Law Commons^™

Yu V. Yu, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 90 (Nov. 22, 2017), Samantha Scofield

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Though vexatious litigant determinations are not independently appealable, they may be considered on appeal when included in an otherwise appealable order.

Protecting Children In Divorce: Lessons From Caroline Norton, Lucy S. Mcgough

Maine Law Review

No fault divorce is now popularly accepted, at least in non-Catholic populations of the West. Furthermore, the role of the court in divorce and separation disputes has dramatically adjusted from a fact-finder of fault, its traditional adjudicatory role, to an administrative overseer of the process of unwinding the family financial enterprise and approving parenting arrangements. Less appreciated because it is a still-incomplete contemporary transfiguration is the divorce court's role in attempting to enhance parents' future interactions with each other. It is estimated that one-fourth to one-third of divorcing parents have considerable difficulty regaining their footing after separation and perhaps one …

Family Law, Allison Anna Tait

University of Richmond Law Review

Another year of family law activity in Virginia brought both new

legislation, which will likely have long-term impacts, as well as a

new set of judicial opinions that will bring changes to the Virginia

rules. The terrain covered in the legislation and opinions varies,

but it includes certain fixtures such as marriage and divorce requirements,

equitable distribution, spousal and child support, and

child custody. This brief overview addresses all these areas, beginning

with the legislative changes and then moving to the courts.

Mediating Towards Forgiveness & Family Reconciliation In Divorce; Select Issues In Dispute Resolution: Apology & Forgiveness, Selina J. Shultz

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This paper examines the importance of forgiveness and the rebuilding of trust in the reconciliation of the family during and after a divorce, and contemplates the mediator’s role in leading the parties in this direction.

An Empirical Study Of Property Divisions At Divorce, Margaret Ryznar

Pace Law Review

Much has been written about family law and how to fairly divide property between divorcing spouses. Without a good understanding of what courts are doing in the field, however, there is no baseline for theoretical frameworks. This Article fills the void by analyzing all divorce cases involving children that were filed in one county over several months. The resulting empirical data has implications for the meaning of fairness in divorce, the role of judicial discretion, and the incentives for contracting by couples. This Article also examines the underlying law in order to explore the correlation between the family law code …

Judicial Discretion V. Predictable Outcomes: A Review Of The 2016 Amendments To The Illinois Marriage And Dissolution Of Marriage Act, David E. Braden

Chicago-Kent Law Review

In 2015, the Illinois General Assembly comprehensively amended the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA). Illinois legislators cited a desire to increase predictable outcomes and to minimize adversarial litigation as primary goals for passing this overall to Illinois’s marriage and divorce law. This Comment evaluates how the amendments advance the stated legislative goals of increasing predictable outcomes and minimizing litigation while maintaining flexibility for fact-specific decision-making through judicial discretion. While the results are mixed, this Comment identifies changes in key provisions to which practicing attorneys should take note.

Klabacka V. Nelson, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 24 (May 25, 2017), Christopher Kelly

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) family courts have subject matter jurisdiction in divorce proceedings that involve issues otherwise outside the scope of family courts, (2) parol evidence may not be considered to determine party intent to form separate property agreements and self-settled spendthrift trusts where the written agreements are valid and unambiguous, (3) a court order equalizing assets between different spendthrift trusts is improper because the NRS protects against court orders that move assets from trusts and against moves that do not benefit trust beneficiaries, (4) spendthrift trusts may not be reached for payment of personal obligations not known at …

The Empirics Of Child Custody, Margaret Ryznar

Cleveland State Law Review

Child custody issues are as American as apple pie, with only a quarter of children seeing their parents married until the end. The legal standard for custody is the best interests of the child, but the greyness of this inquiry allows courts to make difficult judgments. In family law, such discretionary standards govern factually diverse cases and make it difficult to draw conclusions from individual cases. This Article offers an objective measurement in family law by empirically examining a sample of Indiana divorce cases filed during three months in 2008 that involved children. The resulting analysis of child custody and …

The New Phoenix: Maine's Innovative Standards For Guardians Ad Litem, Dana E. Prescott

Maine Law Review

In a 2014 article in the Maine Law Review, the author reviewed the historical and legal foundations for guardian ad litem (GAL) appointments by judges on behalf of children in Maine. GALs are appointed to provide the court with investigative facts and recommendations concerning the best interest of a child. The implications and frustrations expressed during political and policy discussions reflect a broader national debate deeply rooted in the power of family law courts when child custody or abuse and neglect are alleged. Whether in the form of child protection or child custody litigation, the sheer volume and complexity of …

Agree To Disagree: Moving Tennessee Toward Pure No-Fault Divorce, Evan Wright

Lincoln Memorial University Law Review Archive

This Note addresses Tennessee's no-fault divorce statute. Currently, married couples are forced to either agree on all issues or prove at least one fault ground. This author contends that the current law imposes an unnecessary burden on litigants, which wastes precious resources that Tennessee families could use for more productive purposes. Moreover, pure no-fault states have not seen a disproportionate rise in divorce rates. Last, pure no-fault divorce better reflects current societal trends and the evolving effect of religious affiliation on how a younger generation defines morality.

Judicial Selection In South Carolina: Is The Time Ripe For Systematic Restructuring And Improvement: You Be The Judge, Ronald T. Scott

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Liberty And Community In Marriage: Expanding On Massey’S Proposal For A Community Property Option In New Hampshire, Jo Carrillo

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

This article argues that intimate partners should have the right to adopt a sharing economy within marriage. Forty-one U.S. states employ a separate property regime for property acquired during marriage; of these, only two allow married couples to opt out of the separate property system and hold their assets as community property. Nine U.S. states are community property states. To encourage equal partnership in marriage, Calvin Massey proposed that New Hampshire, a separate property state, enable a community property option. This essay expands on Massey’s proposal by comparing it to three other marriage reform proposals: two based on privatization, and …

In The Shadow Of A Myth: Bargaining For Same-Sex Divorce, Noa Ben-Asher

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article explores a relatively new phenomenon in family law: same-sex divorce. The Article's central claim is that parties to the first wave of same-sex divorces are not effectively bargaining against the backdrop of legal dissolution rules that would govern in the absence of an agreement. In other words, to use Robert Mnookin and Lewis Kornhauser's terminology, they are not "bargaining in the shadow of the law." Instead, the Article argues, many same-sex couples today bargain in the shadow of a myth that same-sex couples are egalitarian—that there are no vulnerable parties or power differentials in same-sex divorce.

The Article …

Book Review: Proposals For Creating A Realistic Family Court For The Future, Theresa Furnari, Melissa View

University of Baltimore Law Forum

During one of the snowstorms in the winter of 2016, I sat before the fireplace and read Divorced from Reality: Rethinking Family Dispute Resolution, by Jane C. Murphy and Jana B. Singer. Because I know the authors and their wealth of experience in family law, as well as their sincere interest in improving the effectiveness of the family law court, I was delighted when asked to share my opinion of the book. As a Family Magistrate in a high volume court, it never ceases to amaze me of the variety of issues the court is confronted with on a …

Polish Divorce, New York Style, Arthur S. Leonard

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

Collaborative Divorce: What Louis Brandeis Might Say About The Promise And Problems?, Susan Saab Fortney

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Collision Course: State Community Property Laws And Termination Rights Under The Federal Copyright Act--Who Should Have The Right Of Way?, Loren E. Mulraine

Marquette Law Review

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of recapture rights under copyright law, as well as a primer on the difference between common law and community property law as it relates to property rights in a divorce proceeding. The paper will utilize as a case study the dispute between William "Smokey" Robinson and his former spouse, Claudette Robinson, and provide a statutory solution for future disputes where federal copyright law and state community property laws collide at the intersection of copyright terminations. Specifically, should these newly recaptured rights be treated as a new estate and thus not …

Overcoming Biased Views Of Gender And Victimhood In Custody Evaluations When Domestic Violence Is Alleged, Ruth Leah Perrin

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

The Law Of Attorney Fees In Family Law Cases, Robert G. Spector, Carolyn S. Thompson

Robert G. Spector

No abstract provided.