Family Law Center
Research
Family law is for young people. To facilitate child rearing and help spouses pool resources over a lifetime, the law obligates parents to minor... MORE
As this Essay shows, the fertility discourse of the last half century deals with the profound effects that come from the transformation of the... MORE
This article reviews the legal status of nonmarital cohabitation in the United States. The recognition of cohabitants’ claims in the United States... MORE
A series of Supreme Court decisions recognize the end of the federal-state-corporate partnership that once provided a foundation for employment... MORE
This draft book chapter, prepared as part of a symposium on The 100-Year Life by Linda Gratton and Andrew Scott, reflects on the future of family law... MORE
This Article examines one form of property rights available to a surviving spouse, the elective share. The elective share serves as an override to a... MORE
In Blumenthal v. Brewer, the Illinois Supreme Court held that it would not enforce an alleged agreement between a nonmarital couple that centered on... MORE
This article addresses a significant challenge to federal Indian law currently emerging in the federal courts. In 2013, the Supreme Court suggested... MORE
Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat Associated System (CRISPR-Cas9) is evolving as a multi-faceted technology that can help in... MORE
Imagine you and your two-year old child move in with your parents, and you rely on them to care for her while you work several jobs at odd hours.... MORE
This casebook captures the rapid evolution of doctrine, introduces students to emerging policy debates, and explores issues that arise in family law... MORE
In an increasing number of states, divorce presumptively renders an ex-spouse ineligible to benefit from the testator’s will. Divorce may also impact... MORE
This Article considers the impact of changing family structures on aging in contemporary America. It looks at two critical and interrelated aspects... MORE
Collecting personal data is a feature of daily life. Businesses, advertisers, agencies, and law enforcement amass massive reservoirs of our personal... MORE
In an increasing number of states, divorce presumptively renders an ex-spouse ineligible to benefit from the testator’s will. Divorce may also impact... MORE
This Article makes two basic points. First, the three-parent family is here. Once states accept that parenthood does not depend on either biology or... MORE
In this article, we contrast the roles of intent, function, biology and marriage in establishing legal parenthood, focusing on differences between... MORE
This article was written as a contribution to the Fordham Law Review Symposium entitled Moore Kinship. It examines the various Supreme Court opinions... MORE
Now that the Supreme Court has reshaped the laws of marriage, attention is shifting to nonmarriage. The law no longer treats intimate couples who do... MORE
The wealth transmission process is of great concern to many senior citizens in the United States. The American wealth transmission process is... MORE
Does a liberal state have a legitimate interest in defining the terms of intimate relationships? Prominent theorists have answered this question “no... MORE
This book review of Catherine Ross's Lessons in Censorship places issues involving the free speech rights of public school students in the context of... MORE
This casebook captures the rapid evolution of doctrine, introduces students to emerging policy debates, and explores issues that arise in family law... MORE
This article addresses the legal regime that affects donor-conceived family communities. It shows how these new relationships both reinforce and... MORE
Can alimony be saved? Historically, alimony protected women's dependence during marriage. The most fundamental challenge for its continuation... MORE
In this article we use the idea of the 'marriage divide' to describe the transformation of the family to meet the needs of the information economy... MORE
This is a book review of Intimate Associations: The Law and Culture of American Families by Herbie DiFonzo & Ruth Stern. In the first section of... MORE
This article argues that much of what has been described as “the end of men” is in fact the recreation of class. Greater inequality among men and... MORE
This article evaluates the relationship between workplace equality and the technology of egg freezing, which allows women to “bank” their eggs until... MORE
The Article analyzes the role of class in family structure and family law. Building on Jacobus ten Broek’s classic articulation of a “dual system” of... MORE
As this brief online essay observes, the litigation that produced the Supreme Court 2013 decision in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl demonstrates why we... MORE
The marital presumption is deeply rooted in Anglo-American law: a husband and wife are assumed to be the father and mother of any child born during... MORE
The President is correct that marriage historically has been the province of the states. But that fact hardly insulates state marriage laws from... MORE
Over the past century, the Supreme Court has articulated numerous doctrines that protect family privacy. These doctrines are not, however, well-... MORE
A fairly substantial amount of literature has been generated over the years regarding the forms of masculinity that emerge in times of armed conflict... MORE
This casebook captures the rapid evolution of doctrine, introduces students to emerging policy debates, and explores issues that arise in family law... MORE
Marriage has long been a symbol of union – between husband and wife, a compact between the couple and the community concerning support for children,... MORE
This article begins the task of assessing polygamy as a moral ideal. The structure of traditional polygamy, in which only one central spouse may... MORE
While child support calculations have become a matter of routine, the parental determinations, on which they rest, have not. Marriage once served as... MORE
This article suggests that knowledge derived from adoption-related research and experience can be used to improve law, policy and practice in the... MORE
The battle for the future of assisted reproduction technologies (ART) has been joined. The tacit compromise underlying assisted reproduction - no... MORE
This article calls for setting limits on the number of offspring born from any one individual's gametes, and for continuing to sanction incest, even... MORE
The “Option of Adoption Act,” a Georgia law that was introduced by a staunchly anti-abortion Georgia state representative, establishes procedures for... MORE
The political attention paid to moral values - in the context of the high profile fights over abortion, homosexuality, and abstinence education - has... MORE
This essay provides an overview of federal involvement in foster care, starting with the 1909 White House Conference on Dependent Care, to show the... MORE
Central to every legal system is the principle that certain items are off-limits to commercial exchange. In theory, babies are one such sacred... MORE
This casebook captures the rapid evolution of doctrine, introduces students to emerging policy debates, and explores issues that arise in family law... MORE
This book focuses on the dilemmas of applying conflicting values to egg and sperm donation, arguing that the law must develop an integrated approach... MORE
"Deep Purple" examines the impact of religion on the politics and jurisprudence of abstinence education. Abstinence education is one of the many... MORE
Based on contemporary privacy law, this entry discusses two different aspects of family privacy: (1) the marital relationship and (2) the parent-... MORE
This casebook captures the rapid evolution of doctrine, introduces students to emerging policy debates, and explores issues that arise in family law... MORE
This paper, written for a symposium on The Mind of a Child, examines two different aspects of the accountability of children: those children who are... MORE
The state's claim that it can represent children's interests plays a significant role in defining the structure of families, the relationships within... MORE
There are estimates that 3.3 to 10 million children are exposed to domestic violence in their homes annually. For many children, this exposure... MORE
While most children grow up in their families of origin with at least one of their parents, what happens when the parents die or are incapacitated?... MORE
Since the mid-19th century, American law has recognized adoption as a way to create parent-child relationships. As the product of law, rather than... MORE
This symposium article critiques the emerging literature on caretaking, a literature that concentrates on the need to create policies that would... MORE
Perfect Substitutes or the Real Thing? traces the development of adoption law, using recent scholarship in history and sociology as well as... MORE
This article addresses the role of the genetic tie in the parent-child relationship through three lenses. First, we argue that the legal system... MORE
The article examines the nature of marriage and the expectations of husbands and wives in nineteenth century America by analyzing trial reports of... MORE
This Article proposes a solution to resolve the legal issues that arise from the disposition of eggs, zygotes, and sperm upon divorce or death. I... MORE
This essay focuses on the relationships between children, unknown donors, and biological parents. It argues that children deserve access to... MORE
In this article we sketch an overview of the increasing federal involvement in the child-support area. Because the federal role has grown so... MORE
The purpose of this Note is to question whether racial matching by courts and child-placement agencies serves the best interests of Black children.... MORE
