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Full-Text Articles in Law
Modernizing Marriage, Adam Candeub, Mae Kuykendall
Modernizing Marriage, Adam Candeub, Mae Kuykendall
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Article proposes to modernize the archaic procedures states use to authorize marriages so as to provide legal flexibility, promote efficiency, and enhance individual choice. Almost universally, states require couples' presence within their borders, however briefly, for a ceremony. After considering the historical and policy rationales for this requirement and finding them either obsolete or incoherent, we propose that states offer marriages to those outside their borders. Such distance marriages could occur via video-conference, using the internet or even telephone, with readily available safeguards to prevent fraud. This simple reform would allow certain couples who cannot marry under local law …
War And P.E.A.C.E.: A Preliminary Report And A Model Statute On An Interdisciplinary Educational Program For Divorcing And Separating Parents, Andrew Schepard
War And P.E.A.C.E.: A Preliminary Report And A Model Statute On An Interdisciplinary Educational Program For Divorcing And Separating Parents, Andrew Schepard
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Article is a report on P.E.A.C.E. (Parent Education and Custody Effectiveness), an interdisciplinary attempt to create a parent education program in New York. P.E.A.C.E. is an educational program that provides information to parents on three topics: the legal process for determining custody and child support; the effects of divorce and separation on adults; and the effects of divorce and separation on children, and how parents can help children cope with this difficult transition. P.E.A.C.E. is education-nothing more. It is not mediation or therapy. Parents do not talk to each other directly during P.E.A.C.E. sessions and the program makes no …
Religion And Child Custody, Carl E. Schneider
Religion And Child Custody, Carl E. Schneider
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
In this Essay, I want to reflect on some problems at the intersection of religion, law, and the family. Specifically, I will explore the ways courts may consider a parent's religiously motivated behavior in making decisions about the custody of children. More precisely still, I will ask two questions. First, may a court refuse to award custody because of a parent's religiously motivated behavior in a dispute between a natural mother and a natural father? Second, when should a court agree to resolve a dispute between divorced parents over the religious upbringing of their children? These are topics of quiet …
Plans, Protections, And Professional Intervention: Innovations In Divorce Custody Reform And The Role Of Legal Professionals, Jane W. Ellis
Plans, Protections, And Professional Intervention: Innovations In Divorce Custody Reform And The Role Of Legal Professionals, Jane W. Ellis
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Beginning with an overview of the "law in theory" in Part II, this Article describes the Parenting Act's political origins and the aspirations on which the Act was based. These aspirations reflect common contemporary national themes and are based on common (and often unexamined) assumptions about the purposes of custody law and, indeed, the nature and capacity of law itself. They are described in conjunction with major theoretical arguments about custody reform. Part II then sets out the specific regulations embodying the drafters' goals. The Article next looks at this ambitious new "law in practice" in Part III. It describes …
The Relevance Of Temporary Child Custody Orders To The Formation Of An Established Custodial Environment: A Model Statute For Uniform Application Under Michigan Law, Christine M. Drylie
The Relevance Of Temporary Child Custody Orders To The Formation Of An Established Custodial Environment: A Model Statute For Uniform Application Under Michigan Law, Christine M. Drylie
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Note presents a Model Statute that clearly indicates when a court may find that an established custodial environment has arisen out of a temporary custody order. The Model Statute thus clarifies when it is appropriate to apply the clear and convincing evidentiary standard to situations involving temporary child custody orders. Part I of this Note describes the court's use of temporary custody orders to determine whether an established custodial environment exists. Part II sets forth the Model Statute, which integrates current case law into statutory language designed specifically for temporary custody situations. Part II also analyzes each section of …
Individual Entitlement To The Financial Benefits Of A Professional Degree: An Empirical Study Of The Attitudes And Expectations Of Married Professional Students And Their Spouses, Rebecca Redosh Eisner, Ruth Zimmerman
Individual Entitlement To The Financial Benefits Of A Professional Degree: An Empirical Study Of The Attitudes And Expectations Of Married Professional Students And Their Spouses, Rebecca Redosh Eisner, Ruth Zimmerman
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Part I of this Note describes the case law that delineated the factors examined in the study. Those factors are the financial support provided by the supporting spouse, the extent of personal sacrifice made by the supporting spouse, the length of the marriage and corresponding accumulated assets of the marriage at the time of the divorce, and the relative earning capacities of the two parties after the divorce. Part II discusses the design of the study, and specifically how we manipulated these factors in hypothetical vignettes to measure reactions to the factors. Part III presents the results and our conclusions …
Improving Parent-Child Relationships Within The Divorced Family: A Call For Legal Reform, John S. Murray
Improving Parent-Child Relationships Within The Divorced Family: A Call For Legal Reform, John S. Murray
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
In this Article, I address these three questions within the framework provided by the goal to be achieved. Part I outlines the present system and its problems, discussing both its effects on divorced family members and the problems inherent in the exclusive custody rule. Part II builds a proposal for legal reform by first considering the effect of conflict within the family, then identifying five value guidelines that should control the relationships, and finally describing the proposal in detail. Part III analyzes the pros and cons of the reform proposal to determine whether its adoption could establish a healthier environment …
Divorce Bargaining: The Limits On Private Ordering, Robert H. Mnookin
Divorce Bargaining: The Limits On Private Ordering, Robert H. Mnookin
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
In an article published in the Yale Law Journal, I suggested an alternative perspective for family law scholars concerned with divorce. It emphasized negotiation, not adjudication; private ordering, not regulation. This change in emphasis seemed timely, if not overdue. Available evidence has long shown that the overwhelming majority of divorcing couples resolve the distributional questions concerning marital property, alimony, child support, and custody without bringing any contested issue to court for adjudication. Therefore, the primary impact of the legal system falls not on the small number of contested cases, but instead on the far greater number of divorcing couples …
Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction To Modify Alimony Payments Of Chapter 13 Debtors, Peter Swiecicki
Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction To Modify Alimony Payments Of Chapter 13 Debtors, Peter Swiecicki
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This article examines a bankruptcy court's power to modify a chapter 13 debtor's alimony payments. Part I discusses the bankruptcy court's jurisdiction in chapter 13 cases and the connection between the chapter 13 case and alimony modification proceedings. It then outlines the domestic relations limitation and the resulting conflict between bankruptcy courts and state courts with respect to alimony modification. Part II analyzes various arguments for and against allowing bankruptcy courts to hear alimony modification requests in chapter 13 cases. This analysis reveals that any state interests are far outweighed by the substantial benefits to be gained from consolidating the …
Marital Agreements In Contemplation Of Divorce, Barbara Klarman
Marital Agreements In Contemplation Of Divorce, Barbara Klarman
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Romantic notions that marriage is forever are beginning to give way to the more realistic assessments that marriages indeed may not last. The pressure has been mounting for ways to provide economic planning to parties in the relatively likely event that their marriages terminate in divorce. The purpose of this article is to focus on one method of obtaining such planning: the marital agreement setting forth the support and property distribution which the parties would follow in the event of divorce. This article will review the law regarding marital agreements in contemplation of divorce as it exists in the United …
Lay Divorce Firms And The Unauthorized Practice Of Law, Arthur R. Miller
Lay Divorce Firms And The Unauthorized Practice Of Law, Arthur R. Miller
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Effective January 1, 1972, Michigan adopted a no-fault divorce law. Since that time, at least two firms in the Detroit area have gone into the business of providing assistance to people wishing to process their own divorces. These enterprises, which have been dubbed divorce firms or divorce kit firms, have come under heavy attack from the organized bar. The State Bar of Michigan has instituted court proceedings against one firm for the unauthorized practice of law, and a court on its own initiative has already issued an injunction against the other. These cases raise two important issues: whether the divorce …
Divorce Law Reform In Michigan, B. H. Lee
Divorce Law Reform In Michigan, B. H. Lee
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Few social questions touch the individual so intimately and foster such widely divergent views as the question of divorce. From those who regard marriage as a perpetual and indissoluble bond instituted by God to those who consider it a terminable contract between a man and a woman, every shade of opinion can be found. The subject of marital breakdown is neither new nor peculiar to our age. As one author has said: "The breakdown of marriage with provisions for divorce and remarriage is a phenomenon widely recognized in Babylonian, Hebrew, Greek and Roman law." Nevertheless, ever since Christianity established a …
California Family Law Act, Meredith A. Nelson
California Family Law Act, Meredith A. Nelson
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
California's Family Law Act has been heralded as the first major change in the State's divorce provisions in one hundred years. The Act is an attempt to remedy two major criticisms of current divorce practice both in California and throughout the United States. First, those advocating reform believe that laws controlling the granting of divorces are in conflict with modem concepts of marriage and divorce. Many divorce laws impose punitive sanctions in an attempt to deter those who would otherwise seek a divorce. Second, notwithstanding their intent, divorce laws have not, in fact, reduced the frequency of divorce. The inability …