Family Court Review最新文献

This article illuminates the legal regulation of the economic rights of non-marital partners at separation or death. Current approaches have typically fallen into two categories: one advocating for the separation of legal regimes based on formal status, treating cohabitant partners as strangers, and the other taking a functional approach, treating cohabitation and marriage as substantively identical. However, both approaches fail to offer a coherent alternative for regulating cohabitation. This article proposes a novel third option – the institutional, autonomy-based, pluralist model. The pluralist model acknowledges the legal commitment between cohabitants while carefully distinguishing the legal regulation of cohabitation from that of marriage. Unlike prevailing models that offer a “package deal,” the pluralist model selectively applies only suitable components of marriage law to non-marital relationships, considering thoughtful criteria for their applicability and ensuring a nuanced approach. The pluralist model offers a middle ground between treating cohabitants as strangers and treating them as married for purposes of regulating marital property, spousal support, and inheritance. Ultimately, it provides a framework that considers the complexities of non-married relationships while maintaining a desirable level of legal clarity.

Recently, there has been more attention paid to trauma related to adoption. This article addresses the unacknowledged trauma which may exist with children adopted in infancy, before they had any retrievable recollection of their first families. Because this trauma has not been recognized, there has been inadequate attention paid to the adoptee's grief at the loss of the first family. This article suggests that all sealed records laws which prevent adoptees from having access to records otherwise available to non-adoptees be repealed, that all adoptions be presumed to be open, with the possibility for ongoing contact with first family members, and that more trauma-informed and adoption-competent therapeutic resources be made available to adoptees.

What is the role of preventive legal advocacy in promoting justice for families and redefining child welfare to focus on family and community-based systems which prioritize community-based support and to forego government oversight, regulation and punishment? Given the timeline for systemic reforms and the necessity of providing access to justice for families presently struggling to protect their family autonomy, preventive legal advocacy is a critical piece of reform efforts and scholarly attention. This article advocates for the expansion of existing preventive legal advocacy models and legislation codifying early access to counsel with the goal of disrupting the traditional pathways into the child welfare and family regulation system, enforcing the rights of parents and children to their family autonomy and meaningfully supporting families to thrive.

Youth and families impacted by legal systems now resoundingly attest to the systems' lasting harm, echoed by interdisciplinary research. Lawyering thus requires a vastly renewed outlook, boldness, and honest inquiry about the limits of what the law and public systems can (and should) attempt as purported problem-solving amidst broader socioeconomic forces and injustice. This report synthesizes recommendations from a groundswell of diverse, dedicated voices following an October 2023 convening hosted by the American Bar Association Commission on Youth at Risk, the ABA Center on Children and the Law, and Hofstra University's Maurice A. Deane School of Law. Entitled “Renewal and Revolution: Recommitting the Legal Profession to Serving Children and Youth, Their Families, and Communities,” the convening engaged various professionals—many with firsthand experience in foster and justice systems— and other advocates. Since the 2006 ABA Youth At Risk Initiative Planning Conference, the ABA Commission on Youth At Risk has elevated the representation and voice of youth through ethical practice standards, expanded access, and national initiatives. This report recounts findings of the 2023 convening's four working groups which met for two-days of (often tense) discussions to chart a path for the legal profession, law, and policy for the next decade and beyond. Priorities include: transcending conceptions of youth “at risk” towards recognition of harms done, a strengths-based lens, and lived experience leadership and expertise; cultivating next generation attorneys; prioritizing early family defense and diversion; divesting from systems and re-investing directly with youth and families; and further eliminating racial disparities.

Part 15 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 governs the breakdown of cohabiting relationships in the Republic of Ireland. However, although the introduction of the statutory redress scheme under the 2010 Act was considered an important response to the growing need for the protection of vulnerable cohabitants, the extent to which it has provided such protection has remained somewhat obscure. This contribution reflects on what we know about the operation of the scheme as currently framed and questions what scope might exist for it to be gently reformed going forward.

Divorces are an emotional battlefield requiring both parties to go to war over their fair share. With the addition of New York's ‘no-fault’ divorce, the process was supposed to alleviate spousal disputes and help those who did not want to relive the trauma that got them there. Nevertheless, one group left behind through that reform is domestic violence victims. This Note explores the ramifications of courts not being required to consider a finding of domestic abuse during equitable distribution and proposes to amend the current pathways to clear the way for financial relief for victims looking to divorce their abusers.

Youth and families impacted by legal systems now resoundingly attest to the systems' lasting harm, echoed by interdisciplinary research. Lawyering thus requires a vastly renewed outlook, boldness, and honest inquiry about the limits of what the law and public systems can (and should) attempt as purported problem-solving amidst broader socioeconomic forces and injustice. This report synthesizes recommendations from a groundswell of diverse, dedicated voices following an October 2023 convening hosted by the American Bar Association Commission on Youth at Risk, the ABA Center on Children and the Law, and Hofstra University's Maurice A. Deane School of Law. Entitled “Renewal and Revolution: Recommitting the Legal Profession to Serving Children and Youth, Their Families, and Communities,” the convening engaged various professionals—many with firsthand experience in foster and justice systems— and other advocates. Since the 2006 ABA Youth At Risk Initiative Planning Conference, the ABA Commission on Youth At Risk has elevated the representation and voice of youth through ethical practice standards, expanded access, and national initiatives. This report recounts findings of the 2023 convening's four working groups which met for two-days of (often tense) discussions to chart a path for the legal profession, law, and policy for the next decade and beyond. Priorities include: transcending conceptions of youth “at risk” towards recognition of harms done, a strengths-based lens, and lived experience leadership and expertise; cultivating next generation attorneys; prioritizing early family defense and diversion; divesting from systems and re-investing directly with youth and families; and further eliminating racial disparities.

The juvenile “justice” system in the United States and the expansion of the carceral state into communities of color are deeply rooted in white supremacy. To challenge these oppressive systems, it is essential for system-impacted youth to have access to these subjugated histories. We argue that critical youth participatory action research (YPAR) is a powerful tool for providing these youth with the necessary exposure, space, and support to access these histories, develop critical consciousness, and transform their personal pain and experiences into reflection, collaboration, and actions aimed at challenging oppressive systems such as the juvenile legal system. To illustrate this potential, we present an overview of recent YPAR projects in partnership with system-impacted youth. We underscore the importance of system-impacted youth in meaningful, non-tokenistic ways. Concrete recommendations for supporting YPAR projects with system-impacted youth are provided.

Marriage provides a key insight to American life. Marriage is a significant factor when analyzing our society and our current structure – a widening gap among social classes. The decline in marriages among middle and lower class reflects issues with education attainment and financial stability. Unfortunately, there has been no initiative to address the declining marriage rate. This Note proposes a two-alternative approach to implementing family-friendly policies and a nationwide network of Family Centers that will aid the current and next generation. Society will obtain a more educated, cooperative workforce, with a more stable family structure across all classes.

In the 1970s, the movie Kramer versus Kramer dramatized the destructiveness of child custody disputes. It helped inspire family law reform and careers. The central problem identified was an adversarial system and hostile litigation. The proposed solution was alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Over time, these alternatives became an integral part of the family law response to child custody cases, except in cases of vulnerable parties. Today's parents are under greater legal and social pressure to resolve disputes without resorting to court. This can be welcomed and resisted by parents. This article focuses on parental resistance to dispute resolution over litigation through a return to Hollywood. The movie Marriage Story is used to show how parents might feel alienated rather than relieved by opportunity to cooperatively problem-solve differences. Implications are explored in part through drawing from ethnographic research on parents who engaged in mediation through a U.S. family court program and through two Australian Family Relationship Centres (FRC).