Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Law
Texas Adoption Laws And Adoptee's Rights Of Access To Confidential Records., Cynthia A. Rucker
Texas Adoption Laws And Adoptee's Rights Of Access To Confidential Records., Cynthia A. Rucker
St. Mary's Law Journal
Since the adoption process affects the lives of numerous people, courts must reach a decision which benefits all parties involved in the process. Many adoptees retain an emotional desire, or a psychological need, to ascertain the identity of their birth parents. This desire or need is in direct conflict with state statutes mandating adoption information remain sealed and confidential. In recent years, courts across the country have considered several cases challenging the validity of confidentiality statutes on constitutional grounds. Primarily, adoptees have asserted confidentiality statutes deny them a fundamental right to privacy, a right to receive information, and a right …
Recent Amendments To The Texas Child Abuse Statutes: An Analysis And Recommendation., Antoinette M. Pollock
Recent Amendments To The Texas Child Abuse Statutes: An Analysis And Recommendation., Antoinette M. Pollock
St. Mary's Law Journal
Each year approximately one million children experience abuse by their parents and more than two thousand die as a result of injuries suffered. Drafters of child abuse legislation face the difficult task of accommodating the rights of parent and child, while ensuring the necessary exercise of state authority. In view of the delicate balancing of interests involved, child protection laws must be extensive and detailed in order to withstand constitutional challenge. The Sixty-sixth session of the Texas Legislature amended the child abuse section of the Texas Family Code. The Texas Family Code, as amended, is now capable of withstanding constitutional …
The Legal Effect Of Marital Separation Agreements Upon Community Property Status: Is It Time To Amend The Constitutional Definition Of Wife's Separate Property., Teresa A. Hunter
The Legal Effect Of Marital Separation Agreements Upon Community Property Status: Is It Time To Amend The Constitutional Definition Of Wife's Separate Property., Teresa A. Hunter
St. Mary's Law Journal
The present constitutional definition of married women’s separate property serves to protect the wife’s property rights and to preserve the community property system in Texas. However, the policy reasons for the constitutional definition no longer apply, since there is no present danger of the legislature reducing the property rights of married women or abandoning the community property system. Further, the needs and customs of the people of Texas have changed since the adoption of the original Texas Constitution in 1845. Today, it is estimated that thirty percent of couples who marry in the United States eventually divorce and sixty percent …
The Rights Of An Illegitimate Child Post - Gomez V. Perez: A Legitimate Situation., Deborah J. Venezia
The Rights Of An Illegitimate Child Post - Gomez V. Perez: A Legitimate Situation., Deborah J. Venezia
St. Mary's Law Journal
Throughout Texas history the legal status of illegitimacy has prevented an illegitimate child from enjoying the right of parental support guaranteed to a legitimate child. The United States Supreme Court’s decision in Gomez v. Perez rendered unconstitutional the denial of an illegitimate child’s right to parental support on the basis of his illegitimacy. In response to Gomez, the Texas Legislature enacted Chapter 13 of the Texas Family Code (TFC) which provides for voluntary legitimation of an illegitimate child by the father. Section 13.01 gave an illegitimate child, whose natural father did not voluntarily acknowledge paternity, procedure to establish the parent-child …
The Commingling Of Separate And Community Funds: The Requirement Of Tracing In Texas., Charles J. Fitzpatrick
The Commingling Of Separate And Community Funds: The Requirement Of Tracing In Texas., Charles J. Fitzpatrick
St. Mary's Law Journal
The status of specific items of property as separate or community property is a frequent subject of divorce litigation in Texas. Spouses will have unfriendly presumptions in favor of the community estate when separate property funds have been commingled. Rebutting these presumptions requires the spouse to trace the original separate property into the particular assets on hand at the time of the dispute. As Texas case law illustrates, however, tracing can be difficult, and a court’s strict adherence to it can cause harsh and often inequitable results. Although there have been instances of courts allowing less than specific tracing, these …