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Full-Text Articles in Family Law

Three Lies And A Truth: Adjudicating Maternity In Surrogacy Disputes, Browne C. Lewis Jan 2011

Three Lies And A Truth: Adjudicating Maternity In Surrogacy Disputes, Browne C. Lewis

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Historically, courts were called on to answer the following question: What makes a man a legal father? Courts applied different presumptions to arrive at the answer. For example, if the case involved a married couple, the woman's husband was presumed to be the legal father.1 In situations involving an unmarried woman, the man who helped to conceive the child was the legal father. While paternity was being litigated, maternity was resolved-the woman who gave birth to the child was the child's legal mother. The phrase “momma's baby, papa's maybe” reflected society's attitude towards maternity. Since the woman who gave birth …


Two Fathers, One Dad: Allocating The Paternal Obligations Between The Men Involved In The Artificial Insemination Process, Browne C. Lewis Jan 2009

Two Fathers, One Dad: Allocating The Paternal Obligations Between The Men Involved In The Artificial Insemination Process, Browne C. Lewis

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Nadya Suleman used sperm from a man she knows to conceive fourteen children using assisted reproduction. It is clear that Suleman is the legal mother of the children. The unanswered question is: "Are the children legally fatherless?" The answer to this question is important because experts predict that it will take well over one million dollars to support the children until they reach the age of majority. My article seeks to provide some insight into the resolution of this issue. Although Suleman did not conceived using artificial insemination, the information examined in my article may be applied to her situation. …


Second-Parent Adoption, Patricia J. Falk Jan 2000

Second-Parent Adoption, Patricia J. Falk

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The topic of this article is second-parent adoption. I hope to accomplish four things in my discussion. First, I will define second-parent adoption and give some reasons that it is desirable for both parents and children. Second, I will summarize the state of the law in terms of legislative enactments and case law in the United States. Third, I will discuss the role of social science in second-parent adoption cases. Finally, I will discuss some of the implications of recognizing second-parent adoptions.


Second-Parent Adoption By Same-Sex Couples In Ohio: Unsettled And Unsettling Law, Susan J. Becker Jan 2000

Second-Parent Adoption By Same-Sex Couples In Ohio: Unsettled And Unsettling Law, Susan J. Becker

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Ohio law regarding second-parent adoptions remains unsettled. Section II of this article provides an overview of Ohio adoption law. Section III presents the case of In re Jane Doe, starting with the decision of the lesbian couple to jointly bring a child into this world, and continuing with the efforts of both mothers to obtain legal recognition for the de facto parent's status through adoption, and the legal strategies employed by the mothers' attorneys, also addressed are the court-appointed Guardian Ad Litem (GAL), the social science data supplied by the amicus curiae to help the court reach a fully informed …


Court-Created Boundaries Between A Visible Lesbian Mother And Her Children, Susan J. Becker Oct 1997

Court-Created Boundaries Between A Visible Lesbian Mother And Her Children, Susan J. Becker

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This essay identifies some of the boundaries and obstacles imposed by the courts on a "visible" lesbian mother striving to maintain a healthy relationship with her children. The term "visible" is used to describe a mother whose lesbian sexuality has been revealed to a court empowered with defining her future contact with her children. The primary focus here is on children who were conceived through a heterosexual relationship, and where a heterosexual parent, grandparent, or other person is challenging the lesbian mother's right to custody of, or visitation with, her own children. Court created boundaries are identified and discussed in …


Give Them A Sword: Representing Parents In Child Custody Cases, William Tabac Jan 1996

Give Them A Sword: Representing Parents In Child Custody Cases, William Tabac

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

First, this Essay demonstrates that, because the "best interests" standard that states use in awarding custody between parents is so arbitrary, lawyers cannot effectively protect the parental rights of their clients. Next, this Essay contends that, because fit parents will do anything to preserve their bond with their children, the state not only expects them to commit perjury to protect their parental rights, but encourages them to do so. Finally, this Essay argues that lawyers should lay out all possible strategies to their clients even if doing so invites parents to perjure themselves.


Alimony And Child Support In Ohio: New Directions After Dissolution, William Tabac Jan 1977

Alimony And Child Support In Ohio: New Directions After Dissolution, William Tabac

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Recent decisions by the Ohio Supreme Court will undoubtedly have significant impact upon post-dissolution alimony and child support. In rejecting basic premises upon which domestic relations courts have historically ordered such payments, the court has set new directions. Traditional notions of sex-based roles in the support of the family have been set aside and new standards, based upon the needs of the parties and the factual circumstances in particular cases, have been established. As a result, the husband's statutory duty to support his wife and children during marriage will no longer govern his responsibilities toward the family following dissolution, and …