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Liberty And Community In Marriage: Expanding On Massey’S Proposal For A Community Property Option In New Hampshire, Jo Carrillo

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

This article argues that intimate partners should have the right to adopt a sharing economy within marriage. Forty-one U.S. states employ a separate property regime for property acquired during marriage; of these, only two allow married couples to opt out of the separate property system and hold their assets as community property. Nine U.S. states are community property states. To encourage equal partnership in marriage, Calvin Massey proposed that New Hampshire, a separate property state, enable a community property option. This essay expands on Massey’s proposal by comparing it to three other marriage reform proposals: two based on privatization, and …

With Marriage On The Decline And Cohabitation On The Rise, What About Marital Rights For Unmarried Partners?, Lawrence W. Waggoner

ACTEC Law Journal

This article draws attention to a cultural shift in the formation of families that has been and is taking place in this country and in the developed world.

Part I uses recent government data to trace the decline of marriage and the rise of cohabitation in the United States. Between 2000 and 2010, the population grew by 9.71%, but the husband and wife households only grew by 3.7%, while the unmarried couple households grew by 41.4%. A counter-intuitive finding is that the early 21st century data show little correlation between the marriage rate and economic conditions.

Because of the Supreme …

Can Wrongful Death Damages Recovered By A Married Person Be Separate Property Under California Law? , William A. Reppy Jr.

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Martial Deduction And Equalization Under The Federal Estate And Gift Taxes Between Common Law And Community Property States, Paul E. Anderson

Michigan Law Review

In 1948, as the culmination of much dissatisfaction with the treatment of community property under the federal estate and gift tax laws, Congress adopted a new formula for the treatment of gifts and bequests between spouses; this formula was known as the marital deduction. It has remained practically unchanged since its adoption and still stands as an integral part of our federal estate and gift tax structure.

The basic purpose of the deduction was to provide equalization in estate and gift tax treatment between spouses residing in community property states and those residing in common law property states. The plan …

The Revenue Act Of 1948-: Federal Estate And Gift Taxation, Milton D. Solomon

Michigan Law Review

The community property system has always been a thorn in the side of the federal tax structure. The theory that husband and wife have equal, vested, undivided one-half interests in property held by them as tenants in community, when given effect for federal tax purposes, has resulted, because of our system of graduated rates, in substantial income, estate and gift tax advantages in favor of residents of community property states over their neighbors in non-community property states. Attempts to change this situation as to federal income taxation proved uniformly unsuccessful. However, success was achieved in the field of federal estate …

Dispensing With Administration, Paul E. Basye

Michigan Law Review

With an elaborate system existing in every state for the administration of decedents' estates, it should not be assumed that every estate is or need be subjected to official supervision by a probate court. According to studies made in this connection there is approximately one administration for every four deaths. In some cases there is no estate to be administered. In others it is of such small value that administration is neither required nor justified. Even when a decedent dies possessed of a moderate or large estate, it does not follow that administration is absolutely essential. It is the experience …