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Editorial Notes: April 2017, Barbara A. Babb

All Faculty Scholarship

This issue of Family Court Review (FCR) begins by honoring the life and memory of Ruth Stern, former Managing Editor of Family Court Review, who passed away in October, 2016. Her husband, Professor Herbie DiFonzo, offers glimpses into Ruth's life and their life together. Coming from a baseball family myself, I am particularly moved by Ruth's and Herbie's mutual passion for the New York Mets. It is obvious from the details Herbie graciously shares that theirs was a love and a life of unique tenderness and togetherness. I am deeply grateful to Herbie for allowing us the privilege to publish …

Editorial Notes: January 2017, Barbara A. Babb

All Faculty Scholarship

I am extremely honored to write my first “Editorial Notes” for Family Court Review, and I am most grateful to the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) Board of Directors for appointing me to succeed Professor Andrew Schepard. I have been a devoted reader of and contributor to FCR (and its predecessor journals) for many decades, and I have been a committed AFCC member since the early 1990s. Although I doubt anyone can fill Professor Schepard’s shoes, I certainly plan to try my best to follow in his incredibly large footsteps. He is a dear friend and colleague with …

The Elective Share Has No Friends: Creditors Trump Spouse In The Battle Over The Revocable Trust, Angela M. Vallario

All Faculty Scholarship

A revocable trust is a popular estate planning tool used to disinherit a spouse in sixteen jurisdictions. In common law jurisdictions, a surviving spouse, who is dissatisfied with his or her inheritance, has the right to receive an elective share of the decedent's estate regardless of the decedent's estate plan. However, sixteen jurisdictions have defined a dissatisfied spouse's rights with a fractional share of the deceased spouse's "net probate estate," allowing one spouse to disinherit the other, by single-handedly transferring his or her assets to a revocable trust. To add insult to injury seven of these common law jurisdictions have …

Mothers In The Margins: Addressing The Consequences Of Criminal Records For Young Mothers Of Color, Jesse Krohn, Jaime Gullen

University of Baltimore Law Review

As young women pull ahead of young men in higher education, the wage gap narrows, and young men continue to be arrested and incarcerated at higher rates than young women, there has been much discussion at the policy level and in the media regarding the need to concentrate resources on men and boys. President Barack Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper" and “Responsible Fatherhood” initiatives typify this shift.

As legal aid lawyers who represent youth, many of whom have been involved in the juvenile and criminal legal systems, we are pulled into the debate and asked to answer with increasing frequency: “What …

Another Look At The Need For Family Law Education Reform: One Law School's Innovations, Barbara A. Babb

All Faculty Scholarship

The pressing need to change family law education stems from increased numbers and types of family law matters before the courts, changing legal standards, and the evolution of family law practice. The Family Law Education Reform Project, the Families Matter Report, and the IAALS Family Bar Summit recommend that traditional family law education be supplemented to reflect the importance of a holistic blend of theory and practice. This involves expanding student clinical or experiential programs, incorporating interdisciplinary studies specific to the context of family law, and enhancing continuing legal education opportunities. As one law school example, the University of Baltimore …