Law Commons^™

Biological Citizenship And The Children Of Same-Sex Marriage, Michael J. Higdon

Scholarly Works

In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that states could not, consistent with the Due Process Clause, deny same-sex couples the right to marry. To allow otherwise, said the Court, would “harm and humiliate the children of same sex marriage.” Thus, it was hoped that marriage equality would provide greater security for the children of same-sex couples. And the need for such protections are increasingly important given that, with advances in assisted reproduction techniques, it is easier than ever for same-sex couples to become parents. Indeed, when it comes to procreation, same-sex marriages and opposite-sex marriages are becoming much more alike. …

Social Security Spouse And Survivor Benefits 101: Practical Primer Part Ii (Or Another Reason To Put A Ring On It), Francine J. Lipman

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Conflicts And Shifting Landscape Around Same-Sex Relationships, Hillel Y. Levin

Scholarly Works

Conflicts and choice of law questions arising from marriage recognition are more multidimensional today than ever before. Traditionally, these conflicts arose because one jurisdiction allowed marriage between two individuals while another prohibited such a marriage. This was the model in the consanguineous, polygamous, and interracial marriage contexts. It has also been the primary model for analyzing conflicts that arise in the context of same-sex relationships.

In a forthcoming article, Resolving Interstate Conflicts Arising from Interstate Non-Marriage, I challenge this model, and suggest that the emergence of marriage-like 2 and marriage-lite3 alternatives (i.e., civil unions, domestic partnerships, reciprocal benefits arrangements, etc.) …

Ketubah, The Marriage Contract Under Jewish Law, And Its Application In Secular Legal Systems, Marketa Trimble

Scholarly Works

The article presents ketubah, an institute of Jewish law that is unknown in the current Czech academic literature; it describes its evolution and content, and the manner in which secular countries with large Jewish communities deal with it. Throughout the centuries ketubah achieved a standardized format that has been adjusted to local customs. Additionally, there are attempts to use ketubah to solve the problem of agunah – the problem of parties who have obtained a secular divorce but not a divorce under Jewish law because the other party prevented it. Some legal systems, such as those of the State of …

“Hands Off”: Sex, Feminism, Affirmative Consent, And The Law Of Foreplay, Dan Subotnik

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Justice Miriam Shearing: Nevada's Trailblazing Minimalist, Mary E. Berkheiser

Scholarly Works

Nevada Supreme Court Justice Miriam Shearing retired at the end of her second term on January 4, 2005. Over the nearly thirty years of her very public life on the bench, many have written of her accomplishments as the firs woman to enter the brotherhood of the Nevada judiciary. With Justice Sharing’s retirement, the time is ripe for an examination of her judicial decisions during the twelve years she served on the Nevada Supreme Court. The analysis here provides one perspective on her body of work. It begins, as it must, with a glimpse into the person behind the work.

Defining Marriage: What Ballot Question 2 Doesn’T Do, Mary Lafrance

Scholarly Works

This article examines he oddly-worded initiative, which constituted Question 2 on Nevada’s 2002 ballot and explains how it was a bit of a puzzle, even two years after it was first sprung upon the electorate. Touted during its previous appearance in the 2000 election as a “definition of marriage,” this article shows how it is all too clear that the initiative was anything but that. Neither the initiative, nor any existing provision of Nevada law, made the slightest attempt to define marriage.

Restitching The American Quilt: Untangling Marriage From The Nuclear Family, Lisa Milot

Scholarly Works

Part I of this Note will trace the various threads of American marriage law, particularly the perception that marriage is unraveling today due to an unprecedented divorce crisis. Part II will disentangle the conflicting patterns of contract law and status regimes that variously govern marriage, focusing on the uneven enforcement of antenuptial contracts and the implications of such. Part III will argue that the true focus of regulation is the status of the nuclear family, not of marriage per se. Finally, Part IV will propose a bifurcation of the legal regimes governing marriage and the family, recognizing the ability of …

Vermont Civil Unions, Full Faith And Credit, And Marital Status, Lewis A. Silverman

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

A Slave's Marriage: Dowry Or Deposit, Alan Watson

Scholarly Works

This articles examines the concept of dowry among marriage of slaves in ancient Rome.

Transfers Prior To Marriage And The Uniform Probate Code's Redesigned Elective Share - Why The Partnership Is Not Yet Complete, Rena C. Seplowitz

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Marriage Tax Revisited: An Analysis Of The Tax Consequences Of Marriage, Dan Subotnik

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Law Of Alimony, Christopher L. Blakesley

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Putative Marriage Doctrine, Christopher L. Blakesley

Scholarly Works

The classic putative marriage doctrine is substantive, ameliorative or corrective; it is designed to allow all the civil effects -- rights, privileges, and benefits -- which obtain in a legal marriage to flow to parties to a null marriage who had a good faith belief that their "marriage" was legal and valid. Most jurisdictions in the United States have developed equitable analogues to the putative spouse doctrine that provide all or part of the relief afforded by the classic doctrine.

If a marriage is declared to be null or void, that declaration is retroactive to the day that the null …