Family Law Commons^™

The Long-Arm's Inappropriate Embrace, Lynda Wray Black

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Arguably, the heart balm torts have outlived their relevance in a society where marriage is no longer a necessary imprimatur for intimate relations, and where broken hearts and failed marriages are the statistical norm. A state’s resolute rejection of the heart balm torts in principle as well as applied to modern domestic relations mores need be checked neither by Constitutional protections of marriage nor by the need for uniformity among sister states. Therefore, one state need not and must not transport its domestic relations public policy across state lines. Mississippi’s expansive jurisdictional embrace of nonresidents, John Daly and Anna …

Mediating Towards Forgiveness & Family Reconciliation In Divorce; Select Issues In Dispute Resolution: Apology & Forgiveness, Selina J. Shultz

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This paper examines the importance of forgiveness and the rebuilding of trust in the reconciliation of the family during and after a divorce, and contemplates the mediator’s role in leading the parties in this direction.

In Re Parental Rights As To A.D.L., 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 72 (Oct. 5, 2017), Alexis Wendl

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Nevada Supreme Court held that (1) requiring a parent to admit guilt to a criminal act in order to maintain his or her parental rights violates that parent’s Fifth Amendment rights; and (2) substantial evidence must demonstrate that terminating parental rights is in the best interest of the children when a parent overcomes the presumptions in NRS 128.109(1)-(2).

Mediator Or Judge?: California’S Mandatory Mediation Statute In Child Custody Disputes, Sofya Perelshteyn

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article will argue that mandatory mediation offers important benefits, including lightening the overloaded court system and capitalizing on the flexibility and personalization of mediation in certain kinds of disputes. This article will also discuss how allowing the mediator to provide recommendations to the judge after unsuccessful negotiations can shatter the basic tenets of mediation and create an altogether different process for the dispute. Furthermore, it will argue that California’s mandatory mediation statute creates a system more akin to litigation, since the parties are presenting their case to a mediator who wears the hat of both mediator and judge. In …

An Overview Of Religious Considerations In Child Custody Disputes, J. Michael Fitzgerald

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Dignity, Inequality, And Stereotypes, Luke A. Boso

Washington Law Review

In Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court held that same-sex marriage bans violate the Equal Protection Clause for two primary reasons. First, they subordinate; they send the message that lesbians and gays are inferior to heterosexuals. Second, they unequally deny lesbian and gay individuals the liberty to make fundamental decisions about identity and self. These two conjoined themes—anti-group subordination and pro-individual liberty—comprise the two pillars of “equal dignity” that anchor Obergefell’s holding. This Article proposes that these pillars also support the Court’s anti-stereotyping jurisprudence, and equal dignity is thus one important aspect of what the Equal Protection Clause …

Turner In The Trenches: A Study Of How Turner V. Rogers Affected Child Support Contempt Proceedings, Elizabeth Patterson

Faculty Publications

In its 2011 ruling in Turner v. Rogers, the Supreme Court held that a nonpaying child support obligor may not be incarcerated in a civil contempt proceeding if he did not have the ability to pay the ordered support or the purge necessary to regain his freedom. The Turner case arose in South Carolina, a state in which civil contempt proceedings are a routine part of the child support enforcement process. The author observed child support contempt proceedings in South Carolina both before and after the Turner decision to assess the extent to which indigent obligors were being held in …

Regulating Nonmarriage, Albertina Antognini

Law Faculty Popular Media

In the Closing Thoughts column of UK Law Notes, Prof. Albertina Antognini discusses her research on the regulation of nonmarriage. Two years have elapsed since the Supreme Court recognized the constitutional right to marry in the landmark case of Obergefell v. Hodges. Much ink has been spilled in the opinion’s aftermath by scholars who have in turn lauded it for its promotion of dignity and equality, criticized it for having a conservative vision of what marriage entails, or pored over its reasoning to better understand the future it has ushered in. Underlying the opinion, and the recent scholarly …

The Ecclesiastical Tribunals Field Hospital For Wounded Marriages: The New Matrimonial Processus Brevoir, Roberto Rosas

Faculty Articles

This article will focus on explaining the new marriage annulment processes of the Latin Church, which are found in the Motu proprio Mitis ludex Dominus lesus, although the same processes apply to the processes in the Eastern Churches. Any differences that exist between the two processes are due to the distinct ecclesiastical structure between one Church and another.

This explanation will advance the following points: (1) marriage; (2) reasons for a new matrimonial process; (3) guiding principles for the new process; (4) pastoral footprint of service to the faithful in ecclesiastic tribunals; (5) actualization of the ecclesiastic structure; (6) the …

Child Welfare's Scarlet Letter: How A Prior Termination Of Parental Rights Can Permanently Brand A Parent As Unfit, Vivek S. Sankaran

Articles

In many jurisdictions, once a parent has her rights terminated to one child, the State can use that decision to justify the termination of parental rights to another child. The State can do so regardless of whether the parent is fit to parent the second child. This article explores this practice, examines its origins, and discusses its constitutional inadequacies.

The Influence Of Parenting Model Toward Juvenile Delinquency And Its Prevention In West Sumatera, Efren Nova

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

This research was conducted with legal research methods that can be revealed how the law was perceived and implemented by the community through research Juridical Sociological including reviewing legal issue s as an integral part of the community or research approach which emphasizes the legal aspects with regard to the subject to be discussed, is associated with the fact in the field. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of the influence and the role of parents in caring and educating children through parenting models that cause juvenile delinquency, as well as the effortsthe parents' role in …

Gordon V. Geiger, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 69 (Sept. 27, 2017), Rex Martinez

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court held that, without notice, a permanent change to custody and visitation violates due process rights, and the affected party must be given the opportunity to respond and rebut the evidence. Further, when the district court conducts an alternative interview with a child, the interviews must be recorded and comply with the Uniform Child Witness Testimony by Alternative Methods Act.

Influences Of An "Annulment Mentality", Cornelius J. Van Der Poel, C.S.Sp

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

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 …

The Pro Bono Collaborative Project Spotlight 09-06-2017, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Pro Bono Collaborative Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Nonparental Childcare And Child Contact Orders For Grandparents, Jeffrey A. Parness, Alex Yorko

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Beware The Mammoni: My Search To Understand Domestic Violence In Italian-American Culture And Rhode Island's Family Court, Anne Grant

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Since I disapproved of stereotypes, I found myself trying to comprehend Italian-American culture after I became executive director of the largest shelter in Rhode Island for battered women and their children. Many of those I met were fleeing Italian-American men. On 60 Minutes, Lesley Stahl reported from Italy about the large number of single men who still live with their parents and are known as mammoni, or “mama’s boys.” Their mothers dutifully cook and clean for them. The Roman Catholic Church’s view of the Holy Family reinforces mammoni culture. I learned that Rome’s founding legend starts with men …

Fallout From Obergefell: The Dissolution Of Unconventional Adoptions To Pave The Way For Same-Sex Marriage Equality, Jodi B. Mileto

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Corporate Family Law, Allison Anna Tait

Northwestern University Law Review

There is no such thing as corporate family law. But there are corporate families, and corporate families fight. What happens when corporate family members fight and the conflict is so severe that one or more of the parties wants out of the corporate relationship? Corporate law provides some solutions, but they are shaped by the assumption that all parties will bargain effectively for protections when seeking to exit a corporate relationship. Under this theory, family business is, after all, just business. The problem with this assumption is that corporate family members do not bargain the way that corporate law expects. …

Should Compensated Surrogacy Be Permitted Or Prohibited?, Cornell Law School. International Human Rights Policy Advocacy Clinic, National Law University, Delhi

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Surrogacy provides a way for infertile people, as well as same-sex couples and single individuals, to become parents. Surrogacy is permitted in most states in the United States. In New York, however, surrogacy contracts are void and unenforceable according to a 1992 law. The Child-Parent Security Act of 2017 (the CPSA) would repeal this prohibition, make surrogacy agreements enforceable, and permit surrogates to be compensated for the gestational care they provide. In this report, we review the landscape of state laws in the United States, laws around the world, moral concerns that led to the adoption of the current New …

The Quality Of Life: From Roe To Quinlan And Beyond, Joseph Cincotta

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Arad Pinkas V. Committee For Approval Of Embryo Carrying Agreements Under The Embryo Carrying Agreements (Agreement Approval & Status Of The Newborn Child) Law, 5756-1996, Salim Joubran, Miriam Naor, Elyakim Rubinstein, Esther Hayut, Hanan Melcer

Translated Opinions

This petition seeks to increase access to the surrogacy process in Israel, which is in major part regulated in the Embryo Carrying Agreements (Approval of Agreement and Status of the Newborn) Law, 5756-1996 (hereinafter: Agreements Law), such that it will also apply to single-sex couples and to single people, either with or without a genetic link to the newborn. On July 17, 2017, the Embryo Carrying Agreements (Approval of Agreement and Status of the Newborn) (Amendment no. 2) Bill, 5777-2017, passed its first reading in the Knesset. Under this Bill, the circle of women eligible for the surrogacy process in …

Parents’ Perceptions Of The Lancaster Family Treatment Drug Court, Leah Engquist, Melanie Fessinger, Katherine Hazen

UCARE: Research Products

Juvenile dependency courts deal with cases that have allegations of child abuse or neglect by a parent or guardian. Lancaster's Family Treatment Drug Court (FTDC) is a problem-solving court that deals with cases of child abuse or neglect related to substance abuse. Parents on this track receive monthly team meetings, specialized services, and corrective measures. The research question of this evaluation was: "Do parents on the Family Treatment Drug Court perceive the court process more positively than parents who are not on the track (control)?" 144 parents completed an 11 item survey following their court hearings. Overall, both FTDC and …

You Are Now Entering The School Zone, Proceed With Caution: Educators, Arbitration, & Children’S Rights, Raquel Muniz

Arbitration Law Review (2009 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Report Of The Law Reform Committee On The 1996 Hague Convention On The Protection Of Children, Valerie Thean, Debbie Ong, Audrey Lim, Thian Yee Sze, Yvonne Tan, Tiong Min Yeo

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Modern litigation between spouses regarding their children is ofteninternational. Such cross-border disputes are especially common inSingapore, as an international commercial centre with a diverse andcosmopolitan society. More importantly, Singaporeans are becoming anincreasingly mobile labour force, working in international businesses.Orders made by Singapore courts involving local parties and local childrenwill increasingly require recognition and enforcement overseas.

Obergefell’S Ambiguous Impact On Legal Parentage, Leslie Joan Harris

Chicago-Kent Law Review

For more than thirty years, the central questions of the law of parentage have been when and to what extent determinations of legal parenthood should be based on biological relationship, marriage to a child’s biological parent, or functioning as or intending to be a parent. In Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court endorsed the claim that children whose parents are married are better off socially and legally than nonmarital children; its language could easily be taken to support legal rules that encourage or prefer childrearing within marriage. On the other hand, the Court’s argument assumes that the same-sex couple—both members—are …

Quacking Like A Duck? Functional Parenthood Doctrine And Same-Sex Parents, Katharine K. Baker

Chicago-Kent Law Review

This Article unpacks the relationship between the functional parenthood doctrine, constitutionally protected parental autonomy rights and intent-to-parent tests as they are applied in same-sex parenting relationships. It argues that, with the advent of same-sex marriage and second parent adoption, the functional parent doctrine is unnecessary and ultimately counterproductive to anyone interested in expanding legal recognition of non-traditional family forms. The functional parent doctrine asks courts to employ traditional understandings of parenthood (“Who acted like a parent?”) in assigning parental status.

These traditional understandings are usually, if not inevitably, dyadic, heteronormative, genetic, and gendered. In practice, the functional parent doctrine undermines …

Judicial Discretion V. Predictable Outcomes: A Review Of The 2016 Amendments To The Illinois Marriage And Dissolution Of Marriage Act, David E. Braden

Chicago-Kent Law Review

In 2015, the Illinois General Assembly comprehensively amended the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA). Illinois legislators cited a desire to increase predictable outcomes and to minimize adversarial litigation as primary goals for passing this overall to Illinois’s marriage and divorce law. This Comment evaluates how the amendments advance the stated legislative goals of increasing predictable outcomes and minimizing litigation while maintaining flexibility for fact-specific decision-making through judicial discretion. While the results are mixed, this Comment identifies changes in key provisions to which practicing attorneys should take note.

Romantic Discrimination And Children, Solangel Maldonado

Chicago-Kent Law Review

In recent years, social scientists have used online dating sites to study the role of race in the dating and marriage market. This research has revealed a racialized and gendered hierarchy that disproportionately excludes African-Americans and Asian-American men. For decades, other researchers have studied the risks and outcomes for children who are raised in single-parent homes as compared to children raised by married parents.

Drawing on these studies, this Essay explores how racial preferences in the dating and marriage market potentially disadvantage the children of middle-class African-American women who lack or reject opportunities to intermarry relative to children of married …

Assisted Reproduction Inequality And Marriage Equality, Seema Mohapatra J.D., Mph

Chicago-Kent Law Review

In Obergefell v. Hodges, Justice Kennedy declared that “marriage is fundamental under the Constitution and [should] apply with equal force to same-sex couples.” This Article examines how the advent of marriage equality may impact the rights of same-sex couples to have biological children via assisted reproduction and surrogacy. Specifically, this Article points out the ways that the Obergefell decision affects the law of infertility. By the law of infertility, I mean the laws that require insurance coverage of infertility treatments and other assisted reproductive technologies (“ART”). Because same-sex couples are not able to have biological children with each other …