Family Law Commons^™

Overview Of Virginia Supreme Court Cases On Domestic Relations: 1970-1980, Peter N. Pross

University of Richmond Law Review

The Supreme Court of Virginia examined a variety of domestic relations problems and issues during the last decade. Most of the court's decisions involved divorce issues such as jurisdiction, alimony or support and maintenance, and child custody or support orders. However, the court also decided cases on annulment, the enforcement of support and maintenance decrees, legitimacy and paternity, adoption, name changes and intrafamily tort immunity.

The Legislative Abrogation Of Interspousal Immunity In Virginia, Lisa Anderson-Lloyd

University of Richmond Law Review

Is a wife who hires someone to murder her husband liable in tort for the injuries he sustains in the murder attempt? The Virginia Supreme Court faced just this question in 1980 in Counts v. Counts. In light of the partial abrogation of the doctrine of interspousal immunity by the Virginia Supreme Court during the 1970's in wrongful death actions and inactions for damages in motor vehicle accident cases, a well reasoned prediction would have anticipated a further erosion of the doctrine. In Counts, however, the court disallowed the interspousal suit for an intentional tort, signaling that it had no …

Support Of The Surviving Spouse And Minor Children In Virginia: Proposed Legislation V. Present Law, J. Rodney Johnson

University of Richmond Law Review

The death of any person creates for the decedent's family a number of problems of varying degrees of difficulty and immediacy. When the decedent's family consists of a surviving spouse and/or minor children who were dependent upon the decedent for their support, these problems have the highest degree of immediacy. If a question exists concerning the solvency of the decedent's estate the immediacy is compounded by a high degree of difficulty in finding viable solutions to these problems. In addition to having to cope with the tragedy of the personal loss caused by the death, the family must also cope …

The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act In Virginia, Elizabeth Carrington Shuff

University of Richmond Law Review

Due to the dramatic rise over the last decade in the number of child custody disputes between parents who are geographically separated, courts increasingly are faced with interstate litigation and its attendant legal and emotional problems. Because foreign state custody decrees traditionally have been viewed as modifiable and therefore have not been accorded the respect given to final decrees, parents who lose in one state have been encouraged to seek a more favorable forum in a second state. By employing such self-help methods as "child snatching,"' a parent can avail himself of a second day in court.

Termination Of Parental Rights-An Analysis Of Virginia's Statute, Barbara M. Rose

University of Richmond Law Review

The act of terminating parental rights-the total and permanent severance of the parent-child relationship-is an example of extreme intervention by the state in an individual's private interests. It involves the complex interrelations of a trilogy: the parents' natural rights, the child's personal interests, and the state's interest in the welfare of its citizens.

Post-Parham Remedies: The Involuntary Commitment Of Minors In Virginia After Parham V. J.R., Willis J. Spaulding

University of Richmond Law Review

This case raises the most important question of every child's constitutional right to liberty, not only the liberty that includes freedom from bodily restraint [citation omitted], but also the liberty that includes the freedom of an ordinary, every-day child in these United States of America-the freedom to live with mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters in whatever the family abode may be; the freedom to be loved and to be spanked; the freedom to go in and oat the door, to run and play, to laugh and cry, to fight and fuss, to stand up and fall down, to play childish …

A Family Court For Virginia, Frederick P. Aucamp

University of Richmond Law Review

The 1976 and 1977 sessions of the General Assembly of Virginia established a legislative study commission to consider the establishment of a family court system in Virginia. The study was conducted by the Family Court Subcommittee of the Virginia Advisory Legislative Council Committee to Study Services to Youthful Offenders, and its report was submitted to the Governor and to the General Assembly on January 6, 1978.

Children And The Law - Foreword, Birch Bayh

University of Richmond Law Review

As a parent, legislator, and former Chairman of the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency, the problems of the youth of our nation are very close to my heart. I think that raising a young person is one of the most difficult and important challenges that a person can ever face. Our collective success or failure in raising young people actually determines the future of the country. Happy, secure and well-educated youth will be effective, productive and useful citizens. Young people who have been beaten, starved, or deprived of love have accounted for the major portion of …

The Revision Of Virginia's Juvenile Court Law, Lelia Baum Hopper, Frank M. Slayton

University of Richmond Law Review

Since 1899, the year in which the state of Illinois established a separate statutory framework for addressing the problems of children before the courts, the juvenile justice system has been struggling to establish its identity in the jurisprudence of the United States. The juvenile court laws of this country, including those of the Commonwealth of Virginia, have historically been based on the doctrine of "parens patriae", which is formally defined as the "sovereign power of guardianship over persons under disability."' According to this doctrine, the state, through the court system, can be trusted to fulfill its obligation with respect to …

Divorce Planning In Antenuptial Agreements: Toward A New Objectivity, Peter Nash Swisher

University of Richmond Law Review

Within the past fifty years, there have been numerous articles written about the validity and enforceability of antenuptial agreements. Such agreements are generally favored by the law when prospective spouses privately contract to vary, limit, or relinquish certain rights which they would otherwise acquire in each other's property or in each other's estate by reason of their impending marriage. Traditionally, this antenuptial agreement is typically made by older people who are about to be remarried, and who have acquired considerable property from a prior marriage that they wish to control.

Constitutional Implications Of Parental Support Laws, Martin R. Levy, Sara W. Gross

University of Richmond Law Review

This article addresses the constitutionality of those statutes known as "parental support laws" or "relative support statutes" in light of the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution. These statutes impose upon a person the duty to support an indigent parent or other impoverished relatives. This article focuses only on the statutory duty of children-under threat of punishment-to support indigent parents. In order to pass Constitutional muster under the requirements of the equal protection clause, there must be established at least a rational relationship between the class designated by the statute and the objective of …

Children's Rights: A Movement In Search Of Meaning, Stephen W. Bricker

University of Richmond Law Review

The children's rights movement is a unique phenomenon among the various "rights" efforts today. Nonetheless, it shares some superficial similarities with the other antildiscrimination movements. Children's rights, like those of blacks and women, concern the role of an identifiable segment of our society which has traditionally been placed at a legal and social disadvantage. The children's rights movement also espouses the reallocation of legal power as a means to correct this perceived imbalance. Further, it grew out of the same social currents, first apparent in the 1950's and 1960's, which produced the kindred civil rights efforts.

Federal Youth Corrections Act: The Continuing Charade, Wilfred J. Ritz

University of Richmond Law Review

No one will ever know, at least with any certainty, whether more harm than good has been done by the Federal Youth Corrections Act. The Act was enacted by Congress in 1950 upon the recommendation of a committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. The youth offenders who have benefited under YCA are those who have committed the most serious crimes, such as murder, robbery, and rape, and those with the longest records of serious criminal conduct. Because of the YCA, some of these dangerous offenders have received less severe sentences, and some have been released on parole …

Divorce Planning In Antenuptial Agreements: Toward A New Objectivity, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

Within the past fifty years, there have been numerous articles written about the validity and enforceability of antenuptial agreements. Such agreements are generally favored by the law when prospective spouses privately contract to vary, limit, or relinquish certain rights which they would otherwise acquire in each other's property or in each other's estate by reason of their impending marriage. Traditionally, this antenuptial agreement is typically made by older people who are about to be remarried, and who have acquired considerable property from a prior marriage that they wish to control.

However, unless the antenuptial agreement provisions fall squarely within this …

Proof Of Paternity - The New Test, J. Rodney Johnson

Law Faculty Publications

The true identity of a child's father has been the subject of speculation in many a case, literally speaking, as far back as the memory of man runneth. And, the rather obvious social problem giving occasion to this speculation refuses to remain a facet of our moral history. Indeed, if statistics relating to the number of illegitimate births in the United States can be viewed as a valid indicator of the magnitude of this problem of speculative paternity in contemporary times, the problem has never been greater.

The "Tender Years" Doctrine In Virginia, Deborah M. Russell

University of Richmond Law Review

In several recent decisions in the domestic relations area, the Virginia Supreme Court has significantly altered the "tender years" doctrine to afford fathers more rights in custody of their young children. This aspect of child custody litigation is actually a corollary of the overall maternal preference rule in resolving custody disputes between natural parents. Specifically, the doctrine purports that the mother is the natural custodian of her children of "tender years," and that she should not be denied custody if she is a fit and proper person. This comment will focus primarily upon the evolution of this concept in Virginia. …

Does Virginia Deny Indigents The Right To Divorce?, Jackson M. Bruce

University of Richmond Law Review

The United States Supreme Court in Boddie v. Connecticut held that a state denies due process of law to indigent persons by refusing to permit them to bring divorce actions except on payment of court fees and service-of-process costs. Virginia allows a waiver of court fees by its in forma paupersstatute, Va. Code Ann. § 14.1-183 (Repl. Vol. 1977), but the Commonwealth continues to require indigents to serve by newspaper publication any non-resident defendant who otherwise cannot be served. Newspaper publication costs in the city of Richmond approximate $150. This practice directly confronts the Boddie mandate that ". . . …

Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, Emily M. Trapnell

University of Richmond Law Review

A significant piece of legislation, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, introduced for the second time in 1978, has been held over for consideration by the 1979 General Assembly. Passed by the Senate in 1977, the bill implementing the Act was killed in the House that year because, according to the bill's patron, Senator Joseph V. Gartlan, Jr., the short session in 1977 failed to provide sufficient time for House members to study the legislation. But Senator Gartlan is optimistic about the bill's chances in 1979 and this Comment proposes not only to explicate the major provisions of the Act …

Inheritance Rights Of Children In Virginia, J. Rodney Johnson

University of Richmond Law Review

The rights of children to succeed to a deceased ancestor's property interests in Virginia are treated in some fifteen separate sections of the Virgina Code. The first of these sections was contained in Virginia's original code of descent and distribution which was enacted in October, 1785, and the last of these sections was enacted by the 1974 session of the General Assembly. When one considers that these fifteen sections were enacted over a period of 189 years, as the result of legislation introduced by various individuals who were at any given time focusing on a particular portion of this larger …

Statutory Changes In Child Placement, Kathleen S. Mehfoud

University of Richmond Law Review

Based on recommendations by the Joint Subcommittee on the Placement of Children for Adoption, [hereinafter cited as the Subcommittee], the 1978 Session of the General Assembly made significant changes in the adoption statutes. The study by the Subcommittee was authorized during the 1977 Session following the introduction of several bills which would have permitted physicians and attorneys to participate in child placement without being licensed. The Assembly felt that such an important issue was deserving of closer scrutiny and therefore commissioned the study. The Subcommittee was directed to probe with particular care the special case of "independent adoptions," that is, …

Support V. Alimony In Virginia: It's Time To Use The Revised States, Joel H. Holt

University of Richmond Law Review

The concept of alimony has been a traditional fixture in the law of divorce ever since the early common law. Since the church was the foundation for the institution of marriage, it was only logical that the separation of husband and wife was a matter for the ecclesiastical courts in early England. Ecclesiastical decrees, however, did not dissolve the marriage but only resulted in a "legal" separation, commonly known as a divorce a mensa et thoro. In making such a decree, it was obviously necessary for the courts to make a discretionary award of support for the wife since at …

Married Women And The Name Game, William C. Matthews Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

The power and force of a name are often underestimated in today's society. For centuries, social and political struggles have often been reflected in struggles over names and the naming process. Names have often been used as a means of insuring allegiance and fealty, as when King John required conquered Welsh insurgents to adopt names identifying them as King John's subjects. In the early 1900's, the resentment against immigrants resulted in strong pleas to prevent them from adopting more common names which disguised their immigrant ancestry. Today, the issue of a married woman's legal name reflects a continuing struggle over …

Family Law-Putative Father Denied Custody Under Restrictive Interpretation Of His Rights

University of Richmond Law Review

Under the common law, the illegitimate child was deemed nullius filius, no man's son. However, our courts have gradually granted the illegitimate substantially the same rights as those afforded the legitimate child. Unlike the child, the putative father, who originally was free from any obligation to his offspring, has encountered the same duties as the father of a legitimate child notwithstanding the fact that he is afforded few of the parental rights.

Solomon's Sword: Adjudication Of Child Custody Questions, Robert E. Shepherd Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

It is significant that this story from the reign of King Solomon in the tenth century B.C. uses as its setting a battle over child custody to illustrate the legendary "wisdom of Solomon."' It is equally meaningful that after the passage of some three thousand years of civilization and supposed social progress, a twentieth century Amer- ican judge could remark that "a judge agonizes more about reaching the right result in a contested custody issue than about any other type decision he renders." And this agony intrudes into an ever-increasing number of cases.

Interspousal Immunity-Automobile Negligence

University of Richmond Law Review

At common law neither spouse could maintain an action against the other. With the passage of the Married Woman's Acts in the mid-nineteenth century it was agreed that a cause of action would then lie for property torts, but there was confusion as to whether the statutes gave a new cause of action for personal torts between the spouses. It therefore became a question of statutory interpretation, with the terminology of most of the statutes being consistent with either conclusion. The first courts to interpret the statutes held that no cause of action had been conferred and thereby laid the …

Recent Legislation, J. Rodney Johnson

University of Richmond Law Review

The 1972 session of the General Assembly was especially active in the areas of wills, trusts, and estates. Much of this legislation deals with fine points not affecting the average lawyer in his practice. However, the following items of legislation should be of general interest to the attorney whose practice involves probate work or estate planning, even though he does not hold himself out as a specialist in these areas.

Blood Grouping Tests And The Presumption Of Legitimacy

University of Richmond Law Review

This comment deals briefly with the presumption that a child born to a married couple is the legitimate issue of that marriage. The status of this presumption in Virginia is considered in light of the Virginia statute authorizing the use of blood grouping tests in certain cases where the paternity of a child born during wedlock is at issue. The constitutionality of such tests is not within the scope of this comment.

Parental Immunity- Its Effect On Vicarious Liability

University of Richmond Law Review

Parental immunity prohibits a child from instituting a suit against his parent for a personal tort. However, when a child has sustained injury as a result of his parent's tortious act committed in the course of his employment, and the child seeks recovery against his parent's employer under the doctrine of respondeat superior, the majority of jurisdictions feel that this immunity is purely personal and should not be extended to the employer.

Recent Decisions

University of Richmond Law Review

This is a summary of the case law that was decided in 1970.

Recent Legislation

University of Richmond Law Review

This is a list of the recent legislation from 1970.