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Full-Text Articles in Law

Dispute Resolution And The Post-Divorce Family: Implications Of A Paradigm Shift, Jana B. Singer May 2009

Dispute Resolution And The Post-Divorce Family: Implications Of A Paradigm Shift, Jana B. Singer

Jana B. Singer

Over the past two decades, there has been a paradigm shift in the way the legal system handles most family disputes – particularly disputes involving children. This paradigm shift has replaced the law-oriented and judge-focused model of adjudication with a more collaborative, interdisciplinary and forward-looking family dispute resolution regime. It has also transformed the practice of family law and fundamentally altered the way in which disputing families interact with the legal system. This essay examines the elements of this paradigm shift in family dispute resolution and explores the opportunities and challenges it offers for families, children and the legal system.


Alimony And Efficiency: The Gendered Costs And Benefits Of Economic Justification For Alimony, Jana B. Singer May 2009

Alimony And Efficiency: The Gendered Costs And Benefits Of Economic Justification For Alimony, Jana B. Singer

Jana B. Singer

No abstract provided.


Divorce Reform And Gender Justice, Jana B. Singer Apr 2009

Divorce Reform And Gender Justice, Jana B. Singer

Jana B. Singer

The modern shift from fault-based to no-fault divorce has disappointed those who expected the no-fault system to eliminate economic inequality between divorced women and men. The fact that women and their dependent children invariably experience economic hardship after a divorce has caused Lenore Weitzman and other commentators to romanticize the "good old days" of fault-based divorce. Professor Singer attacks the logic of this nostalgia by demonstrating that women were 'not[' better off under the fault-based system. She then proposes an investment partnership model of post-divorce allocation which would insure a fair result for both spouses.


Adoption, Identity, And The Constitution: The Case For Opening Closed Records, Naomi R. Cahn, Jana B. Singer Apr 2009

Adoption, Identity, And The Constitution: The Case For Opening Closed Records, Naomi R. Cahn, Jana B. Singer

Jana B. Singer

No abstract provided.


Divorce Obligations And Bankruptcy Discharge: Rethinking The Support/Property Distinction, Jana B. Singer Apr 2009

Divorce Obligations And Bankruptcy Discharge: Rethinking The Support/Property Distinction, Jana B. Singer

Jana B. Singer

The Bankruptcy Code currently divides divorce-related obligations into two categories: awards or agreements in the nature of support are non-dischargeable; obligations arising from property divisions can be discharged in the same manner as ordinary commercial debts. Because recent developments in family law have undermined the support/property distinction and because privately negotiated divorce agreements often fail to distinguish between payments intended to serve as support and those intended to distribute property, the Code's reliance on this classification often leads to confusion and hardship for divorce obligees. In addition, because of the rise of equitable distribution as the dominant method of allocating …


Juristocracy In The Trenches: Problem-Solving Judges And The Therapeutic Jurisprudence In Drug Treatment Courts And Unified Family Courts, Richard C. Boldt, Jana B. Singer Apr 2009

Juristocracy In The Trenches: Problem-Solving Judges And The Therapeutic Jurisprudence In Drug Treatment Courts And Unified Family Courts, Richard C. Boldt, Jana B. Singer

Jana B. Singer

This article explores the role of judges on two types of “problem-solving courts”: drug treatment courts and unified family courts. It compares the behavior these “problem-solving” judges to more traditional models of judicial behavior and to activist judging at the appellate level. The authors conclude that the judges who serve on these problem-solving courts have largely repudiated the classical judicial virtues of restraint, disinterest and modesty in favor of a more activist and therapeutic stance. However, the causes and consequences of this role-shift are complex. In particular, the authors suggest that the proliferation of problem solving courts and judges is …