Law Commons^™

Back To The Future: Marriage And Divorce Under The 2017 Tax Act, Mark W. Cochran

Faculty Articles

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the 2017 Tax Act) significantly altered the federal tax consequences of marriage and divorce by mostly eliminating the so-called "marriage penalty" from the individual income tax rates and abolishing the deduction for alimony payments. These changes represent the latest congressional tinkering with issues that have persisted since the earliest days of the modem income tax, turning back the clock with regard to taxation for both married and divorced couples. For the first time, since the enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1969, the rate brackets for married taxpayers filing joint returns …

Opting Out In The Name Of God: Will Lawyers Be Compelled To Handle Same-Sex Divorces?, Bill Piatt

Faculty Articles

In June of 2015, the United States Supreme Court determined by a 5–4 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples have a constitutionally guaranteed right to marry. While this represents a momentous victory for homosexuals, many people are still vehemently opposed to the idea. Homosexuality is especially frowned upon in certain religions, including some sects of Christianity. Is it possible that attorneys who decline on religious grounds to provide legal services to same-sex individuals seeking divorces will be ordered to provide that representation? Might those attorneys be sanctioned if they fail to do so? These are both novel and …

Inside The Castle: Law And Family In 20th Century America, By Joanna L. Grossman And Lawrence M. Friedman (Book Review), Michael S. Ariens

Faculty Articles

Inside the Castle: Law and Family in 20th Century America, by Joanna L. Grossman and Lawrence M. Friedman, is an entertaining and occasionally frustrating history. In the book’s introduction, the authors offer two big ideas. Their first idea promotes the instrumental explanation of law, and the second idea is the rise in the last part of the twentieth century of what the authors call “individualized marriage.”

Both these ideas have been long promoted by Lawrence M. Friedman, one of the nation’s foremost legal historians, and in many respects, the evidence adduced by the authors confirms both big ideas. Grossman and …

“Loss Of Earning Capacity” Benefits In The Community Property Jurisdiction--How Do You Figure?, Aloysius A. Leopold

Faculty Articles

In the interest of uniformity, benefits for the loss of earning capacity should be subject to the same legal principle when determining marital property rights, regardless of the context in which those rights arise. However, courts throughout the United States have relied upon four different methods to determine title to loss of earning capacity benefits upon divorce. These approaches include the unitary approach, the analytic approach, the mechanistic approach, and the case-by-case approach.

Because the determination of title to benefits varies tremendously, the need for certainty in this area of the law is necessary particularly in light of the Texas …

Legal Remedial Alternatives For Spouse Abuse In Texas, Gerald S. Reamey

Faculty Articles

There are numerous civil and criminal legal alternatives available in Texas for dealing with abuse between adult cohabitants. Current and proposed systems may protect victims more effectively and deter abusers, and empirical studies can reveal the direction legal systems should take to pinpoint the flaws and shortcomings in present legal responses to abuse.

The difficulty of assessing the extent of spousal abuse increases the difficulty of finding an effective legal remedy. Abuse, like rape, is far less likely to be reported than other crimes. In addition, spousal abuse is hard to define in any meaningful statistical manner because of the …