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Full-Text Articles in Law and Gender
Two Ways To End A Marriage: Divorce Or Death, Laura A. Rosenbury
Two Ways To End A Marriage: Divorce Or Death, Laura A. Rosenbury
Laura A. Rosenbury
Default rules governing property distribution at divorce and death are often identified as one of the primary benefits of marriage. This Article examines these default rules in all fifty states, exposing the ways property distribution differs depending on whether the marriage ends by divorce or death. The result is often counter-intuitive: in most states, a spouse is likely to receive more property if her marriage ends by divorce than if the marriage lasts until "death do us part." This difference can be explained in part by the choices of feminist activists over the past thirty-five years: feminists played a large …
Constrained Choice: Mothers, The State, And Domestic Violence, Rona Kaufman Kitchen
Constrained Choice: Mothers, The State, And Domestic Violence, Rona Kaufman Kitchen
Rona Kaufman Kitchen
Mothers who are the victims of domestic violence face unique challenges in their quest for safety. The legal response to domestic violence requires that mothers respond to abuse in specific state-sanctioned manners. However, when mothers respond accordingly, such as by reporting abuse and leaving the abusive relationship, their safety and the safety of their children is not guaranteed. Moreover, by responding in state-sanctioned manners, mothers risk a host of negative consequences including increased threat to their immediate and long-term safety, the loss of their children, undesired financial, health, and social consequences, and criminal prosecution. On the other hand, when mothers …