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Au Revoir, Will Contests: Comparative Lessons For Preventing Will Contests, Margaret Ryznar, Angelique Devaux
Au Revoir, Will Contests: Comparative Lessons For Preventing Will Contests, Margaret Ryznar, Angelique Devaux
Margaret Ryznar
American probate law has not yet managed to prevent will contests and not every will executed will be ultimately upheld. The most common grounds for will contests are undue influence, testamentary capacity, and fraud. These will contests have significant costs, which include failing to give effect to testator’s intent and high litigation and decision costs. In fact, the most significant challenge that exists in American probate law today is the frequent inability to honor testamentary intent due to will contests brought by disgruntled relatives. On the other hand, a legal system that has nearly eliminated will contests on the grounds …
Child Support For Adult Children, Margaret Ryznar
Child Support For Adult Children, Margaret Ryznar
Margaret Ryznar
Although family law requires parents to support their minor children, the question of post-majority support—or child support for adult children—is entirely different. Some states permit this type of child support, while others do not. Those affected by this divergence in approaches include college students, unemployed people, disabled people, and of course, their parents—at a time of financial difficulty for many. The approach of each jurisdiction to this issue rests on whether the family is viewed as a social support system and whether intergenerational obligations exist. To help analyze these questions, this Article uses a comparative approach, considering the relevant law …
International Commercial Surrogacy And Its Parties, Margaret Ryznar
International Commercial Surrogacy And Its Parties, Margaret Ryznar
Margaret Ryznar
When discussing international commercial surrogacy, it is essential to remember that at the heart of this market are women and children, which requires an in-depth analysis of the issues that implicate these parties to a commercial surrogacy. In undertaking such an analysis, this Article considers the rights, interests, and obligations of these parties to a surrogacy, as well as the various opportunity costs of international commercial surrogacy. This framework is particularly relevant today as India, an international surrogacy hotspot for American couples, begins to legislate on the subject, and relatedly, as American states continue to grapple with issues regarding surrogacy.
The Legal Treatment Of Cohabitation In Poland And The United States, Margaret Ryznar, Anna Stępień-Sporek
The Legal Treatment Of Cohabitation In Poland And The United States, Margaret Ryznar, Anna Stępień-Sporek
Margaret Ryznar
The increasing popularity of cohabitation, as manifested in the recent American and Polish censuses, has introduced various issues to the courts and legislatures in each country—among the most important being the protection of cohabitants after an unsuccessful cohabitation. However, neither country has recognized a comprehensive law on cohabitation, instead permitting cohabitation agreements and unjust enrichment theories to govern the termination of the cohabitation. Many issues, furthermore, are treated collaterally by the law through, for example, paternity laws. Although there are certain disadvantages to such an approach to cohabitation, these shortfalls need to be balanced against the consequences of the increased …
All’S Fair In Love And War: But What About In Divorce? The Fairness Of Property Division In American And English Big Money Divorce Cases, Margaret Ryznar
All’S Fair In Love And War: But What About In Divorce? The Fairness Of Property Division In American And English Big Money Divorce Cases, Margaret Ryznar
Margaret Ryznar
Eyebrows have recently arched not only at the high sums involved in big money divorce cases, but also at the amount of ink spilled on this relatively small subset of divorce cases. Yet, it is precisely in big money cases, wherein judges have discretion over resources that significantly exceed the needs of the parties, that fairness acquires substantial haziness. The question of fairness is particularly acute in short marriages, as well as when one spouse is at fault for the divorce or when one spouse contributes extraordinarily to the marriage. Courts in both England and the United States have been …
To Have And To Hold, For Richer Or Richer: Premarital Agreements In The Comparative Context, Margaret Ryznar, Anna Stępień-Sporek
To Have And To Hold, For Richer Or Richer: Premarital Agreements In The Comparative Context, Margaret Ryznar, Anna Stępień-Sporek
Margaret Ryznar
The premarital agreement, perhaps one of the world’s most unromantic documents, also happens to be quite powerful and complex. Although its most highly-publicized use has been to control post-divorce property division, the premarital agreement’s most significant importance is in its power to circumvent the statutory defaults governing spouses’ rights and responsibilities not only during divorce or death, but also during marriage. However, the enforceability of premarital agreements is subject to procedural and substantive review in the United States. Such agreements also raise universal public policy issues with regard to the meaning of fairness and the limits on freedom of contract. …
The Pursuit Of Life, Liberty, Happiness…And Fairness? Property Division In American And English Big Money Divorce Cases, Margaret Ryznar
The Pursuit Of Life, Liberty, Happiness…And Fairness? Property Division In American And English Big Money Divorce Cases, Margaret Ryznar
Margaret Ryznar
Eyebrows have recently arched not only at the high sums involved in big money divorce cases, but also at the amount of ink spilled on this relatively small subset of divorce cases. Yet, it is precisely in big money cases that fairness acquires substantial haziness. Is it fair for a high-wage earner to pay an ex-spouse half of his future profits? Or, would it be fairer for the ex-spouse to be awarded less than half, but still receive millions of dollars? Such questions are particularly acute in short marriages or when one spouse is at fault for the divorce. Courts …
Two To Tango, One In Limbo: A Comparative Analysis Of Fathers' Rights In Infant Adoptions, Margaret Ryznar
Two To Tango, One In Limbo: A Comparative Analysis Of Fathers' Rights In Infant Adoptions, Margaret Ryznar
Margaret Ryznar
Many American and English courts today permit infant adoptions without notifying or seeking the consent of biological fathers. However, children’s best interests would be better served by recognizing their father-child relationship, instead of institutionally denying it. Any legal approach that ignores the biological father devalues the importance of a child’s placement in the paternal family unit, the significance of the medical history on the father’s side, the emotional link between a father and his child, and the father’s legal right to his own child. This comparative law Article therefore argues, using the American and English legal systems as illustrative examples, …
Adult Rights As The Achilles’ Heel Of The Best Interests Standard: Lessons In Family Law From Across The Pond, Margaret Ryznar
Adult Rights As The Achilles’ Heel Of The Best Interests Standard: Lessons In Family Law From Across The Pond, Margaret Ryznar
Margaret Ryznar
Family law litigants have long searched for permutations of constitutional principles that gain access to federal courts. Typically, such litigants have been most successful with due process and equal protection arguments—even at the expense of the venerable “best interests of the child” standard in child-related cases. One legal system currently wrestling with this familiar clash between the interests of children and adults is that of England—where adults are armed with the rights granted by the Human Rights Act 1998, while children’s interests are given preference in an earlier act, the Children Act 1989. England’s strategy in dealing with this conflict …