Family Law Commons^™

No Chance To Prove Themselves: The Rights Of Mentally Disabled Parents Under The Americans With Disabilities Act And State Law, Dale Margolin Cecka

Law Faculty Publications

This article explores the relationship between state child welfare laws that terminate parental rights and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The article begins by analyzing the application of the ADA to termination of parental rights proceedings against parents with mental disabilities. It then surveys state child welfare laws, focusing on the treatment of parents under New York State law. The article concludes by advocating for a change to reflect the principles of the ADA in state laws and in practice.

Marriage And Some Troubling Issues With No-Fault Divorce, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

The purpose of this Article is to challenge these erroneous assumptions, that fault is "no longer an issue" in modem American divorce law, and that a spouse on divorce should not be compensated for his or her non-economic contributions to the marriage and to the well-being of the family.

Still Part Of The Clan: Representing Elders In The Family Law Practice, Sy Moskowitz

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Islamic Perspective On Domestic Violence, Azizah Y. Al-Hibri

Law Faculty Publications

In this Article, the author addresses the traditional Islamic view of domestic violence. To understand the Islamic perspective on domestic violence, the author will explore the Islamic view of gender relations, especially within the family. This view is rooted in the Qur'an, which is examined in this Article.

Separation, Custody, And Estate Planning Issues Relating To Companion Animals, Rebecca J. Huss

Law Faculty Publications

This article first discusses the domestication of companion animals, including the impact of anthropomorphism and neoteny on how animals are viewed in U.S. society. Second, it reviews the current legal status of animals. Third, it considers the voluntary and involuntary separation of companion animals from their human families. Fourth, it examines custody issues in the context of the placement of animals after the divorce of the human family members. Finally, it analyzes estate planning issues relating to companion animals.

Incentives For Hiring Welfare-To-Work Participants, Mary L. Heen

Law Faculty Publications

The Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002, signed into law by President Bush on March 9th, extends the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) and the Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit (WtW) for two more years. The credits provide employers with tax incentives to hire former long-term welfare recipients and certain other economically disadvantaged workers, a goal that comports with the welfare-to-work focus of welfare reform legislation adopted by Congress in 1996. This article describes these employer tax credits, explains how they have evolved from prior versions of similar targeted tax credits, and considers their operation as tax-delivered subsidies.

Adult Children And Indigent Parents: Intergenerational Responsibilities In International Perspective, Seymour Moskowitz

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Denied Visitation, Its Impact On Children's Psychological Adjustment, And A Nationwide Review Of State Code, Adrienne E. Volenik

Law Faculty Publications

Denied visitation occurs when one parent prevents the other parent from court mandated visitation allowances with the child. This complex issue affects many families of divorce, but unfortunately is an understudied topic. Additionally, the literature that is available on denied visitation suffers from methodological challenges that are inherent to the complexity of the subject. Denied visitation is not a homogeneous event, but one that is conceptualized into two major categories: appropriate (i.e., concerning safety of the child) and inappropriate (i.e., involving interparent hostility). These two types of denied visitation are further divided into subcategories based on a review of the …

Reflecting Reality: Adding Elder Abuse And Neglect To Legal Education, Seymour H. Moskowitz

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Ali Principles: A Farewell To Fault--But What Remedy For The Egregious Marital Misconduct Of An Abusive Spouse, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

The fundamental premise of this commentary is that the ALl has erred in not including appropriate nonfinancial fault-based factors in the Principles for three major reasons: 1) other no-fault laws, including no-fault automobile insurance law, no-fault workers compensation law, and strict liability in tort law, have all incorporated a number of fault-based exceptions to their general no-fault framework for serious or egregious conduct, and American divorce law should likewise have a similar fault-based exception for serious or egregious marital misconduct; 2) a substantial number of states continue to recognize and utilize a number of fault-based statutory factors in divorce for …

Child Care, Welfare Reform, And Taxes, Mary L. Heen

Law Faculty Publications

The welfare reform legislation passed by Congress last year makes significant changes in the social welfare system, followed this year by contrasting shifts in the. federal tax system's treatment of families with children. This article discusses how the. welfare and tax law changes affect overall child care policy and funding levels for work-related child care, and evaluates the newly enacted child tax credit and the existing child care tax credit in light of their combined effects on low income working families.

At The Intersection Of Bankruptcy And Divorce: Property Division Debts Under The Bankruptcy Reform Act Of 1994, Meredith Johnson Harbach

Law Faculty Publications

Bankruptcy has long had unique implications for divorce settlements and debts between ex-spouses. Historically, some marital debts owed from one ex-spouse to another were excepted from the traditional policy of "discharge. " Bankruptcy law distinguished between debts in the nature of alimony, maintenance, and support, which were protected from discharge, and property division debts, which were not. This distinction often had harsh consequences for creditor ex-spouses. Reeently, Congress enacted the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1994, in part to ameliorate this problem. The amended Bankruptcy Code providP..s better protection for some property division debts. In this Note, Ms. Johnson argues that …

Reassessing Fault Factors In No-Fault Divorce, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is not to "turn back the clock" through the rehabilitation of fault grounds as the sole means for securing a divorce in America. Rather, this article will explore the ways in which fault-based factors, when applied to serious or egregious marital misconduct that significantly contributes to the marital breakdown, may still be utilized in order to bring about enhanced social, economic, and legal protection to spouses on divorce, while concurrently establishing a greater sense of responsibility and accountability in marital relationships.

Welfare Reform, The Child Care Dilemma, And The Tax Code: Family Values, The Wage Labor Market, And The Race-And-Class-Based Double Standard, Mary L. Heen

Law Faculty Publications

In the winter of 1996, Steve Forbes--publisher, heir, and presidential candidate--captured the American imagination with his proposal for a flat tax. But while Mr. Forbes claimed that such a tax would level the economic playing field by eliminating countless loopholes and miles of red tape, his actual proposal betrayed such claims to fairness by overtaxing workers and undertaxing financial capital.

In the face of recent proposals for dramatic and far-reaching tax reform, Taxing America takes a critical look at the way the federal government collects its revenue and exposes the bias at the heart of a system which claims to …

Bottoms V. Bottoms: In Whose Best Interest? Analysis Of A Lesbian Mother Child Custody Dispute, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

This Article traces and analyzes the series of legal and factual events leading up to the Virginia Supreme Court's contradictory and controversial decision in Bottoms v. Bottoms.

The Last-In-Time Marriage Presumption, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

The typical scenario for the last-in-time marriage presumption is not as unusual as one might expect: A husband (or wife) has unexpectedly died, and the bereaved surviving spouse is in the process of bringing a legal proceeding that may include a probate action, a wrongful death action, a suit for social security benefits, a workers' compensation action, a life insurance action, or another legal action for related compensatory, probate, or insurance benefits. However, during the pendency of these actions a former wife comes forward, claiming that she has never been divorced from her deceased spouse and that she, rather than …

Marriage And Divorce: Legal Foundations, Azizah Y. Al-Hibri

Law Faculty Publications

This unique reference is a comprehensive encyclopedia dedicated to the institutions, religion, politics, and culture in Muslim societies throughout the world. Placing particular emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World contains over 750 articles in four volumes on Muslims in the Arab heartland as well as South and Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

An invaluable resource, the Encyclopedia offers extensive comparative and systematic analyses of Islamic beliefs, institutions, movements, practices, and peoples on an international scale. The alphabetically arranged articles range from brief 500-word essays to major interpretive and synthetic treatment …

Proving The Validity Of Marriage, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

The importance of proving the validity of a marriage is not limited to the practice of family and has far-reaching social, legal, and economic implications in other areas of the law as well. For example, wrongful death statutes in Virginia limit recovery of a statutory beneficiary to the legal spouse rather than the de facto spouse. Other areas of the law including intestate succession and probate law, real property law, Social Security benefits, worker's compensation statutes, insurance benefits, and spousal support rights are likewise directly affected by the validity of a marriage.

Thus, a Virginia practitioner, during the course of …

Nondivorce Support And Property Rights, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Drafting Cohabitation, Antenuptial, And Reconciliation Agreements, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Foreign Migratory Divorces: A Reappraisal, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

The purpose of this Article is to review and reappraise the important legal principles involved in foreign country migratory divorces; to discuss the various public policy rationales behind them; and to suggest possible remedies to alleviate much of this ambiguity and confusion.

In undertaking this evaluation, the author is mindful of dual responsibilities-that divorce law in this area should be predictable and uniform in order to maintain the authority of legal precedent; but at the same time it must attempt to approximate, as closely as possible, the clearly demonstrated needs of society.

The Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege In Child Placement: A Relevancy Analysis, Thomas F. Guernsey

Law Faculty Publications

In any child placement decision, the predominant consideration is the welfare of the child. Accordingly, the most widely used test in determining child custody is clearly the "best interests of the child" standard. Despite its relatively old vintage, the standard continues to represent a nebulous concept that courts have rarely been able to define with precision. Because of its open-ended nature, the best interests of the child standard makes relevant a wide range of evidence pertaining to the fitness of the parents and the environment in which the child will be raised. it is in determining these facts that child …

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.