Family Law Commons^™

Planned Parenthood: Adult Adoption And The Right Of Adoptees To Inherit, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This Article is concerned with the effect of adult adoptions on the inheritance rights (in the broad sense of that term) of adult adoptees. The Article contends many adult adoption statutes assume the existence of a parent-child relationship in which the adopter is the “parent” and the adoptee is a “child” even though this is not true of all adult adoption cases. In addition, legislatures and courts frequently fail to differentiate between “quasi-familial” adoptions and “strategic” adoptions, particularly where inheritance rights are concerned.

Law And Lgbq-Parent Families, Emily Kazyak, Brandi Woodell

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This paper addresses how the law affects LGBQ-parent families. We first outline the legal landscape that LGBQ parents face in the US, underscoring that it varies drastically by state and creates inequity for families. Reviewing existing social science research, we then address how the law affects three processes for LGBQ people: desiring parenthood, becoming a parent, and experiencing parent- hood. Our review indicates that the law affects if and how LGBQ people become parents. LGBQ people consider the law as they make decisions about whether to pursue adoption, donor insemination, or surrogacy and often view the latter two pathways as …

Understanding Your Domestic Relations Rights In Virginia, 2016-2017, Julie Ellen Mcconnell

Law Faculty Publications

The Metropolitan Richmond Women’s Bar Association has published this booklet to help you understand the general legal circumstances that you may face in resolving domestic relations problems under Virginia law. Each person faces unique circumstances that may not be specifically addressed in a broad overview. This booklet is not intended to provide specific advice to you or to address your specific situation. You should use this document only as an introduction to understanding your legal rights.

This booklet is based on laws in effect in Virginia on July 1, 2016. Because laws are always subject to change, you should consult …

Reflections On Obergefell And The Family-Recognition Framework's Continuing Value, Suzanne B. Goldberg

Faculty Scholarship

Unlike a typical law review essay, I offer reflections here based largely on my own past work in LGBT rights advocacy. Together with related scholarship, I rely on these experiences to argue that the 'family recognition" framework underlying earlier advocacy has value going forward, even after the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of nationwide marriage equality.

Inheritance Equity: Reforming The Inheritance Penalties Facing Children In Non-Traditional Families, Danaya C. Wright

UF Law Faculty Publications

This Article examines how more than 50% of children living today may be disadvantaged by 1950s era inheritance laws that privilege and protect only those children living in nuclear families with their biological parents. Because so many children today are living in blended families — single-parent families, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning (LGBTQ) families, or are living with relatives — their right to inherit from the persons who function as their parents are severely limited by most state probate codes, even though they would likely be entitled to child support under the parent-child definitions of most of those states' …

A Survey Of State Law Authorizing Stepparent Adoptions Without The Noncustodial Parent's Consent, Larry K. Laskiewicz

Akron Law Review

The increase of divorce and remarriage in American society has radically changed the concept of family. A typical family may no longer be composed of two parents and their biological off-springs living in the same household. The trend is toward a stepfamily composed of a parent, a biological child, a spouse, and the spouse's child. This paper essentially concerns the ability of a stepparent (in most cases, a stepfather), married to a custodial natural parent, to adopt a minor child from a previous marriage without the consent of the noncustodial natural parent.

Breaking The Seal: Ohio's Revised Adoption Law, Francis Y. Ake

Akron Law Review

This Comment will review the revised statutory scheme of adoption law in Ohio which permits access to identifying and non-identifying information about birth parents, and will analyze the rights and interests affected by these changes. The analysis will also include an overview of recent studies which may have influenced these changes as public awareness of the sealed record controversy has grown.

In Re Adoption Of Charles B. - A Tough Act To Follow, Deborah M. Arik

Akron Law Review

This Note first discusses homosexuality and examines Ohio's position on adoption, child custody, and custody disputes involving homosexual parents." The Note then reviews other states' positions on homosexual adoption. The remainder of the Note analyzes the Charles B. decisions" and discusses future questions that the Court will need to answer."

Mediating A Family: The Use Of Mediation In The Formation And Enforcement Of Post-Adoption Contact Agreements, Sophie Mashburn

Journal of Dispute Resolution

This comment will discuss how and why adoption law has evolved into a preference for open adoption, provide a brief history of post-adoption contact agreements, and discuss the current and best practices for utilizing post-adoption contact agreements. Finally, this comment will explore the use of mediation in various states to assist adoptive parents and birth parents in forming and maintaining an agreement they both accept and that furthers the best interests of the children being adopted. Using mediation to further the interests of children, adoptive couples, and birth parents is a positive trend in adoption law that should be encouraged …

More Than A Piece Of Paper: Same-Sex Parents And Their Adopted Children Are Entitled To Equal Protection In The Realm Of Birth Certificates, Shohreh Davoodi

Chicago-Kent Law Review

In Adar v. Smith, the Fifth Circuit held that Louisiana’s policy of refusing to issue accurate birth certificates to the children of out-of-state, same-sex adoptive parents does not deny those families equal protection of the law. This comment demonstrates that Louisiana’s policy does in fact violate the Equal Protection Clause. There are two ways Louisiana’s policy infringes on the rights of these families. First, the policy burdens fundamental rights stemming from the family autonomy of both parents and children. Second, the policy discriminates against out-of-state same-sex parents, treating them like second-class citizens. These concerns are strong enough that the …

Openness In International Adoption, Malinda L. Seymore

Faculty Scholarship

After a long history of secrecy in domestic adoption in the United States, there is a robust trend toward openness. That is, however, not the case with international adoption. The recent growth in international adoption has been spurred, at least in part, by the desire of adoptive parents to return to closed, confidential adoptions where the identity of the birth mother is secret and there is no ongoing contact with her. There is, however, an emergent interest in increased openness in international adoption, spurred by the success of domestic open adoptions, health concerns when an adoptee's genetic history is important, …

Adopting An International Convention On Surrogacy—A Lesson From Intercountry Adoption, Seema Mohapatra

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Adopting An International Convention On Surrogacy—A Lesson From Intercountry Adoption, Seema Mohapatra

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Separated At Adoption: Addressing The Challenges Of Maintaining Sibling-Of-Origin Bonds In Post-Adoption Families, Rebecca L. Scharf

Scholarly Works

This Article explores the ways children, many of whom are in foster care, are psychologically harmed by the law’s failure to ensure that the bonds they have with their siblings-of-origin are not permanently broken when one of the siblings is adopted; it therefore proposes ways that courts can better protect children from the psychological harm of having a biological sibling permanently removed from their life. It suggests that what is needed is a framework that allows visitation by biological siblings with whom children have formed attachments without unnecessarily intruding on the fundamental liberty interest of the adoptive parents at issue …

Airplane Trips And Organ Banks: Random Events And The Hague Convention On Intercountry Adoptions, Curtis Kleem

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Tribes And Race: The Court’S Missed Opportunity In Adoptive Couple V. Baby Girl, Christopher Deluzio

Pace Law Review

Part I of this article will provide an overview of the legal doctrines implicated in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl. First, Part I will discuss both Indian Child Welfare Act’s text and purpose and scholarly attention given to the law. Second, Part I will examine the law of putative fathers insofar as relevant to understanding ICWA’s application in Adoptive Couple. Part II provides insight into the Court’s equal protection jurisprudence with a particular emphasis on considerations of race in adoption and laws implicating Indian tribes. This Part introduces the limited scholarly treatment afforded to the equal protection issues implicated by …

Starting An Adoption Agency And The Major Benefits Of Adoption, Dylan D. Lingerfelt

Senior Honors Theses

Adoption impacts families’ lives. There are many benefits of adoption. Some key concepts of adoption are what the process of adoption entails and the different decisions potential adoptive parents need to make when starting the process, a philosophy and mission in terms of a business entity and their importance to an adoption firm, how to start a law firm as a business within the United States, and how to adapt that business to expand to areas like South Asia. South Asian etiquette issues need to be considered and understood from a business perspective. Another area to consider when doing international …

Bio Family 2.0: Can The American Child Welfare System Finally Find Permanency For 'Legal Orphans' With A Statute To Reinstate Parental Rights?, Meredith L. Schalick

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The American child welfare system terminates parental rights for thousands of children each year even though adoptive families have not yet been identified for the children. Every year, there are more than 100,000 of these “legal orphans” waiting for new families. Given the lower rates of adoptions for children of color and older children, and the poor outcomes for most youth who age out of the foster care system, the American child welfare system must start to think differently about permanency options for children. This Article proposes a model statutory provision to reinstate parental rights under certain circumstances to give …

Two Dads Are Better Than One: The Supreme Court Of Virginia's Decision In L.F. V. Breit And Why Virginia's Assisted Conception Statute Should Allow Gay Couples To Legally Parent A Child Together, Lauren Maxey

Law Student Publications

This comment examines whether gay men can have a child through a surrogacy arrangement in Virginia and whether gay men can retain parental rights through surrogacy contracts under the Virginia Assisted Conception Act. The Virginia laws affect gay males and gay females equally, but this comment addresses the issues arising with same-sex couples in the context of gay dads. Part II provides a background of surrogacy and specifically discusses surrogacy in relation to same-sex couples. Part III provides a general background of adoption and the establishment of parentage rights. Part IV describes the Assisted Conception Act, the legislative history of …

Terminating Parental Rights Through A Backdoor In The Virginia Code: Adoptions Under Section 63.2-1202(H), Dale Margolin Cecka

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

New Thinking On Commercial Surrogacy, Richard F. Storrow

Indiana Law Journal

Roundtable on Regulating Assisted Reproductive Technology 2012

Transracial Foster Care And Adoption: Issues And Realities, Fern L. Johnson, Stacie Mickelson, Mariana Lopez Davila

New England Journal of Public Policy

The article places transracial foster care and adoption into a broader perspective that highlights social and cultural factors and the reasons for controversy about this adoption option. The first section describes the demographics of children in the foster care system. This is followed by an overview of requirements for approval as foster and adoptive parents in Massachusetts and information about the laws governing transracial adoption. The controversy over transracial adoption is laid out by explaining the race-blind and race-matching positions. Policy priorities are outlined that take into account the main points of controversy. The final section focuses on growth in …

Recent Trends In California Law Concerning The Best Interests Of The Child, Darlene Selby

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act: Thirty Years Later And Of No Effect? Where Can The Unwed Father Turn?, Rebecca Miller

Pepperdine Law Review

In 1980, the federal government passed the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA), designed to prevent parents from attempting to “forum shop” to gain an advantage in custody disputes. A recent Utah Supreme Court decision held that jurisdiction challenges under the PKPA are waived if not raised in the lower court. This Article argues that this decision runs counter to the purpose behind the PKPA and sets a dangerous precedent. It calls for the Supreme Court to interpret the ambiguous provisions of the PKPA to resolve inconsistent rulings and protect the rights of unwed fathers.

Adoptive Couple V. Baby Girl: Two-And-A-Half Ways To Destroy Indian Law, Marcia A. Yablon-Zug

Michigan Law Review First Impressions

In December 2011, Judge Malphrus of the South Carolina family court ordered Matt and Melanie Capobianco to relinquish custody of Veronica, their two-year-old, adopted daughter, to her biological father, Dusten Brown. A federal statute known as the Indian Child Welfare Act ("ICWA") mandated Veronica's return. However, the court's decision to return Veronica pursuant to this law incited national outrage and strident calls for the Act's repeal. While this outrage was misplaced, it may nonetheless have influenced the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to hear the appeal. The case of Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl is emotionally complicated, but it is not …

Half Faith And Credit?: The Fifth Circuit Upholds Louisiana's Refusal To Issue A Revised Birth Certificate, Thomas M. Joraanstad

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

A Diversity Approach To Parenthood In Family Life And Family Law, Linda C. Mcclain

Faculty Scholarship

Extraordinary changes in patterns of family life and family law have dramatically altered the boundaries of parenthood and opened up numerous questions and debates. What is parenthood and why does it matter? How should society define, regulate, and support it? Is parenthood separable from marriage or couplehood when society seeks to foster childrens well-being? What is the better model of parenthood from the perspective of child outcomes? Intense disagreements over the definition and future of marriage often rest upon conflicting convictions about parenthood. What Is Parenthood? asks bold and direct questions about parenthood in contemporary society, and it brings together …

Surrender And Subordination: Birth Mothers And Adoption Law Reform, Elizabeth Samuels

All Faculty Scholarship

For more than 30 years adoption law reform advocates have been seeking to restore for adult adoptees the right to access their original birth certificates, a right that was lost in all but two states between the late 1930s and 1990. The advocates have faced strong opposition and have succeeded only in recent years and only in eight states. Among the most vigorous advocates for access are “birth mothers” who surrendered their children during a time it was believed that adoption would relieve unmarried women of shame and restore them to a respectable life. The birth mother advocates say that …

Surrender And Subordination: Birth Mothers And Adoption Law Reform, Elizabeth J. Samuels

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

For more than thirty years, adoption law reform advocates have been seeking to restore for adult adoptees the right to access their original birth certificates, a right that was lost in all but two states between the late 1930s and 1990. The advocates have faced strong opposition and have succeeded only in recent years and only in eight states. Among the most vigorous advocates for access are birth mothers who surrendered their children during a time it was believed that adoption would relieve unmarried women of shame and restore them to a respectable life. The birth mother advocates say that …

Multicultural Issues In Family Law: An Annotated Bibliography, Nancy Levit

Faculty Works

This bibliography covers law review articles published, for the most part, after 2009. Articles for which the title is self-explanatory or that concern only a single case, state, or statute are cited, but not annotated.