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Full-Text Articles in Law

Should Divorce Be More Taxing?: Structuring Tax Reduction To Reduce Inequality, Stephanie H. Mcmahon May 2015

Should Divorce Be More Taxing?: Structuring Tax Reduction To Reduce Inequality, Stephanie H. Mcmahon

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

Current law makes divorce a time for minimizing some couples’ taxes. The group who benefit from the reduction are unlikely to be those in greatest financial need following divorce. Existing divorce-related taxation focuses on shifting the tax burden between spouses, the implicit and explicit elections that enable this shifting, and the classification of who should be entitled to this tax reduction. This article argues that Congress should focus tax reduction on those with minimal resources following divorce to ensure an equitable distribution of the nation’s tax burden. This article proposes an alternative tax regime more consistent with mitigating inequality. Instead …


Federalism And Family Status, Courtney G. Joslin Apr 2015

Federalism And Family Status, Courtney G. Joslin

Indiana Law Journal

The myth of family law’s inherent localism is sticky. In the past, it was common to hear sweeping claims about the exclusively local nature of all family matters. In response to persuasive critiques, a narrower iteration of family law localism emerged. The new, refined version acknowledges the existence of some federal family law but contends that certain “core” family law matters—specifically, family status determinations—are inherently local. I call this family status localism. Proponents of family status localism rely on history, asserting that the federal government has always deferred to state family status determinations. Family status localism made its most recent …


Legislating Labors Of Love: Revisiting Commercial Surrogacy In New York, Deborah Machalow Jan 2015

Legislating Labors Of Love: Revisiting Commercial Surrogacy In New York, Deborah Machalow

Indiana Law Journal

After over twenty years of status quo, the New York Legislature has an opportunity to liberalize its surrogacy laws whether during this legislative session or the next. By adopting the proposals with the suggested changes, the Legislature would simultaneously bring the law into conformity with the desires of many New Yorkers and recognize important technological developments. The proposals are marked improvements on the present prohibitory regime; however, they are not perfect. The legislature should consider further protections for the parties to surrogacy arrangements and amend the proposals accordingly. The legislature’s renewed interest in the topic is refreshing; this interest should …