Law Commons^™

Cohabitation In Illinois: The Need For Legislative Intervention, Stefanie L. Ferrari

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Devil You Don’T Know: Implicit Bias Keeps Women In Their Place, Michele N. Struffolino

Pace Law Review

While men’s claims of gender bias in the family law system are acknowledged, this article focuses on how bias, whether implicit or explicit under the guise of unconscious attitudes or behavior, continues to place women at a systemic disadvantage. Although implicit bias also impacts outcomes in child abuse and neglect actions involving the state, the focus of this article is the impact of implicit bias in actions between women and men in the family courts, in particular those issues involved in the dissolution of the relationship and the family unit. First, the emergence of implicit social cognition theory will be …

Arbitration. A Promising Avenue For Resolving Family Law Cases?, Audrey J. Beeson

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This paper will examine the path of arbitration in the area of family law, when it began, and how it has grown since 1990. It will discuss the division between the states that currently utilize arbitration for family law issues as well as the scope of judicial review. The paper will then discuss the history leading to, and the enactment of, the Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act. Next, it addresses Nevada’s legislative history, when arbitration of family law matters was considered, and consequently what a Nevada Family Law Arbitration Act would potentially look like. Finally, it will include a view …

A Human Capital Theory Of Alimony And Tax, Tessa R. Davis

Faculty Publications

The current taxation of alimony is a broken scheme. Severed from any strong theoretical mooring, it draws lines in the sand between property settlement, child support, and alimony. The lack of coherence between the substance of alimony in family law and the tax concept of alimony (“tax alimony”) could be justified on other policy grounds, however. Yet current law, which allows the payor a deduction under §215 and requires inclusion by the recipient per §71, is difficult to interpret, resulting in frequent litigation and costly noncompliance. In short, the current concept of tax alimony fails to satisfy any of the …

The Marital Wealth Gap, Erez Aloni

All Faculty Publications

Married couples are wealthier than people in all other family structures. The top 10% of wealth holders are, in great proportion, married. Even among the wealthiest households, married couples hold significantly more wealth than others. The Article identifies this phenomenon as the “Marital Wealth Gap,” and critiques the role of diverse legal mechanisms in creating and maintaining it. Marriage also contributes to the concentration of wealth because marriage patterns are increasingly assortative: wealth marries wealth. The law entrenches or even exacerbates these class-based marriage patterns by erecting structural barriers that hinder people from meeting across economic strata.

How can the …

Overcoming Roadblocks To Reaching Settlement In Family Law Cases, John M. Lande

Faculty Publications

In “litigation as usual,” settlement often comes only after adversarial posturing, the original conflict escalates, the relationships deteriorate, the process takes too long and costs too much, and nobody is really happy with the resolution. This article describes roadblocks to negotiation and ways to overcome them to reach good settlements in family law cases.

Access To Justice Through Limited Legal Assistance, Deborah L. Rhode, Kevin Eaton, Anna Porto

Northwestern Journal of Human Rights

This article describes an empirical survey of a limited legal assistance program designed to assist low-income individuals with family law matters. It begins by exploring the need for such research, given the nation’s shameful level of unmet legal needs, and the lack of rigorous evaluation of strategies designed to address those needs. The article discussion then describes the methodology of a survey of Alaska Legal Services’ limited legal assistance program, and the survey’s major findings. Among the most critical conclusions are that limited assistance is a cost-effective use of resources, but that more effort should center on provision of hands-on …

International Survey Of Family Law, 2018 Ed., Margaret Brinig

Books

Margaret Brinig, editor The International Survey of Family Law is the annual review of the International Society of Family Law. It brings together reliable and clearly structured insights into the latest and most notable developments in family law from all around the globe. Chapters are prepared by an international team of selected experts in the field, usually covering 20 or more jurisdictions in each edition.

The 2018 edition addresses highly topical matters ranging from assisted reproductive technology and sterilisation to end-of-life issues and estate settlement. The authors explore legislative changes, common law developments and challenges of integrating customary law or …

Baby M Turns 30: The Law And Policy Of Surrogate Motherhood, Eric A. Feldman

All Faculty Scholarship

This article marks the 30th anniversary of the Supreme Court of New Jersey’s Baby M decision by offering a critical analysis of surrogacy policy in the United States. Despite fundamental changes in both science and society since the case was decided, state courts and legislatures remain bitterly divided on the legality of surrogacy. In arguing for a more uniform, permissive legal posture toward surrogacy, the article addresses five central debates in the surrogacy literature.

First, should the legal system accommodate those seeking conception through surrogacy, or should it prohibit such arrangements? Second, if surrogacy is permitted, what steps can be …

Family Law's Exclusions, Clare Huntington

Faculty Scholarship

As Fordham Law School commemorates the hundredth anniversary of women in its ranks, the school is also acknowledging the ways it has excluded women. For this special Issue celebrating scholarship by the women of Fordham, I see a similar theme echoing in my work. From my first article, published soon after I graduated from law school, through my most recent work, I have identified and explored the exclusions riddling family law.

The Empirical Turn In Family Law, Clare Huntington

Faculty Scholarship

Historically, the legal system justified family law’s rules and policies through morality, common sense, and prevailing cultural norms. In a sharp departure, and consistent with a broader trend across the legal system, empirical evidence increasingly dominates the regulation of families.

There is much to celebrate in this empirical turn. Properly used, empirical evidence in family law can help the state act more effectively and efficiently, unmask prejudice, and depoliticize contentious battles. But the empirical turn also presents substantial concerns. Beyond perennial issues of the quality of empirical evidence and the ability of legal actors to use it, there are more …

The Changing Tides Of Adoption: Why Marriage, Race, And Family Identity Still Matter, Jessica Dixon Weaver

SMU Law Review

This essay expounds on the shifting motivation for adoption in the United States using a critical race feminist theory lens to explore how adoption remains wedded to marriage, the control of wealth, and family identity. These three elements have been historically and legally tied to race in that the law was intentionally written to exclude certain persons of color from being able to access marriage or wealth, thereby diminishing their ability to establish family identity.

This essay proceeds in three parts. Part II sets forth an overview of the evolution of adoption by exploring the breakdown of formal adoption and …