Law Commons^™

Child Custody Is No Place For A Magic Formula: Why A Presumption Of 50/50 Physical Custody In West Virginia Is Not In Its Children's Best Interests, Stephanie R. Weber

West Virginia Law Review

The “best interest of the child” standard is used throughout family law and is the generally accepted standard for determining custody disputes. However, many states have introduced, and some have enacted, legislation that creates a presumption of joint, or “50/50,” physical custody between the parents. As psychological studies have shown, instability typically found in custody disputes can have a significant impact on a child’s life, influencing attachment style and abilities to successfully self-regulate. These findings make the 50/50 presumption a flawed concept. Courts should be able to take factors supported by this research into account when making custody determinations as …

Bringing Specificity To Child Custody Provisions In California, Shawn Mccall

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment evaluates the empirical evidence from social science studies to demonstrate that there is currently a sturdy body of social science research to justify using tangible evidence to define terms in the California Family Code, the California Family Courts, and beyond. Because the standard for custody determinations in California is the “best interest of the child” per the state’s legislation, social science research provides a vehicle that can define the “best interest of the child standard.” This Comment argues that this can be done empirically by calculating the minimum amount of time a child—in the aggregate— needs with each …

Unregulated Custody Transfers: Why The Practice Of Rehoming Should Be Considered A Form Of Illegal Adoption And Human Trafficking, Michael D. Aune

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Matter Of Kevin M., Donna A. Napolitano

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Biology, Genetics, Nurture, And The Law: The Expansion Of The Legal Definition Of Family To Include Three Or More Parents, Myrisha S. Lewis

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Difficult Situation Made Harder: A Parent's Choice Between Civil Remedies And Criminal Charges In International Child Abduction, Donyale N. Leslie

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Supreme Court, Kings County, Wilson V. Kilkenny, James Dougherty

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Toward A Child-Centered Approach To Evaluating Claims Of Alienation In High-Conflict Custody Disputes, Allison M. Nichols

Michigan Law Review

Theories of parental alienation abound in high-conflict custody cases. The image of one parent brainwashing a child against the other parent fits with what we think we know about family dynamics during divorce. The concept of a diagnosable “Parental Alienation Syndrome” (“PAS”) developed as an attempt to explain this phenomenon, but it has been widely discredited by mental health professionals and thus fails the standard for evidentiary admissibility. Nevertheless, PAS and related theories continue to influence the decisions of family courts, and even in jurisdictions that explicitly reject such theories, judges still face the daunting task of resolving these volatile …

Seen But Not Heard: Advocating For Children In New York State, Sarah L. Marx

Touro Law Review

On November 1, 2008, the New York State Bar Association House of Delegates approved a resolution affirming their commitment towards establishing a civil right to counsel in New York State. One of the issues identified is a child's right to representation not only in criminal, but also civil proceedings. Unlike other litigant groups, children have a statutorily established right to council in civil proceedings. However, as the white paper, adopted by the New State Bar Association, details, there are gaps in children 's advocacy throughout New York State. While significant steps towards improvement have recently taken place, there is still …

Child Custody Modification Law: The Never-Ending Battle For Peace Of Mind, Brianna F. Isserdutt

Nevada Law Journal

Ellis v. Carucci represents an evolution in Nevada’s child custody laws that should continue. Before Ellis, Nevada courts modified custody arrangements without explicitly considering the best interests of the child. Ellis cemented the legislative intent behind Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) § 125.4803 to make the child’s best interest the focus of the judge’s decision in custody cases.

However, Ellis and NRS §125.480 are not enough to accomplish this overarching goal. The Nevada legislature should revise NRS § 125.480 so that the statute explicitly recognizes the instability and adjustments that children of divorce must endure. The statute should also be revised …

A Plea For Permanence After Termination Of Parental Rights: Protecting The Best Interests Of The Child In Ohio, Daniel A. Starett

Cleveland State Law Review

Ohio's R.C. 2151.313 must be amended to allow the courts to protect the best interest of the children for whom they are in place to serve, even if this means that occasionally a parent who was once adjudged to be incapable of caring for her child, and whose rights were subsequently terminated, may be the best, and often only, option to save that child from the dangers of the foster care system. Part II of this Note will explore the dangers of exposure to the foster care system, illustrate why we need to protect children from prolonged exposure to the …

Protecting The Parent-Child Relationship: The Need For Illinois Courts To Extend Standing To Non-Biological Parents In Regard To Visitation Proceedings, Desiree Sierens

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Each year, children in Illinois are denied the opportunity to visit a "parent" because the children's families do not fit into traditionally defined family units. Under Illinois law, one "parent" in these non-traditional families lacks standing to petition for custody and visitation. While Illinois courts have a tradition of extending rights to common law parents, current courts have declined to follow previous rulings when asked to extend standing to the same-sex partner of the biological parent, even in cases where the couple, together, agreed to have the child. This comment will argue that maintaining relationships between a non-biological parent and …

Determining The Undeterminable: The Best Interest Of The Child Standard As An Imperfect But Necessary Guidepost To Determine Child Custody, Steven N. Peskind

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Since the 1960s, our nation's courts have almost universally relied on a legal standard known as the "best interest of the child" in order to resolve contested issues involving child custody. Critics of the standard conclude that, due to the complexities of defining what will serve a child's best interests, the standard is at best not helpful, and is perhaps even useless. Critics also charge that the standard is indeterminate, and depends too heavily on the subjective values and life experience of the individual fact finder--the trial judge. In this article, Steven Peskind will review the history of standards used …

Born To Lose: The Illinois "Baby Richard" Case--How Examining His Father's Pre-Birth Conduct Might Have Led To A Different Ending For Richard, Gerald W. Huston

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This casenote examines the factual and legal circumstances surrounding the controversial "Baby Richard" case--a case in which the courts applied a "best interests" test, and in so doing, removed a child from the home of his adoptive parents to return the child to his birth parents. By drawing comparisons to practices in other jurisdictions, the author concludes that a thorough examination of the birth father's pre-birth conduct likely would have changed the court's decision.

The Unprecedented Intrusion: A Survey And Analysis Of Selected Grandparent Visitation Cases, Joan C. Bohl

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Adoption Law: Congratulations For Now--Current Law, The Revised Uniform Adoption Act, And Final Adoptions, Eric C. Czerwinski

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Advancing The Rights Of Children And Adolescents To Be Altruistic: Bone Marrow Donation By Minors, Jennifer K. Robbennolt, Victoria Weisz, Craig M. Lawson

Journal of Law and Health

This article examines the standards used for answering the question of whether minors should be allowed to donate bone marrow. Part II introduces the legal background and the standards currently used by courts. Part III explores the unsatisfactory nature of these standards. Part IV presents an empirical study that is intended to provide some help in understanding what might be a useful and respectful standard. Part V concludes the article with a discussion of two alternative revised standards grounded in the doctrines of substituted judgment and the best interests of the child.

The Coming Of Age Of Grandparent Visitation Rights, Anne Marie Jackson

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Compelled Medical Procedures Involving Minors And Incompetents And Misapplication Of The Substituted Judgment Doctrine, Lynn E. Lebit

Journal of Law and Health

In many cases, courts have incorrectly applied the doctrine of "substituted judgment" to violate the bodily integrity of a minor (who is usually physically or mentally disabled), or an adult incompetent, to bring about a result which on its face seems beneficial to all involved. What courts have failed to do, however, is protect the best interests of these incompetent persons and to recognize their right to be protected, especially when they cannot consent, from non-therapeutic bodily invasions. In this context, "best interests" are determined by weighing the risks, needs and benefits to the affected person. The type of "non-therapeutic" …

Adoption Reform In Ohio, Kathleen Haack Hartley

Cleveland State Law Review

This note will treat the three areas of the proposed Ohio Adoption Reform bill which seem significant: the need for agency consent in adoption proceedings; the rights of putative fathers in adoption proceedings; and independent adoptions. While a complete separation of the social and legal consequences of the proposed changes is not always possible, this note will focus primarily on the legal ramifications in these particular areas by sampling the laws of various states with an emphasis on Ohio law as it relates to the proposed adoption procedure.

Putative Father's Visitation Rights, John F. Harkins

Cleveland State Law Review

A problem contiunally encountered in the enforcement of child support payments ordered in a proceeding in Bastardy arises when the mother of the child, in whose custody the child remains, refuses to allow the putative father reasonable periods of visitation. In numerous cases, visits with child are denied, even when the putative father regularly pays the weekly support and, in addition, expresses a genuine affection and concern toward the well-being of the child. Assuming that the putative father desires an association with his illegitimate child which the mother refuses, what remedies does or should the putative father have?

Conflict Of Laws-Full Faith And Credit-Custody Decrees, James I. Huston

Michigan Law Review

Husband and wife, living in Ohio, were separated in 1945, the only child going to live with the paternal great-grandfather in Pennsylvania. Husband and wife were divorced in Ohio in April 1949. Custody of the child was awarded the wife, but because of the wife's defective vision the child was to remain temporarily with the great-grandfather; it was further provided that the custody question could be relitigated after eighteen months. On October 26, 1949, the wife got a further Ohio decree awarding her sole custody. The great-grandfather refused to surrender the child, and wife filed a petition for habeas corpus …

Conflict Of Laws-Domicile Of Child Living With Mother, Charles E. Becraft S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff and defendant, husband and wife, were domiciled in New York. Because of temporary unemployment, plaintiff took his wife and minor child to Connecticut. He later returned to New York and resided in the apartment the family had formerly occupied. The wife and child did not return to New York, and the court found that she had at all times intended to remain in Connecticut and establish a domicile there. Plaintiff at all times intended to make New York his permanent residence. When defendant would not return to New York, plaintiff brought action for separation in a New York court, …