Family Law Commons^™

Lawyers, Mediation, And The Management Of Divorce Practice, Craig A. Mcewen, Lynn M. Mather, Richard J. Maiman

Journal Articles

Despite a widespread assumption that divorce mediation and divorce lawyers are incompatible, lawyers do play active-if largely unexamined-roles in many mediation programs. This article reports on the work of lawyers in a state with mandatory mediation. We find that lawyers in Maine have generally embraced mediation because it helps them manage problems inherent in divorce practice. Mandated divorce mediation facilitates both settlement negotiation and trial preparation, permits client participation in decisionmaking without requiring lawyers to surrender control, provides a forum for resolving both legal and nonlegal issues, and promotes efficient case management.

Comment On Jana Singer's Alimony And Efficiency, Margaret F. Brinig

Journal Articles

I propose to make three comments on Professor Singer's article. First, I will present my views on the limitations of law and economics when applied to family law. Second, I will discuss why specialization between husbands and wives is not necessarily efficient, and perhaps not even the best use of law and economics in the study of the family. Finally, and perhaps most controversially, I will question whether there are gender differences that should impact alimony law.

Finite Horizons: The American Family, Margaret F. Brinig

Journal Articles

In the summer of 1992, while I was reading and thinking about Martha Minow's latest book, I was struck with my double role as a responsible adult. Vacationing in the north woods of Wisconsin with my mother, I suddenly needed to care for her as well as my own small children. Generational connections, important before, swelled hugely in crisis. As I caught my breath between hospital runs and kids' activities, I was thankful that I had received so much from my parents during my childhood. And I resolved to rethink the relationships between parents and children, adults and elderly.

Policy …

Marriage And Opportunism, Margaret F. Brinig, Steven M. Crafton

Journal Articles

Spouse abuse is no longer a secret. It has become a thorn in America's conscience. Abuse even warranted a lengthy Supreme Court discussion in an opinion on abortion. It is certainly worth thinking about whether anything systemic caused the apparent outbreak of violence in the home. If there is a legal "fix" that would remove incentives to abuse, and therefore reduce the incidence of abuse at the margin, we should know about it.

It is the thesis of this article that increased abuse and other undesirable behavior is a natural consequence of the fact that in some states the marriage …

Trading At Divorce: Preferences, Legal Rules And Transactions Costs, Margaret F. Brinig, Michael V. Alexeev

Journal Articles

For almost ten years, legal commentators have been aware of the possibility of applying economic bargaining principles to the problems of negotiations at the time of divorce. Although some cases and journal articles have mentioned the Mnookin and Komhauser article suggesting that custodial time and financial assets might be exchanged, attempts to apply the analysis have been confined to description. No one has attempted an empirical study to see if there really are trade-offs between custodial time and marital assets at the time of divorce, and there has been no formal model describing the process.

Furthermore, there has been no …

Gender And Specialization In The Practice Of Divorce Law, Richard J. Maiman, Lynn M. Mather, Craig A. Mcewen

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Marriage: Feminist Ideology, Economic Change, And Divorce Reform, Margaret F. Brinig, June Carbone

Journal Articles

Making sense of divorce requires making sense of marriage. Yet, while the legal literature abounds with publications about the difficulties with modern divorce, it rarely mentions marriage. What is the role of marriage in the modern era? Does it continue to involve a lifelong commitment? Does it depend on the perpetuation of different roles assigned by gender? Should marriage remain the principal focus of societal provisions for childrearing? What is the role of the state in regulating this most intimate of relationships?

This Article attempts to address these questions by working backwards. With the decline in the importance of religion …

Removing Nonconforming Child Support Payments From The Shadow Of The Rule Against Retroactive Modification: A Proposal For Judicial Discretion, John Eric Smithburn

Journal Articles

Whether and under what circumstances a parent who is ordered to pay child support is entitled to credit against a child support arrearage is one of the most vexing problems for the family court. Some courts consistently demand strict adherence to a child support order and do not permit retroactive modification. Other courts have allowed retroactive modification of support decrees when equity dictates. A recent amendment to the Social Security Act, however, prohibits retroactive modification of child support orders, leaving a number of unanswered questions concerning credit requests for nonconforming support payments.

This Article explores the problems created by nonconforming …

Looking Toward The Future: Feminism And Reproductive Technologies, Isabel Marcus, Rhonda Copelon, Ruth Hubbard, Barbara Katz Rothman, Barbara Omolade

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Locked In And Locked Out: Reflections In The History Of Divorce Law Reform In New York State, Isabel Marcus

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Reliance Interest In Marriage And Divorce, Margaret F. Brinig, June Carbone

Journal Articles

The first part of this article examines the changing nature of reliance on marriage as the relationship between the spouses and the role of the family has changed. The second section defines the ‘reliance interest,’ as that term has been used to describe contract damages, discusses its application to marriage, and examines the implications for the role of ‘fault’ in the financial allocations to be made upon divorce. The third section describes the varying state reactions to the adoption of no fault divorce and assesses the ability of existing law to protect the reliance interest in marriage. Finally, this article …

Reflections On The Significance Of The Sex/Gender System: Divorce Law Reform In New York, Isabel Marcus

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Abortion—Whose Decision?, Geoffrey Bennett, Christina M. Lyon

Journal Articles

Major Points

• The decision in Paton v. Trustees of B.P.A.S.
• Does a husband's "veto power" exist in English Law?
• The rights of the Foetus in English Law
• The rights of the "illegitimate father"
• The American position
• Some reflections

Abortion—The Female, The Foetus And The Father, Geoffrey Bennett, Christina M. Lyon

Journal Articles

The recent case of Paton v. Trustees of B.P.A.S. raised an issue never previously canvassed before an English court, namely: does a husband have any rights in English law to prevent his wife having a lawful abortion within the terms of the Abortion Act 1967? Apart from its interest as a case of first impression in an area of the law which has never been devoid of controversy, the case raised directly or by implication fundamental questions about the control of family life and the rights and duties of those in any way connected with it. Should the final decision …

Natural Law And The Marriage Of Christians, Robert E. Rodes

Journal Articles

Traditional Catholic marriage doctrine is under a good deal of pressure these days, and much of the pressure seems to come from canonists. It is not surprising that this should be the case. The ideal of Christian lovers giving themselves to one another irrevocably, and living out their commitment, with God's help, until death has lost none of its attractiveness. But as the canonists reflect on what they are doing, they become increasingly disturbed by their inability to offer a practical way out to people who have signally failed to implement the ideal in their lives.

Nevertheless, it seems to …

Abortion: The Court Decides A Non-Case, Joseph O'Meara

Journal Articles

It took the Supreme Court 105 years to discover that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees a personal right of privacy that invalidates state statutes forbidding abortion except to save the mother's life. As Mr. Justice Rehnquist pointed out, in a dissent that no member of the Court attempted to answer, at least thirty-six states had such anti-abortion statutes when the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted. None was attacked on the ground that they offended the newly adopted amendment. The only conclusion possible from this history is that the drafters did not intend to have the Fourteenth Amendment withdraw from the States the …

The Federal Income Tax Effects Of The Missouri Version Of The Uniform Divorce Act, Alan Gunn

Journal Articles

The marital property provisions of the new Missouri divorce law render the tax treatment of property transfers and alimony payments unclear. As to property transfers, the problem is that the new law appears to give the wife an interest in property that previously would have been regarded as belonging to the husband. Since this is so, it is possible to argue that a “transfer” of appreciated property to the wife is part of a “division” of property between “co-owners,” and therefore not taxable. Although transfers of appreciated property in connection with a divorce are usually taxable, divisions of community property …

Abortion And Legal Rationality, John M. Finnis

Journal Articles

This article concerns the legitimacy of various legal schemes for dealing with abortion. Legitimacy in one sense is secured simply by complying with the formal criteria for valid law-making: enactment within power and in due form. But jurists have learned (or re-learned) that more can be said about legitimacy, without betraying the purity of their discipline by moralizing and advocacy. From this development in jurisprudential thought emerges the range of questions and criteria deployed in the present study.

Study In Special Findings Of Facts And Conclusions Of Law, Francis Joseph Vurpillat

Journal Articles

These findings of fact and conclusions of law were prepared and filed by the writer as Judge of the Starke Circuit Court of Indiana, in the case of Friebe vs. Elder etl al. A new trial as of right was immediately granted the plaintiff under the statute directing the trial court to grant a new trial without cause, upon the filing of the application and bond by the aggrieved party. A special judge tried the case anew and filed substantially the same findings and conclusions. From the second judgment the case was appealed to the Appellate Court of Indiana and …