION 1 – Building the Family Court Trial Record: Objections, Offers of Proof, and Findings Requests | 12:00pm – 1:00pm ET

This session teaches family law attorneys how to build a reviewable trial record in family court proceedings, covering the specificity and timeliness required for effective objections, the mechanics and content requirements of offers of proof for excluded evidence, and the procedures for requesting findings of fact and conclusions of law. Attorneys will leave able to identify the most common preservation failures in custody, support, and property proceedings and implement concrete in-court practices — from bench-trial objection habits to exhibit and transcript management — that protect client rights before the record ever closes. The session also addresses the malpractice exposure that can arise from missed preservation steps at the trial-court level.

BREAK | 1:00pm – 1:10pm ET

SESSION 2 – Family Court Appeals Nationwide: Post-Judgment Motions, Deadlines, Waiver, and Standards of Review | 1:10pm – 2:10pm ET

This session explains the procedural rules that decide whether a family court appeal survives, from entry of judgment through appellate review. Attorneys will learn the common national patterns for appeal deadlines and how post-judgment motions extend those deadlines or fail to. They will also see how waiver and forfeiture limit the issues an appellate court will hear, and how abuse of discretion, clear error, and de novo review apply in custody, support, and property appeals. Drawing on trial and appellate experience in contested custody, complex property division, and fee disputes, the session gives practitioners in any jurisdiction a framework for calculating deadlines, preserving error after trial, and avoiding the malpractice exposure that comes with procedural missteps.