Todd Franks
August 16, 2022
Bar Membership
- 1980 - State Bar of Arizona
- 1980 - United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Education
- Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, in May, 1979.
- As a Samuel S. Fels Fellow, Todd also attended the University of Pennsylvania, School of Public & Urban Policy (A Wharton School), from 1975 to 1980, in the Ph.D. program in regulatory economics, with concentration on urban and housing economics.
- Bachelor of Science undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, May, 1975, graduating from the Honors Program, and awarded membership in Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Eta Sigma honorary academic fraternities. Mixing his interests in science and humanities to obtain the Bachelor of Science degree, Todd majored in English and wrote two Senior Honors Theses, one in his major, “Thomas Hardy: Outside Space and Time,” and the other in Journalism regarding reporter’s privilege. Todd was the beneficiary of a Knapp Summer Research Fellowship, from the Honors Program.
Associations and Professional Activities
- AV Rating, Martindale & Hubbell
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Family Law)
- Southwest SuperLawyers Magazine, listed among leading attorneys in Arizona and New Mexico. Arizona's Best Lawyers, June 2006, invited to become charter member
- Arizona Living Magazine, November, 1985, named as one of seven leading Domestic Relations lawyers in Arizona
- Family Law Council of Community Property States, Chair, 1996-1997, 2005-2006. Arizona State Delegate, 1993-present
- Maricopa County Bar Family Law Section, Chair 1993-1995. Chair, Judicial Training Committee (1993 to 1998)
- Faculty: Family Law Council of Community Property States Symposiums, 1993-2008; State Bar of Arizona Continuing Legal Education; Arizona Judicial College; Maricopa County Superior Court Judicial Training — Family Court vision; Maricopa County Bar Continuing Legal Education; Arizona Forum for Improvement of Taxation; NBI Seminars; Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants; "For Better or Worse Seminars" jointly presented by State Bar of Arizona and Arizona Chapter of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
- Judge Pro Tem, Maricopa County, Arizona Superior Court. Additional service as a Court appointed Special Master and settlement conference Judge Pro Tem
- Hillel Foundation (at Arizona State University), Member of Board 2002 - 2003. Prior Board several years earlier
- Arizona Department of Health, Citizen representative to Maricopa County Association of Governments, 1991-1992
- Center for New Directions/Arizona Action for Displaced Homemakers, Board Member 1990 to 1995
- City of Phoenix Commission on Housing, Chair 1987 to 1990, Vice Chair 1984 to 1987
- Planned Parenthood of Central and Northern Arizona, Member of Board, 1990 - 1991
- B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League (Arizona Region), Member of Board, 1987 to 1989
- Young Democrats of Arizona, Treasurer 1982 - 1984
Publications and Speaking Engagements
- Post Reconciliation Collection of Attorneys’ Fees, State Bar of Arizona, 1986
- Pendente Lite Practice, State Bar of Arizona, 1986
- Community Opportunities Doctrine and the Limitations of the Fiduciary Relationship Between Spouses, State Bar of Arizona, 1986
- Proper Allocation of Income Tax Liability Between Spouses, Maricopa County Bar Association, Family Law Section, 1991
- Domestic Relations and Community Property Considerations in Bankruptcy, Maricopa County Bar Association, 1991 (co-author)
- Divorce Taxation: Frequently Encountered Arizona Community Property Applications, Problems and Myths, Maricopa County Bar Association, 1992
- Cockrill Issues: A General Overview of Selected Topics Concerning Commingling, Maricopa County Bar, 1992; Cockrill Issues
- A General Overview of Arizona's Evolution in the Law Concerning Separate and Community Property Commingling, Community Property Symposium (Family Law Council of Community Property States), New Orleans, Louisiana, 1993
- A Bankruptcy Primer, MCBA Family Law Section Judicial Training Subcommittee for Maricopa County Superior Court, 1993 (co-author)
- Arizona Community Property Valuation Issues, Community Property Symposium (Family Law Council of Community Property States), Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 1994
- A General Overview of Arizona Property vision Issues, Maricopa County Bar Judicial Training Committee, 1994
- Income, Gift and Estate Tax Considerations for Prenuptial and Post nuptial Agreements, Community Property Symposium (Family Law Council of Community Property States), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1995
- vision of Employer Granted Stock Options, Community Property Symposium (Family Law Council of Community Property States), San Antonio, Texas, 1996.
- Arizona Community Debt Issues, Community Property Symposium (Family Law Council of Community Property States), Phoenix, Arizona, 1997
- Arizona Cohabitation Issues, Community Property Symposium (Family Law Council of Community Property States), Las Vegas, Nevada, 1998
- Donor's Remorse: When a Gift is Not a Gift - Recovery of Contributions of Property During Marriage, Community Property Symposium (Family Law Council of Community Property States), San Francisco, California, 1999
- A General Overview of Arizona Marital Property and Debt vision Issues, Judicial College of Arizona New Judge Orientation Program, 1999 (and updates thereafter through 2005)
- Pendente Lite Orders and Other Asset/Debt Division Issues Following Termination of the Marital Community, State Bar of Arizona, 1999
- Fiduciary Duties Between Spouses and Management of Community Property -- Emerging Law in Arizona, Community Property Symposium (Family Law Council of Community Property States), Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2000
- Common Errors Made By Appraisers in Valuing Business and Professional Practices in Arizona Divorce Cases, Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants, Business Valuation Conference, September, 2000 (reprinted in both excerpted an complete form by Business Valuation Resources, LLC and Shannon Pratt's Judges & Lawyers Business Valuation Update)
- Characterization, Valuation and Distribution of Intangible Assets in Divorce Proceedings, Community Property Symposium (Family Law Council of Community Property States), Seattle, Washington, 2001
- A General Overview of Selected Family Law and Bankruptcy Topics, NBI Seminars, February, 2002
- Matrimonial Agreements: Requirements for Validity, Community Property Symposium (Family Law Council of Community Property States), New Orleans, Louisiana, 2002
- Retirement, Pension and Deferred Compensation vision, Community Property Symposium (Family Law Council of Community Property States), Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 2003
- Divorce and the Family-Owned Business, Community Property Symposium (Family Law Council of Community Property States), Madison, Wisconsin, 2004
- The Impact of Bankruptcy on Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage, Arizona Judicial College, 2004 (co-author)
- Hidden Assets and Debts, Community Property Symposium (Family Law Council of Community Property States), Fort Worth, Texas, 2005
- The Relationship Between Spouses and With Third Parties in Management of Joint, Common and Community Assets During Marriage and During a Divorce Proceeding, Community Property Symposium (Family Law Council of Community Property States), Phoenix, Arizona, 2006 (co-author)
- Arizona's Relationship Between Community Property and Spousal Maintenance, Community Property Symposium (Family Law Council of Community Property States), Las Vegas, Nevada, 2007
- 1998 Revisions to ARS §§ 25-211 et seq. regarding termination of community property acquisition and community debt incurrence on service of petition for dissolution of marriage (co-author)
- 1990’s version of Proposed Rule 26.2, ARCP, regarding domestic relations disclosure (co-author)
- Various 1997 revisions to state family law statutes; A General Overview of Arizona Property and Debt vision Issues, 250+ page monograph for Arizona Judicial College (2007 as latest revision)
- Philosophical differences among and Common Errors Made by Appraisers in Valuing Businesses and Professional Practices in Divorce Cases, Arizona State Bar Convention, June, 2007
- Credits and Debits in Temporary Orders Calculations, For Better or Worse Seminar of State Bar and Arizona Chapter of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, January, 2008