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New Directions For Family Law In The United States, Sanford N. Katz
New Directions For Family Law In The United States, Sanford N. Katz
Sanford N. Katz
This article provides a survey of one major development in family law in the United States that has occurred during the most recent past. This development is the change that has occurred in marriage-like relationships. The article begins with a discussion of contract cohabitation and the extent to which it reflected a change from traditional views of formal or informal marriage as the only legally acceptable model for adults who desired to live together. It shows how contract cohabitation laid the groundwork for the establishment of domestic partnership laws. These laws were first adopted by municipalities and then by states …
Preserving The Family Through Change For The Sake Of Future Generations, Sanford N. Katz
Preserving The Family Through Change For The Sake Of Future Generations, Sanford N. Katz
Sanford N. Katz
Within the last fifty years, a transformation has taken place in American law. Before then, family relationships, like parent-child relationship, were clearly defined by biology or adoption. Marriage was defined by gender. Marriage certificates and birth certificates evidenced one's legal status. The transformation that has occurred was the legal recognition that took reality into account that relationships can develop without formalities. No longer can it be said that either one is in a certain status or one is not. Marriage-like relationships have been recognized, like civil unions, as well as de facto parenthood. American law has now recognized that marriage …