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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

Chinese One-Child Policy Still Favored

Posted on December 12, 2009
Zhao Baige, vice-minister of National Population and Family Planning Commission of China (NPFPC), has been described to defend China's one-child policy in terms of the environment: Meanwhile, she said studies have also shown that family planning programs are more efficient...

Breast Implants as Marital Property?

Posted on December 11, 2009
The North Dakota Supreme Court heard a case last week questioning whether a wife's breast implants and surgical eye improvements (through Lasik) are marital assets to be divided on divorce. "Do we have any lines to be drawn? Is dental...

Will California Dismiss the Polanski Conviction?

Posted on December 11, 2009
On December 10 a California court of appeal heard arguments from Mr. Polanski's lawyers to the effect that his conviction should be dismissed due to judicial and prosecutorial misconduct in the earlier trial in 1978. The primary evidence brought forth...

Shmueli: "Tort Litigation Between Spouses: Let's Meet Somewhere in the Middle"

Posted on December 11, 2009
Benjamin Shmueli has posted Tort Litigation Between Spouses: Let's Meet Somewhere in the Middle, 15 Harvard Negotiation Law Review__ (forthcoming 2010), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In the past, and, to a certain extent, even at present, immunities existed...

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Increased Police Power for Domestic Violence in UK?

Posted on December 10, 2009
The Crime and Security Bill (2010) before the UK Parliament has been published online here. Among other things, the Bill allows increased police powers for domestic violence. See here for a review of the Bill. MR

Military Divorces on Rise

Posted on December 10, 2009
From the Associated Press: WASHINGTON- The divorce rate in the armed forces continues to edge higher, despite efforts by the military to help struggling couples. There were an estimated 27,312 divorces among roughly 765,000 married members of the active-duty Army,...

A New Kind of Crime? Attempted Abortion

Posted on December 09, 2009
CNN reports the story of a woman authorities say may be charged with "attempted abortion": Prosecutors in Brooklyn have charged a 38-year-old woman with tricking a pregnant woman into taking an abortion-inducing drug because the suspect thought her husband had...

Research Sources Updated

Posted on December 09, 2009
We had previously posted some good research sources for researchers in family law here. Recently, a kind reader provided us with some more sources: (1) American Journal of Family Law * Since Fall 2007, issues have included annotated bibliography of...

Monopoli: "Marriage, Property and [In]Equality: Remedying Erisa's Disparate Impact on Spousal Wealth"

Posted on December 09, 2009
Paula Monopoli (University of Maryland School of Law) has posted "Marriage, Property and [In]Equality: Remedying Erisa's Disparate Impact on Spousal Wealth," Yale Law Journal Online, Vol. 119, p. 61-65 on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Congress is considering pension reform...

Are the Christmas Gifts You Give Your Spouse Community Property?

Posted on December 08, 2009
Maybe. A California Court of Appeals just ruled (reversing the lower court's decision) that a Porsche bought for husband with wife's separate funds was to be classified as community property. California law generally requires a writing to transmute the classification...

West: "From Choice to Reproductive Justice: De-Constitutionalizing Abortion Rights"

Posted on December 08, 2009
Robin L. West (Georgetown University Law Center), has posted From Choice to Reproductive Justice: De-Constitutionalizing Abortion Rights, 118 Yale L.J. 1394-1431 (2009), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Essay argues that the right to abortion constitutionalized in Roe v...

Hiding Child in Custody Dispute Amounts to Abuse or Neglect

Posted on December 07, 2009
A mother's hiding of her son for nearly two years in his grandmother's home, often in a crawl space behind a wall, amounted to neglect, a judge ruled Friday. Franklin County Circuit Judge Melissa Drew's ruling was based partly on...

Australian Government Asked to Criminalize International Child Abduction

Posted on December 07, 2009
The Family Law Reform Association of New South Wales is urging Australia?s government to make it criminal for a parent to take a child out of the country without the other parent?s consent. Some are suggesting that these issues are...

Electronic Communication as Parental Visitation?

Posted on December 06, 2009
Sections 607 and 609 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act have recently been amended to address electronic communication in terms of parental visitation, to become effective January 1, 2010. In essence, Illinois courts will have discretion in...

Black: "Same-Sex Marriage and Taxes"

Posted on December 05, 2009
Steve Black (Pierce Law Center), has posted Same-Sex Marriage and Taxes, 22 Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law 327-357 (2008), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Our tax system, while frequently criticized for its complexity, has the flexibility to...

Rights for Cohabiting Couples in England?

Posted on December 04, 2009
In England, lawyers and policymakers have continually been debating the rights that should be given to cohabiting couples, if any. The Law Commission has taken the position that romantic former live-in partners should be forced to pay maintenance if children...

Tiger Woods Stories Highlight New Forms of Prenups

Posted on December 04, 2009
Th recent stories involving problems in the marriage of Tiger Woods have referred to the type of premarital agreement he entered into with his wife. The agreement apparently provides that, if the marriage lasts 10 years, his wife gets a...

Kindregan: Considering Mom: Maternity and the Model Act Governing Assisted Reproductive Technology

Posted on December 04, 2009
Charles P. Kindregan, Jr. () has posted "Considering Mom: Maternity and the Model Act Governing Assisted Reproductive Technology," 17 Am. U. J. Gender Soc. Pol'y & L. 601-626 (2009), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The traditional family law doctrine....

Pouncy: "Marriage and Domestic Partnership: Rationality and Inequality"

Posted on December 03, 2009
Charles R. P. Pouncy (Florida International University College of Law) has posted "Marriage and Domestic Partnership: Rationality and Inequality," forthcoming in the Temple Political & Civil Rights Law Review, on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The efforts of gay and...

Australian Mistress Receives $100,000 Because of De Facto Relationship

Posted on December 03, 2009
An Australian court has ordered a man who had an affair with a woman for 20 years while married to pay the mistress more than $100,000 under the country?s new laws that provide people in de facto relationships with certain...

NY Senate Votes Down Gay Marriage Bill, 38-24

Posted on December 02, 2009
See here for the New York times article describing the vote. MR

Increased Risk of Birth Defects with Assisted Reproduction

Posted on December 02, 2009
A new study has found a higher rate of birth defects among babies conceived by assisted reproduction compared to babies conceived naturally. In the study, almost 3 percent of infants conceived with assisted reproduction were diagnosed with a major birth...

Babysitter Wins Custody of Child

Posted on December 02, 2009
A unique custody determination was recently made in Chicago, granting custody of a child to his babysitter over his own mother. Family lawyers in Chicagoland are pretty surprised. Read more here. MR

Renewed Attention to Cousin Marriages

Posted on December 01, 2009
The New York Times featured this article last week reviving a frequently recurring discussion of prohibitions on marriages involving first cousins. The article largely recaps the same old issues, but I found the perspective fresh as it related to religion's...

Ruling on Paternity Awaited in Michigan

Posted on December 01, 2009
As the Detroit News explains, under current Michigan law: If the mother is not married, the biological father is responsible for providing support. If the mother is married, then the husband is responsible for the child, not the biological father....

$65 Million in Annual Alimony?

Posted on November 30, 2009
Back in May, we speculated that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's wandering eye might cost him millions but the news of just how much money his estranged wife, Veronica Lario, wants is still shocking. The former actress is seeking 43...

Mass Adoptions

Posted on November 30, 2009
In Pennsylvania recently, on National Adoption Day precisely, 49 children were adopted by dozens of families at the Allegheny County Family Court. Read more here. MR

English Survey Reveals Deep Detriment of Divorce on Children

Posted on November 29, 2009
Family lawyers at the London law firm Mishcon de Reya had commissioned a study of over 4,000 parents and children to mark the 20th anniversary of the Children Act 1989, which aimed to improve the welfare of children dealing with...

Strasser: "You Take the Embryos But I Get the House (and the Business): Recent Trends in Awards Involving Embryos Upon Divorce"

Posted on November 28, 2009
Mark Strasser (Capital University Law School) has published "You Take the Embryos But I Get the House (and the Business): Recent Trends in Awards Involving Embryos Upon Divorce," 57 Buffalo L. Rev. 1159 (2009). An excerpt: More and more couples...

A Child Custody Breathalyzer?

Posted on November 27, 2009
The Wisconsin Law Journal reports on a movement to bring the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring (SCRAM) bracelet, used in many criminal cases, into family court to provide evidence pertaining to allegations of alcohol abuse. Read the full story here...

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