Spring 2018: The Changing Face of Family Law

Features

Family

Multipartner Fertility in a Disadvantaged Population: Results and Policy Implications of an Empirical Investigation of Paternity Actions in St. Joseph County, Indiana

Margaret F. Brinig & Marsha Garrison

A computerized, court-based record system in Indiana provided the authors unusual access to data on multipartner fertility (MPF). It offered a unique, data-rich window into an important—and growing—aspect of contemporary family life. It also pointed the way to needed shifts in family policy and law.

Family

The Golden Years, Gray Divorce, Pink Caretaking, and Green Money

Naomi Cahn

This Article considers the impact of changing family structures on aging in the Age of Trump. It examines two critical, interrelated aspects of aging—economic security and caretaking—and offers policy solutions that look beyond the nuclear family to improve security and caretaking possibilities for elders.

Family

Neglected Lesbian Mothers

Nancy D. Polikoff

Research and advocacy have largely ignored the distinctive needs and legal issues of mothers in same-sex couples whose children have been removed by the child welfare system. The author concludes that litigation, legislative and administrative advocacy, and education must be mobilized to safeguard LGBT parents’ rights.

Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essays, 2017 & 2018

Family

Family Law Is Not “Civil”: The Faulty Foundation of the Domestic Relations Exception to Federal Jurisdiction

Joseph A. Carroll

Courts and scholars often refer to family law1 as a quintessentially and appropriately state-controlled and state-adjudicated area.2 The U.S. Supreme Court has frequently emphasized that the federal government’s reach must be limited within the realm of family law because family law is appropriately reserved for the states.3

Family

In the Case of Biology v. Psychology: Where Did My “Parent” Go?

Michelle M. Gros

In 2015, four percent of children in the United States were living with relatives or nonrelatives with no biological parent present in the home. Additionally, there were 3.3 million cohabiting couples with children under age eighteen, which is a drastic increase from 1.2 million children in 1996.

Family

The “De-Chattelization” of Companion Animals through Family Law Legislation: How Alaska’s H.R. 147 Has Dismantled the Traditional Property Law View of Pets

Morgan Chandler Handy

Over 65 million households in the United States have a pet, otherwise known as a companion animal. Companion animals are defined as “animals who live and share their lives with human beings, who are responsive to and interact emotionally with their guardians, and who are valued as ends in themselves.”

Family

Family Drug Courts: Combatting the Opioid Epidemic

Stephanie Tabashneck

Every day in communities across the country, courts are confronted with the devastating impact of the opioid crisis. From 2016 to 2017, more Americans died from drug overdoses than were killed in the decades-long Vietnam War.

Family

Lessons from My Sister’s Keeper: A Minor’s Right to Refuse Lifesaving Treatment

Stephanie S. O’Loughlin

Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper is a novel that explores the difficult topic of the terminal illness of a sixteen-year-old girl and the lengths her family goes through in order to preserve her life. Much of the literature written on this novel focuses on Anna, the sister who was born in order to become a donor for her sister, Kate, and the ethics of forcing such donations from a child.

Family

Fostering Uncertainty?: A Critique of Concurrent Planning in the Child Welfare System

Carolyn Lipp

Each year, around 270,000 children are removed from their families’ homes and placed into the foster care system.3 Once children are placed in care, federal law requires that child welfare agencies make “reasonable efforts” to both reunify children with their families

Columns

Family

Editor’s Note

Kendra Huard Fershee

This issue addresses “The Changing Face of Family Law in America,” a topic of the Winter 2018 AALS symposium.

Family

Introduction: On Bridging the Divide Between Family Law and Family Life

Jessica Dixon Weaver

Family law lies behind the curve in areas such as reproduction, custody, companionship, and caretaking. This issue explores ways of getting it up to speed.

The Changing Face of Family Law

Living Apart Together as a “Family Form” Among Persons of Retirement Age: The Appropriate Family Law Response

Features

Multipartner Fertility in a Disadvantaged Population: Results and Policy Implications of an Empirical Investigation of Paternity Actions in St. Joseph County, Indiana

The Golden Years, Gray Divorce, Pink Caretaking, and Green Money

Neglected Lesbian Mothers

Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essays, 2017 & 2018

Family Law Is Not “Civil”: The Faulty Foundation of the Domestic Relations Exception to Federal Jurisdiction

In the Case of Biology v. Psychology: Where Did My “Parent” Go?

The “De-Chattelization” of Companion Animals through Family Law Legislation: How Alaska’s H.R. 147 Has Dismantled the Traditional Property Law View of Pets

Family Drug Courts: Combatting the Opioid Epidemic

Lessons from My Sister’s Keeper: A Minor’s Right to Refuse Lifesaving Treatment

Fostering Uncertainty?: A Critique of Concurrent Planning in the Child Welfare System

Columns

Editor’s Note

Introduction: On Bridging the Divide Between Family Law and Family Life

Editor in Chief

Kendra Huard Fershee

Issue Editor

Jessica Dixon Weaver

Editorial Board

Ann Laquer Estin

Lynda B. Munro

J. Thomas Oldham

John J. Sampson

Samuel V. Schoonmaker IV

Robert Spector

Jessica Dixon Weaver

Introducing the New ABA!

American Bar Association TM American Bar Association

The Changing Face of Family Law

Living Apart Together as a “Family Form” Among Persons of Retirement Age: The Appropriate Family Law Response

Features

Multipartner Fertility in a Disadvantaged Population: Results and Policy Implications of an Empirical Investigation of Paternity Actions in St. Joseph County, Indiana

The Golden Years, Gray Divorce, Pink Caretaking, and Green Money

Neglected Lesbian Mothers

Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essays, 2017 & 2018

Family Law Is Not “Civil”: The Faulty Foundation of the Domestic Relations Exception to Federal Jurisdiction

In the Case of Biology v. Psychology: Where Did My “Parent” Go?

The “De-Chattelization” of Companion Animals through Family Law Legislation: How Alaska’s H.R. 147 Has Dismantled the Traditional Property Law View of Pets

Family Drug Courts: Combatting the Opioid Epidemic

Lessons from My Sister’s Keeper: A Minor’s Right to Refuse Lifesaving Treatment

Fostering Uncertainty?: A Critique of Concurrent Planning in the Child Welfare System

Columns

Editor’s Note

Introduction: On Bridging the Divide Between Family Law and Family Life

Editor in Chief

Kendra Huard Fershee

Issue Editor

Jessica Dixon Weaver

Editorial Board

Ann Laquer Estin

Lynda B. Munro

J. Thomas Oldham

John J. Sampson

Samuel V. Schoonmaker IV

Robert Spector

Jessica Dixon Weaver

Introducing the New ABA!