Law Commons^™

A Game Theory View Of Family Law: Planning For A 500% Family Tax, Steven J. Willis

FIU Law Review

Divorces involve money, which can prompt fierce legal battles. These include family obligations for child support, alimony, and property division. Small income changes can have huge consequences. For example, a $1,000 income increase can result in $5,000 of increased family obligations. A $10,000 increase can produce $50,000 of obligations. Or a $10,000 decrease can result in $50,000 of reduced obligations.

Appraising Problems, Not Stuff, Chad J. Pomeroy

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming.

Rights Of Creditors To Collect Marital Debts After Divorce In Community Property Jurisdictions, James L. Musselman

Pace Law Review

The primary thrust of this Article is to address the post-divorce liability issue outlined in Part III from the perspective of debtor-creditor law. The rules adopted in most of the community property jurisdictions with respect to this issue appear to be primarily focused on the perspective of marital property and family law without regard to general debtor-creditor law principles and policies. For example, basic fraudulent transfer law has been ignored in those jurisdictions and not applied in the usual manner. As a result, the rules developed in those jurisdictions with regard to the post-divorce liability issue are not consistent with …

Long V. Long: Law Court Ruling Changes The Disposition Of Joint Real Property On Divorce, Marc J. Veilleux

Maine Law Review

In Long v. Long the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, sitting as the Law Court, affirmed a district court divorce decree dividing the parties' residence of thirteen years as marital property, even though the majority of the funds used for its purchase were traceable to non-marital property the husband had acquired prior to the marriage. The governing statute instructed the district court to make an “equitable” disposition of all property acquired by the spouses during marriage, but required that it first “set apart to each spouse the spouse's [separate] property,” including property acquired during marriage by a spouse “in exchange for …

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 …

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 …

With All My Worldly Goods I Thee Endow: The Law And Statistics Of Dower And Curtesy In Arkansas, J. Cliff Mckinney

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Surviving The Borrower: Assumption, Modification, And Access To Mortgage Information After A Death Or Divorce, Sarah Bolling Mancini, Alys Cohen

Pepperdine Law Review

The death of a borrower too often brings the surviving spouse or other heirs to the brink of foreclosure. Transfer of the marital home to a non-borrower spouse through divorce may lead to the same problems. Mortgage servicers tell these successor homeowners that because they are not the borrower on the loan, they are not entitled to any information about the mortgage secured by their home and cannot apply for a loan modification, even if they are struggling with the payments. In fact, successors have a right to information, the right to assume liability for the loan, and the right …

A Professional Degree Is Not Marital Property Upon Divorce: Stevens V. Stevens, Katherine Scheid

Akron Law Review

This Note first analyzes the Stevens court's opinion and concludes that it fails to give sufficient direction on how to determine the amount of the alimony award in order to sufficiently compensate the supporting spouse. Second, this Note explores the ways in which courts in other jurisdictions have attempted to compensate the supporting spouse. Finally, this Note proposes two alternative methods of valuing the supporting spouse's contribution. One method applies if the court, as in Stevens v. Stevens, holds that contribution toward a technical degree is not divisible marital property but should be considered when awarding alimony. The second …

Back To The Future: How Illinois' Legalization Of Same-Sex Relationships Retroactively Affects Marital Property Rights, Eric J. Shinabarger

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Until 2011, Illinois viewed same-sex relationships as “against public policy” and refused to recognize any same-sex civil union or marriage. However, many Illinois residents traveled to progressive jurisdictions in order to enter into legal samesex relationships. Afterwards, they returned to their lives in Illinois and lived together as married couples despite Illinois’ lack of recognition.

When Illinois legalized same-sex civil unions in 2011 and same-sex marriages in 2014, it immediately flipped a switch and began retroactively recognizing same-sex relationships entered into in other jurisdictions. While this prevents same-sex couples from being forced to jump through hoops to re-legalize their relationships, …

Wills, Trusts, And Estates, J. William Gray Jr., Katherine E. Ramsey

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Yours, Mine, Ours? Renovating The Antiquated Apartheid In The Law Of Property Division In Native American Divorce, Vickie Enis

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Divorcees Turn About In Their Graves As Ex-Spouses Cash In: Codified Constructive Trusts Ensure An Equitable Result Regarding Erisa-Governed Employee Benefit Plans, Sarabeth A. Rayho

Michigan Law Review

A revocation-by-divorce statute essentially nullifies a devise in a divorced decedent's will when the devise bequeaths property to the decedent's ex-spouse and the will was executed during their marriage. Until recently, state revocation-by-divorce statutes unquestionably applied not only to wills but also to will substitutes, including ERISA-governed employee benefit plans. In 2001, the Supreme Court held in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff ex rel. Breiner that ERISA preempts traditional state revocation-by-divorce statutes as applied to ERISA-governed employee benefit plans. In the wake of the Egelhoff decision, plan administrators may automatically pay proceeds to the listed beneficiary, even an ex-spouse, regardless of the …

Title Doesn't Matter, Does It?: An Analysis Of Kentucky's Property Disposition Law And Its Treatment Of Transmutation, Russell W. Goff

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Looking At Marriage, Naomi Cahn

Michigan Law Review

In a recent book (not the subject of this Review), highly successful and popular authors John Gottman and Nan Silver set out their seven effective principles for making a marriage last. The final suggestion is that spouses should "create shared meaning, an inner life together that is rich with symbols and family rituals and that honors the hopes of both partners." In a happy marriage, the couples not only provide support for each other, but also "build a sense of purpose into their lives together." Professor Gottman has developed these principles as a result of twenty years of research and …

The Problem Of Selecting A Valuation Date For Property Subject To Equitable Distribution In New York

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Classifying Marital And Separate Property--Combinations And Increase In Value Of Separate Property, Joan M. Krauskopf

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Using Formulas To Separate Marital And Nonmarital Property: A Policy Oriented Approach To The Division Of Appreciated Property Upon Divorce, Louise Everett Graham

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Distrubution Of Marital Real Property Upon Divorce In West Virginia: The Need For Legislative Reform, John F. Cyrus

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Legal Effect Of Marital Separation Agreements Upon Community Property Status: Is It Time To Amend The Constitutional Definition Of Wife's Separate Property., Teresa A. Hunter

St. Mary's Law Journal

The present constitutional definition of married women’s separate property serves to protect the wife’s property rights and to preserve the community property system in Texas. However, the policy reasons for the constitutional definition no longer apply, since there is no present danger of the legislature reducing the property rights of married women or abandoning the community property system. Further, the needs and customs of the people of Texas have changed since the adoption of the original Texas Constitution in 1845. Today, it is estimated that thirty percent of couples who marry in the United States eventually divorce and sixty percent …

Family Law And The Pennsylvania Equal Rights Amendment, Albert Momjian

Villanova Law Review

No abstract provided.

Restoration Of Property: Illusory Barrier To Interspousal Gifts, Jennifer Burcham Coffman

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Commingling Of Separate And Community Funds: The Requirement Of Tracing In Texas., Charles J. Fitzpatrick

St. Mary's Law Journal

The status of specific items of property as separate or community property is a frequent subject of divorce litigation in Texas. Spouses will have unfriendly presumptions in favor of the community estate when separate property funds have been commingled. Rebutting these presumptions requires the spouse to trace the original separate property into the particular assets on hand at the time of the dispute. As Texas case law illustrates, however, tracing can be difficult, and a court’s strict adherence to it can cause harsh and often inequitable results. Although there have been instances of courts allowing less than specific tracing, these …

Divorce--Sale Of Property By Court Order, Thomas Mckendree Chattin Jr., F. Richard Hall, John Woodville Hatcher Jr.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Selected Tax Aspects Of Divorce And Property Settlements

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Wills - Revocation By Change In Circumstances - Effect Of A Separation And Property Settlement Agreement, Paul R. Haerle

Michigan Law Review

Testator's will, executed in 1944, named his wife executrix and sole devisee. One month before his death in 1952 he entered into a detailed separation and property settlement agreement with her in which, though not referring directly to the will, the wife released any present, future or after-acquired interest in the same realty as was devised in the will. The widow's offering of the will for probate was contested by the heirs. The lower court directed a verdict for the contestants on the ground that the agreement operated to revoke the will. On appeal, held, reversed. Since neither a …

Cecil V. Farmers National Bank--Termination Of Limited Divorces, Robert C. Moffit

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Mortgages - Subrogation Of A Volunteer, Herbert R. Whiting

Michigan Law Review

After the marriage of the plaintiff to Victor Scheutz the latter's mother conveyed certain property to Victor and his sister, Viola, subject to an outstanding mortgage which the grantees assumed. Immediately after the completion of this transaction Victor and Viola, with plaintiff joining to release her dower, executed deeds of reconveyance to their mother. Thereafter Victor, Viola, and their mother, and plaintiff used the premises as a summer cottage until 1939, when plaintiff was granted a divorce. In 1932 upon request by the mortgagee for part payment of the mortgage debt plaintiff paid it in full. In this action, instituted …

Conflict Of Laws - Foreign Marriage - Dower

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff was divorced in the District of Columbia on the ground of her adultery with defendant's intestate. A statute of the District provided that the innocent party only may remarry. With no intention of evading the statute, plaintiff and defendant's intestate established a domicil in Florida and were there married. On the death of the latter in the District of Columbia, plaintiff claimed a dower interest in real estate located there. Held, plaintiff can recover. Loughran v. Loughran, 292 U. S. 216, 54 Sup. Ct. 684 (1934), reversing Loughran v. Loughran, (App. D. C. 1933) 66 F. …