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Family Law

Family Law Prof Blog

Family law issues explored by law professors.
By Barbara Glesner Fines, Robert E. Oliphant, and Nancy Ver Steegh (William Mitchell College of Law).

Post Frequency: 12.6/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 15:18:00

Vietnamese Adoptions

Posted on February 18, 2008
"Eyes like black pearls, the softest skin and little tufts of hair made it totally easy to fall in love at first sight. And that is what Julie Carroll ? and Jewel McRoberts and Tommi-Lynn Sawyer ? did when they...

Story of Turkish Lawyer

Posted on February 18, 2008
FOR Fatma Benli, a Turkish lawyer and women?s rights advocate, the controversy over Islamic head scarves has the irritating sound of a broken record. Ms. Benli, who is 34, wears one herself. (On Wednesday, it was light brown with a...

Case Law Development: Child's Opinion Should Be Considered in Custody Battle over Circumcision of Adolescent

Posted on February 11, 2008
The Oregon Supreme Court held that a custodial father?s decision to have his 12-year-old son circumcised so the child can convert to Judaism may provide a basis for a change in circumstances allowing a custody modification if the boy opposes...

Case Law Development: Termination of Parental Rights Does not End Child Support Obligation

Posted on February 11, 2008
In an unpublished opinion, the Illinois Supreme Court has held that the termination of parental rights does not extinguish a child support obligation unless the child is being adopted. The court relied on the language of the Illinois statute, which...

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Case Law Development: Alabama Supreme Court Clarifies Change of Custody Standard

Posted on February 11, 2008
The Alabama Supreme Court has reversed two of its previous decisions regarding the standard for change of child custody, emphasizing that the standard under Alabama law requires a party seeking a change in custody to show that the change "will...

Case Law Development: Burden of Proof of Indian Child Welfare Act Element of "Active Efforts" to Reunite

Posted on January 22, 2008
The Nebraska Supreme Court joins those states that interpret the Indian Child Welfare Act to require only clear and convincing proof that "active efforts have been made to provide remedial services and rehabilitative programs" 25 U.S.C. 1912(d) in order to...

Case Law Development: No Collateral Attacks on Second Parent Adoptions

Posted on January 22, 2008
Alexander Rhoads of the Iowa Divorce & Family Law Blog reports on the Iowa Supreme Court decision in Schott v. Schott, in which the court held that a trail court could not collaterally attack the validity of a second parent...

Case Law Development: Errors in Appointing GAL Subject to Harmless Error Analysis

Posted on January 19, 2008
The California Supreme Court resolved a split among the courts of appeals in holding that a juvenile court's error in the procedure used to appoint a guardian ad litem for a parent in a dependency proceeding is subject to harmless...

Scholarships Available for AFCC?s 45th Annual Conference in Vancouver

Posted on January 18, 2008
The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) is offering scholarships to its 45th Annual Conference, Fitting the Forum to the Family: Emerging Challenges for Family Courts, May 28-31, 2008 at the Weston Bayshore in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Twenty-five conference...

Culturally Sensitive Shelters

Posted on January 18, 2008
"After enduring seven years of beatings from her husband, a young Yemeni-American woman recently fled to a local shelter, only to find that the heavy black head scarf she wore as an observant Muslim provoked disapproval. The shelter brought in...

Case Law Development: Can Delays Caused by Child Protective System Provide Basis for Adoption Outcome?

Posted on January 15, 2008
Justices of the California Court of Appeals disagreed over the effect of a two-year delay in terminating a mother's parental rights and in preventing the child's transfer to Florida to reside with her aunt. The majority opinion provides a detailed...

Case Law Development: Child Born As Result of Implantation of IVF Embryo After Father's Death Not Entitled to Inheritance Rights

Posted on January 15, 2008
Answering a certified question from the US District Court, the Arkansas Supreme Court has held that A child born in a test tube and implanted in his mother's womb after his father's death cannot necessarily be considered as an heir...

Story of Twins who Married Fuels Legislative Debate & Final Exams

Posted on January 14, 2008
By now you've all had a student bring you the news reports of the twins separated at birth who later married not knowing they were siblings. (My students were sending me the article in droves because the fact situation formed...

Case Law Development: Virginia Court Distinguishes Abandonment in Divorce and Elective Share Analysis

Posted on January 14, 2008
The Virginia Supreme Court found that the trial court did not err in ruling that an estranged husband was not eligible for an elective share of the spouse's augmented estate. The court noted that the record shows that both before...

Lessons from Brittany

Posted on January 12, 2008
Some time ago, the editorial staff of Family Law Prof decided we would no longer cover celebrity family law problems as a routine matter. However, Professor Joanna Grossman has provided a lovely essay on the Britney Spears family law saga...

Why People Divorce

Posted on January 12, 2008
A commissioned poll by an online divorce site (Divorce360.com) examines the reasons people divorce. The number one reason people gave for divorce is abuse. More than one in three (36%) divorced Americans cited either verbal or physical abuse as the...

New York Child Welfare System Overwhelmed, New Report Finds

Posted on January 11, 2008
A recent report by two research institutions, the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School and the Center for an Urban Future reports that the New York Family Court system has been ?overwhelmed? by a flood of...

Case Law Development: Loss of Child Custody Results from Failure to Appear at Status Conference

Posted on January 11, 2008
The Maine Supreme Court disagreed over whether a default judgment was appropriate for a father's failure to appear at a Magistrate's status conference. The majority affirmed the trial court's entry of default judgment awarding mother custody based on father's failure...

Case Law Development: Poverty Not A Basis for Termination of Parental Rights

Posted on January 11, 2008
The California Court of Appeals has issused an unpublished opinion that is an excellent case study of the relationship between poverty and termination of parental rights. A presumed father's parental rights had been terminated because he was unable to provide...

US Supreme Court Refuses to Review Alienation of Affections Case

Posted on January 10, 2008
The United States Supreme Court on Monday refused to review a Mississippi Supreme Court's decision affirming a $750,000 damages award for "alienation of affection." The plaintiff Johnny Fitch divorced his wife Sandra after she became pregnant and a paternity test...

Case Law Development: DNA Testing and Dismissal of Paternity Actions

Posted on January 10, 2008
The Supreme Court of Wyoming, in a case of first impression, interprets its state paternity statute regarding the impact of a DNA test excluding paternity. The disputed provision reads: "If the scientific evidence resulting from the genetic tests conclusively shows...

Case Law Development: Default Administrative Child Support Order Does not Establish Paternity Sufficient to Support Criminal Non-Support Action

Posted on January 10, 2008
The Supreme Court of Missouri has issued a number of decisions this past year relating to paternity -- requiring greater process to prove or disprove paternity. In its latest decision, the court concluded that the state's child support administrative system...

Case Law Development: Damages in Palimony Actions

Posted on January 09, 2008
The New Jersey Court of Appeals details a "classic palimony" case this week -- a thirty-year relationship between Rosemary Connell and Edward Diehl. Diehl had told Connell that they did not need to get married because they would simply tell...

Case Law Development: Divorce Litigant's Threats to Kill Judge and Attorneys Not Protected by Attorney-Client Privilege

Posted on January 08, 2008
This case is a window on the divorce attorney's worst nightmare - the client who threatens violence in retaliation for divorce. A divorce attorney heard her client make repeated threats to kill the judges and opposing counsel. The content of...

Case Law Development: Temporary Custody Change During Parent's Deployment Becomes Permanent Custody Change

Posted on January 08, 2008
Mother and Father had a joint custody arrangement regarding their child from ages 2 to 10, with child living primarily with Mother in New York with her husband and their child and having substantial visitation with Father in Virginia. When...

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