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Full-Text Articles in Legislation
Left Behind: The Dying Principle Of Family Reunification Under Immigration Law, Anita Ortiz Maddali
Left Behind: The Dying Principle Of Family Reunification Under Immigration Law, Anita Ortiz Maddali
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
A key underpinning of modern U.S. immigration law is family reunification, but in practice it can privilege certain families and certain members within families. Drawing on legislative history, this Article examines the origins and objectives of the principle of family reunification in immigration law and relies on legal scholarship and sociological and anthropological research to reveal how contemporary immigration law and policy has diluted the principle for many families—particularly those who do not fit the dominant nuclear family model, those classified as unskilled, and families from oversubscribed countries—and members within families. It explores the ways in which women and children, …
Foster Kids In Limbo: The Effects Of The Interstate Compact On Children In Foster Care, Vivek Sankaran
Foster Kids In Limbo: The Effects Of The Interstate Compact On Children In Foster Care, Vivek Sankaran
Articles
Each year, child welfare agencies make over 40,000 requests for home studies to determine whether children in foster care can be placed with parents, relatives, and others living in another state. Each request is governed by the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC), a uniform law adopted by every state to coordinate the placement of foster children in other states. Under the ICPC, a child can only be placed in foster care in another state after the receiving state conducts a home study and approves the proposed placement. Despite its good intentions, the ICPC has become unworkable...A study …
Fighting The Establishment: The Need For Procedural Reform Of Our Paternity Laws, Caroline Rogus
Fighting The Establishment: The Need For Procedural Reform Of Our Paternity Laws, Caroline Rogus
Michigan Journal of Gender & Law
Every state and the District of Columbia use voluntary acknowledgments of paternity. Created pursuant to federal law, the acknowledgment is signed by the purported biological parents and establishes paternity without requiring court involvement. Intended to be a “simple civil process” to establish paternity where the parents are unmarried, the acknowledgment is used by state governments to expedite child support litigation. But federal policy and state laws governing the acknowledgments do not sufficiently protect the interests of those men who have signed acknowledgments and who subsequently discover that they lack genetic ties to the children in question. A signatory who learns …
Bio Family 2.0: Can The American Child Welfare System Finally Find Permanency For 'Legal Orphans' With A Statute To Reinstate Parental Rights?, Meredith L. Schalick
Bio Family 2.0: Can The American Child Welfare System Finally Find Permanency For 'Legal Orphans' With A Statute To Reinstate Parental Rights?, Meredith L. Schalick
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The American child welfare system terminates parental rights for thousands of children each year even though adoptive families have not yet been identified for the children. Every year, there are more than 100,000 of these “legal orphans” waiting for new families. Given the lower rates of adoptions for children of color and older children, and the poor outcomes for most youth who age out of the foster care system, the American child welfare system must start to think differently about permanency options for children. This Article proposes a model statutory provision to reinstate parental rights under certain circumstances to give …
Effects Of Clergy Reporting Laws On Child Maltreatment Report Rates, Frank E. Vandervort, Vincent J. Palusci
Effects Of Clergy Reporting Laws On Child Maltreatment Report Rates, Frank E. Vandervort, Vincent J. Palusci
Articles
Child maltreatment (CM) reporting laws and policies have an important role in the identification, treatment, and prevention of CM in the United States (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [US DHHS], 2012). Abuse by a member of the clergy “is not only a personal and emotional betrayal, but [also] a spiritual betrayal, with secrecy amplified by the unprecedented and systemic cover-up committed by the Church hierarchy” (Coyne, 2011, p. 15). Recent controversies have resulted in the consideration of changes in mandated U.S. reporting laws that include increasing requirements for clergy and extension to additional professions (Freeh, Sporkin, & Sullivan, …
The Probate Definition Of Family: A Proposal For Guided Discretion In Intestacy, Susan N. Gary
The Probate Definition Of Family: A Proposal For Guided Discretion In Intestacy, Susan N. Gary
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Intestacy statutes may not match the wishes of many people who die intestate. Changes to the Uniform Probate Code (UPC) include or exclude potential takers, as the drafters attempt to bring the UPC provisions closer to the intent of more intestate decedents. As the UPC tries to fine-tune the intestacy statutes, however, family circumstances continue to get more and more complicated. Families headed by unmarried couples, blended families with children from multiple marriages, and families in which adults raise children who are not legally theirs, have become commonplace. For some decedents, non-family friends and caregivers may be more important than …
Toward Equality: Nonmarital Children And The Uniform Probate Code, Paula A. Monopoli
Toward Equality: Nonmarital Children And The Uniform Probate Code, Paula A. Monopoli
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Article traces the evolution of the Uniform Probate Code's (UPC) broad equality framework for inheritance by nonmarital children in the context of the wider movement for legal equality for such children in society. It concludes that the UPC is to be lauded for its efforts to provide equal treatment to all nonmarital children. The UPC's commitment to such equality serves an expressive function for state legislatures and courts to follow its lead. The UPC has fulfilled its promise that all children regardless of marital status shall be equal for purposes of inheritance from or through parents, with one exception: …
Thou Good And Faithful Servant, Carl E. Schneider
Thou Good And Faithful Servant, Carl E. Schneider
Articles
Lawmakers are stewards of social resources. A current debate-over screening newborns for genetic disorders-illuminates dilemmas of that stewardship that have particularly plagued bioethics. Recently in the Report, Mary Ann Baily and Thomas Murray told the story of little Ben Haygood. He died from MCADD, a genetic disorder that can make long fasting fatal. Screening at birth would have let doctors alert Ben's parents. "After Ben died," Baily and Murray wrote, "his father became a passionate advocate for expanding Mississippi's newborn screening program to add MCADD and other disorders." Soon, the Ben Haygood Comprehensive Newborn Screening Act increased the number …
Judicial Oversight Over The Interstate Placement Of Foster Children: The Missing Element In Current Efforts To Reform The Interstate Compact On The Placement Of Children, Vivek Sankaran
Articles
This article argues that current efforts to reform the Compact are flawed because they lack an essential element: judicial oversight of agency decision-making. The first section explores the important role that juvenile court judges play in making placement decisions for foster children. Next, an examination of the current problems in the interstate placement process demonstrates the vital need for judicial oversight of the system. Finally, a specific proposal is put forth on how best to incorporate judicial oversight without interfering with the sovereignty of states.
Protecting Abused, Neglected, And Abandoned Children: A Proposal For Provisional Out-Of-State Kinship Placements Pursuant To The Interstate Compact On The Placement Of Children, John C. Lore Iii
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children deals with the interstate placement of abused, neglected and abandoned children. This article addresses the critical need for reform of the Interstate Compact and attempts to tackle its most serious flaw-the lack of a provisional placement for children awaiting approval of out-of-state kinship placements. The recently enacted Safe and Timely Interstate Placement of Foster Children Act of 2006 (the "Act") is seriously flawed to the detriment of one of our country's most vulnerable groups and the very population it is designed to protect-children who have been abused, neglected and abandoned. This article …
Covenant Marriage Turns Five Years Old, Steven L. Nock, Laura Sanchez, Julia C. Wilson, James D. Wright
Covenant Marriage Turns Five Years Old, Steven L. Nock, Laura Sanchez, Julia C. Wilson, James D. Wright
Michigan Journal of Gender & Law
Part I of this article discusses public policy rationales behind covenant marriage legislation, describes relevant aspects of Louisiana's legislation, and summarizes the efforts of other states to enact covenant marriage legislation. Part II discusses methods of data collection and analysis and identifies the demographic characteristics of covenant married couples as opposed to standard married couples in Louisiana. Part III addresses the dynamics behind couples' choice to have a covenant versus standard marriage. Part IV is an analysis of couples' satisfaction with their marriage option and the gendered dynamics of different levels of satisfaction with the marital choice.
Marriage Law: Obsolete Or Cutting Edge?, Michigan Journal Of Gender & Law
Marriage Law: Obsolete Or Cutting Edge?, Michigan Journal Of Gender & Law
Michigan Journal of Gender & Law
Over the past hundred years, social and cultural expectations surrounding various forms of committed relationships have changed dramatically, and contemporary legal systems have struggled to adapt. The result has been an extraordinary opportunity to test fundamental assumptions about law, about the cultural understandings that are enforced through state power, and about the mechanisms that drive law's evolution. The Michigan Journal of Gender & Law has drawn together an exceptional group of panelists who will discuss these questions throughout the day.
Assesing The Family And Medical Leave Act In Terms Of Gender Equality, Work/Family Balance, And The Needs Of Children, Angie K. Young
Assesing The Family And Medical Leave Act In Terms Of Gender Equality, Work/Family Balance, And The Needs Of Children, Angie K. Young
Michigan Journal of Gender & Law
While recognizing that parental leave is only one aspect of the FMLA, this Article concentrates on the provision allowing leave to parents in order to care for their children. Before analyzing the FMLA in detail, it is helpful to explore what aims a parental-leave policy should have. The purpose of this Article is to propose and defend three goals that parental-leave legislation should strive to meet: equality of career opportunities for men and women, the right to participate in both work and family, and meeting the needs of children. After articulating what parental-leave legislation should aim for in theory, this …
Marriage Today: Legal Consequences For Same Sex And Opposite Sex Couples, David L. Chambers
Marriage Today: Legal Consequences For Same Sex And Opposite Sex Couples, David L. Chambers
Articles
Laws that treat married persons in a different manner than they treat single persons permeate nearly every field of social regulation in this country -- taxation, otrts, evidence, social welfare, inheritance, adoption, and on and on.
Unemployment Compensation In A Time Of Increasing Work-Family Conflicts, Martin H. Malin
Unemployment Compensation In A Time Of Increasing Work-Family Conflicts, Martin H. Malin
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The demographics of the workplace have changed substantially since the nation's unemployment insurance system was enacted in the 1930s. The number of dual-earner and single-parent families has increased dramatically. Yet, the basic requirements for eligibility for unemployment compensation have not varied much since their initial enactment. In this Article, Professor Malin explores the availability of benefits to individuals who lose their jobs because of conflicts between work and family responsibilities and to unemployed individuals whose family responsibilities restrict the types of jobs that they are able to take. He finds that the states have differed greatly concerning the degree to …
What If? The Legal Consequences Of Marriage And The Legal Needs Of Lesbian And Gay Male Couples, David L. Chambers
What If? The Legal Consequences Of Marriage And The Legal Needs Of Lesbian And Gay Male Couples, David L. Chambers
Articles
Laws that treat married persons in a different manner than they treat single persons permeate nearly every field of social regulation in this country - taxation, torts, evidence, social welfare, inheritance, adoption, and on and on. In this article I inquire into the patterns these laws form and the central benefits and obligations that marriage entails, a task few scholars have undertaken in recent years. I have done so because same-sex couples, a large group not previously eligible to marry under the laws of any American jurisdiction, may be on the brink of securing the opportunity to do so in …
Minor Changes: Emancipating Children In Modem Times, Carol Sanger, Eleanor Willemsen
Minor Changes: Emancipating Children In Modem Times, Carol Sanger, Eleanor Willemsen
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Article reports on the use of still another mechanism for removing children in conflict with their parents: statutory emancipation, the process by which minors attain legal adulthood before reaching the age of majority. Statutorily emancipated minors can sign binding contracts, own property, keep their earnings, and disobey their parents. Although under eighteen, they are "considered as being over the age of majority" in most of their dealings with parents and third parties. Thus, while emancipated minors can sign contracts and stay out late, their adult status also means that their parents are no longer responsible for the minors' support. …
Spousal Rights In Our Multiple-Marriage Society: The Revised Uniform Probate Code, Lawrence W. Waggoner
Spousal Rights In Our Multiple-Marriage Society: The Revised Uniform Probate Code, Lawrence W. Waggoner
Articles
The transformation of the American family constitutes one of the great phenomenons of the past two decades. The traditional Leave It to Beaver family no longer prevails in American society. To be sure, families consisting of the wage-earning husband, the homemaking and child-rearing wife, and their two joint children still exist. But divorce rates are astonishingly high and remarriage abounds. In fact, there is an increasing prevalence in the population of marriages that are more likely to end in divorce than others-marriages in which one or both partners were divorced before and marriages of couples who cohabited prior to marriage.
Discretion, Rules, And Law: Child Custody And The Umda's Best-Interest Standard, Carl E. Schneider
Discretion, Rules, And Law: Child Custody And The Umda's Best-Interest Standard, Carl E. Schneider
Michigan Law Review
One barrier facing any attempt to devise a uniform law for diverse jurisdictions is the occasional - perhaps even frequent - difficulty of writing rules that will accurately guide judges. The law's ordinary solution to that difficulty is to give judges some measure of discretion. This article inquires into the nature and legitimacy of that technique. It does so by analyzing a particularly controversial provision of the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act (UMDA). Section 402 of that Act states: "The court shall determine custody in accordance with the best interest of the child." It then instructs the court to "consider …
Ex Proprio Vigore, James J. White
Ex Proprio Vigore, James J. White
Articles
The National Conference of the Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) is a legislature in every way but one. It drafts uniform acts, debates them, passes them, and promulgates them, but that passage and promulgation do not make these uniform acts law over any citizen of any state. These acts become the law of the various states only ex proprio vigore - only if their own vitality influences the legislators of the various states to pass them.
The Relevance Of Temporary Child Custody Orders To The Formation Of An Established Custodial Environment: A Model Statute For Uniform Application Under Michigan Law, Christine M. Drylie
The Relevance Of Temporary Child Custody Orders To The Formation Of An Established Custodial Environment: A Model Statute For Uniform Application Under Michigan Law, Christine M. Drylie
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Note presents a Model Statute that clearly indicates when a court may find that an established custodial environment has arisen out of a temporary custody order. The Model Statute thus clarifies when it is appropriate to apply the clear and convincing evidentiary standard to situations involving temporary child custody orders. Part I of this Note describes the court's use of temporary custody orders to determine whether an established custodial environment exists. Part II sets forth the Model Statute, which integrates current case law into statutory language designed specifically for temporary custody situations. Part II also analyzes each section of …
Redesigning The Spouse's Forced Share, John H. Langbein, Lawrence W. Waggoner
Redesigning The Spouse's Forced Share, John H. Langbein, Lawrence W. Waggoner
Articles
American forced-share law underwent a major round of reform in the 1960s. The main objective was to prevent the decedent from engaging in "fraud on the widow's share," that is, using nominal inter vivos transfers to evade the surviving spouse's forced-share entitlement. In jurisdictions that follow the Uniform Probate Code of 1969 (UPC), that mischief has been eradicated. The UPC, which is discussed in some detail below, extends the forced-share entitlement to property that has been the subject of inter vivos transfer. In the present article we develop the view that the time has come for a further round of …
The 'Legalization' Of The Family: Toward A Policy Of Supportive Neutrality, David L. Chambers
The 'Legalization' Of The Family: Toward A Policy Of Supportive Neutrality, David L. Chambers
Articles
The word "legalization" has conflicting meanings. One, intended to sound the theme of this conference, conveys the notion of government regulation permeating some area of human activity. The other-as found, for example, in the phrase "the legalization of marijuana"-is a near opposite: the process of making legal or permissible that which. was previously forbidden, taking government out of that which it had previously controlled. The recent history of government's relationship to the family amply displays both sorts of legalization, both government's intrusion and its withdrawal, and reveals a paradoxical relation between the two-that as government frees people to live their …
The Coming Curtailment Of Compulsory Child Support, David L. Chambers
The Coming Curtailment Of Compulsory Child Support, David L. Chambers
Articles
Absent parents ought to contribute to the support of their minor children and states can appropriately invoke the force of law to compel them to do so. Stated so generally, even absent parents behind in their payments would probably agree. Since so many others agree as well, and since the numbers of single-parent children have mushroomed, systems of governmentally compelled support in this country have grown enormously. By the early part of the next century, if current laws remain in force and current population trends continue, most of America's children on any given day will be entitled to support from …
Marital Agreements In Contemplation Of Divorce, Barbara Klarman
Marital Agreements In Contemplation Of Divorce, Barbara Klarman
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Romantic notions that marriage is forever are beginning to give way to the more realistic assessments that marriages indeed may not last. The pressure has been mounting for ways to provide economic planning to parties in the relatively likely event that their marriages terminate in divorce. The purpose of this article is to focus on one method of obtaining such planning: the marital agreement setting forth the support and property distribution which the parties would follow in the event of divorce. This article will review the law regarding marital agreements in contemplation of divorce as it exists in the United …
California Family Law Act, Meredith A. Nelson
California Family Law Act, Meredith A. Nelson
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
California's Family Law Act has been heralded as the first major change in the State's divorce provisions in one hundred years. The Act is an attempt to remedy two major criticisms of current divorce practice both in California and throughout the United States. First, those advocating reform believe that laws controlling the granting of divorces are in conflict with modem concepts of marriage and divorce. Many divorce laws impose punitive sanctions in an attempt to deter those who would otherwise seek a divorce. Second, notwithstanding their intent, divorce laws have not, in fact, reduced the frequency of divorce. The inability …
Family Support From Fugitive Fathers: A Proposed Amendment To Michigan's Long Arm Statute, Robert L. Nelson
Family Support From Fugitive Fathers: A Proposed Amendment To Michigan's Long Arm Statute, Robert L. Nelson
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
It is the purpose of this article to propose and discuss an amendment to Michigan's long arm statute which will allow the entry of extraterritorial alimony, separate maintenance, or child support decrees when Michigan is the state of the marital domicile and the defendant-spouse cannot be located for personal service of process. A plaintiff employing the proposed provision in a divorce action will be able to seek alimony, separate maintenance, or support payments as if the defendant were before the court, and the court will have the authority to grant her the necessary relief. If and when the wife later …
Divorce Laws And The Increase Of Divorce, Evans Holbrook
Divorce Laws And The Increase Of Divorce, Evans Holbrook
Articles
Along with the condemnation of the divorce evil has gone a very general disposition to condemn our divorce laws as being responsible for the evil. The committee on resolutions of the Congress on Uniform Divorce Laws in its report to the Congress at its adjourned session in Philadelphia, November 13, 1906, speaks of the "many evils engendered by the lax and unphilosophic system prevailing in many of the states."3 On this phase of the question also our late president gave his views in his special message to Congress on January 30, 1905, in the following words: "There is a wide-spread …