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FAM-LAW-LIT: A SURVEY OF CURRENT PERIODICAL LITERATURE ADDRESSING FAMILY LAW ISSUESLaura W. Morgan,
Esquire
Welcome to FamLawLit, a survey of current periodical literature concerning family law issues, for June 1998. This page provides a synopsis of current law review articles that discuss issues in family law. This month’s "Ethics Spotlight" takes a quick look at an attorney’s ethical duties when dealing with a pro se litigant. ~ PRIMARY FAMILY LAW PERIODICALS ~ AMERICAN JOURNAL OF FAMILY LAW (published quarterly; P .A6533) Aspen Law & Business Gary A. Shulman & David I. Kelley, The New Standard of Care in Dividing Pensions (pages 1-14): The authors specify four areas of responsibility for the family law attorney in the area of dividing pensions: discovery of all pension assets; valuation of those pension assets competently; offering well-founded advice if a settlement is chosen; securing the collection of the proceeds of that settlement. Nancy M. Czaplinski, How to Value and Treat Options (pages 15-21): The author discusses the nature of options and warrants, the factors affecting their value, and the methods of valuation. Caryn S. Lennon, Advising the Non-citizen Client (pages 22-25): The author notes those areas of family law practice that can be complicated for the non-citizen client, including taxation, custody, and division of marital assets, and advises attorneys how to recognize red flags that will warrant further investigation into a client’s status David L. Walther, Ethical Challenges for Lawyer Mediators (pages 26-29): The author examines the ABA Rules of Professional Responsibility as they relate to the lawyer as mediator. Sarah W. Young, The Calling of the Law (pages 30-39): The author maintains that the law is a "calling" whose full potential is unrealized by lawyers caught up in the purely business aspects of the practice of law. John C. Susko, The Life of a Wired Attorney (pages 40-54): The author relates a typical day as a modern lawyer utilizing the web and various software programs. CHILDREN’S LEGAL RIGHTS JOURNAL (ABA Center on Children and the Law and Loyola University Chicago School of Law) (published quarterly; P .C5373) William S. Hein & Company, Inc wsheinco@class.org (800) 828-7571 Nicola J. Taylor, The Voice of Children in Family Law (pages 2-14): The author advocates giving children a louder voice in family law matters, particularly in light of the requirements set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.. Natalie Hevener Kaufman and Malfrid Grude Flekkoy, Participation Rights of the Child: Psychological and Legal Considerations (pages 15-29): The author advocates a framework for the participation of children in the legal process that is based on their evolving capacities. Julie F. Beard, An Atmosphere of Apprehension Looms Over Hong Kong Parents (pages 30-37): The author expresses concern over the rights of children in Hong Kong, given China’s evident disregard for human rights. Stewart Asquith, Juvenile Justice and Juvenile Delinquency in Central and Eastern Europe (pages 38-49): The author surveys Eastern Europe and concludes that questions of how to deal with juvenile offenders are inextricably linked to how a society treats its youngest members and the nature of life opportunities offered them. Irene Rizzini, Poor Children in Latin America: A Case Example of Social Inequality (pages 50-70): The text seeks to depict childhood found in the streets of Latin America with the aim of finding new ways to tackle this critical issue. DIVORCE
LITIGATION (published monthly) Laura W. Morgan, Beyond the 1040: Finding Hidden Sources of Income For Support (pages 81-91): The author reviews types of hidden income that will not show up on a 1040, and provides checklists and discovery requests. Sondra I. Harris, The Pro Se Litigant and Settlement Agreements (pages 92-93): Tips on how to deal with the opposing party in a divorce when he/she is representing him/herself. Laura W. Morgan, Ethical Considerations For An Attorney Dealing with a Pro Se Party (pages 94-97): A review of the ethical considerations and ethics opinions governing attorneys who face pro se litigants. Laura W. Morgan, Attorney-Client Privilege In E-Mail Communications (pages 98-102): A review of the law governing attorney-client privilege in e-mail communications, and a suggestion by the author that attorneys encrypt their e-mail communications to clients. EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION JOURNAL (published monthly) National Legal Research Group Joan L. Cobb, Equitable Distribution of Pensions: An update of recent law concerning the distribution of retirement pensions. Aspen Law & Business unavailable American Bar Association Section of Family Law J. Dennis Casty, Claiming the Kids (pages 11-14): The author, president of FinPlan and creator of Divorce Planner® software, explains how the child tax credits interract with the dependency exemptions, and how to best take advantage of the change in the law. Bruce L. Richman, Dollars for Day Care (pages 15-17, 37): The author explains how the child care tax credit works, and whether it is more advantageous to use the credit or to use a dependent day care account. Melvyn B. Frumkes, Easing the Rules on Sale of Home (pages 19-21): Mr. Frumkes, author of "The Divorce Taxation Handbook," explains the changes in the tax law governing the sale of a home. Daniel J. Jaffe and Cynthia S. Monaco, Going It Alone: When to Say No to a Joint Return (pages 23-27): The authors review the IRS’s innocent spouse rules, and when it is advisable not to sign a joint return. James J. Podell, Tax Reform Tips and Traps (pages 28-31): A review of the provisions of the tax reform act, and the best way to take advantage of the changes. Joy M. Feinberg, New Wrinkles in Retirement Plan Withdrawals (pages 32-36): A review of the new tax-exempt education IRAs, the Roth IRA, and changes in child support withdrawals. Roseanna L. Purzycki, Taking Stock of Golden Parachutes (pages 38-42): A review of qualified and non-qualified plans, and the tax consequences of such plans. Carlton D. Stansbury and Gwendolyn G. Connolly, Map Out Your Relocation Case on the Web (pages 43-45): How to take advantage of web sites when planning a move. Ron W. Little, Getting Out Front Upfront (pages 12-15): The author recommends developing a preliminary pretrial motion strategy to maximize the strengths of your client’s case. Kathleen A Hogan, Pretrial Discovery Motions (pages 16-17): The author summarizes the more common pretrial motions and analyzes their usefulness. Jill Hersh, Sure and Swift Relief: The TRO (pages 18-21): The author recommends securing a temporary restraining order whenever there is a need to protect: (1) a client’s physical or emotional safety; (2) the physical or emotional safety of children; (3) the marital estate; (4) a client’s economic stability. The author also provides practice pointers, such as obtaining corroborating evidence, serving necessary financial institutions, and how to draft the pleadings. Lynn S. Hilowitz, Money Matters (pages 22-25): The author provides guidance on how to put together pendente lite motions that will provide temporary financial assistance. The author provides checklists for preparing the client’s affidavit and/or an appraiser’s affidavit. Sidney S.F. Bennett, Property Thrust and Parry (pages 26-28): The author recommends the use of pretrial motions to protect and preserve marital assets from loss or dissipation, to aid in valuation, to determine entitlement, to allow for orderly management of property, and to allow for sale when necessary. George T. Carlson, Ellen R. Welner, and Thomas M. Mathiowetz, Bankruptcy Bailouts (pages 30-37): The author recommends that family law attorneys discuss bankruptcy with a client whose financial picture is bleak, since prompt filing could preserve a client’s assets. Steven H. Levey, Divide and Conquer (pages 38-40): The author discusses when it may be appropriate to bifurcate a divorce case into component issues. David N. Hofstein and Michael L. Kleiman, Get to the Bottom of the Business (pages 41-43): The authors recommend the use of injunctive relief to preserve a family owned business which may be the most valuable marital asset. The authors provide a good sampling of case law and statutory authority. Ronald E. Lais, Curing Custody (pages 44-48): The author recommends certain pretrial motions to stimulate settlement of what is often the most contentious of issues: child custody. FAMILY AND CONCILIATION COURTS REVIEW (published quarterly; P .C6533) Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Hon. Judith S. Kaye and Hon. Jonathan Lippman, New York State Unified System: Family Justice Program (pages 144-178): The authors, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals and Chief Administrative Judge of the State of New York, respectively, provide an overview of the caseload crisis facing New York courts hearing family matters and propose innovative solutions. Laurie S. Coltri and E. Joan Hunt, A Model for Telephone Mediation (pages 179-194): The authors describe a unique mediation service using the telephone to help parents resolve conflicts over visitation. Edward Kruk, Practice Issues, Strategies, and Models: The Current State of the Art of Family Mediation (pages 195-215): The article reports the key findings of a Canadian study addressing family mediation. Catherine M. Lee, Christine P.M. Beauregard, and John Hunsley, Attorney’s Opinions Regarding Child Custody Mediation and Assessment Services: The Influence of Gender, Years of Experience, and Mediation Practice (pages 216-226): Family attorneys completed a questionnaire about mediation and assessment of child custody issues, and a comparison by gender, years of family law practice, and status as a mediator revealed more similarities than differences among attorneys. Barbara Davies and Stephen Ralph, Client and Counselor Perceptions of the Process and Outcomes of Family Court Counseling in Cases Involving Domestic Violence (pages 227-245): The authors report on a study examining whether counseling is appropriate in cases involving domestic violence. Richard D. Mathis and Lynelle C. Yingling, Family Modes: A Measure of Family Interaction and Organization (pages 246-257): A review of "Family Modes," an attempt to develop a standardized test for mediation assessment and research. Kimberly A. Smoron, Conflicting Roles in Child Custody Mediation: Impartiality/Neutrality and the Best Interests of the Child (pages 258-280): The article focuses on the conflict between the mediator’s role as a neutral and impartial third party, and his role as guardian or advocate for the best interests of the child, and discusses options for mediators attempting to resolve this conflict. Gretchen Zegarra, Educando a la Familia Latina: Ideas for Making Parent Education Programs Accessible to the Latino Community (pages 281-293): The article addresses the issue of parent education programs and how they are currently unsuitable for the Latino community. Debra A. Clement, A Compelling Need for Mandated Use of Supervised Visitation Programs (pages 294-316): The authors advocate supervised visitation programs for those cases where termination of visitation is not justified, yet there are legitimate concerns for the health and welfare of the child. FAMILY LAW QUARTERLY (published quarterly) American Bar Association Section of Family Law Catherine J. Ross, The Failure of Fragmentation: The Promise of a System of Unified Family Courts (pages 3-30): The author reviews the inadequacies of a court system that fails to address the family as a whole, and advocates the use of the unified court system. Barbara A. Babb, Where We Stand: An Analysis of America’s Family Law Adjudicatory Systems and the Mandate to Establish Unified Family Courts (pages 31-65): The current push to establish unified family courts is reviewed. Jeffrey A. Kuhn, A Seven-Year Lesson on Unified Family Courts: What We Have Learned Since the 1990 National Family Court Symposium (pages 67-93): A review of the history of family courts. Andrew Schepard, Parental Conflict Prevention Programs and the Unified Family Court: A Public Health Perspective (pages 95-130): The use of a unified family court to address the family as a whole with the goal of aiding the family’s mental health is discussed. Billie Lee Dunford-Jackson, Loretta Frederick, Barbara Hart, and Meredith Hofford, Unified Family Courts: How Will They Serve Victims of Domestic Violence? (pages 131-146): The use of a unified family court to address the family as a whole with the goal of preventing abuse is discussed. Mark Hardin, Child Protection Cases in a Unified Family Court (pages 147-199) Gerald W. Hardcastle, Joint Custody: A Family Court Judge’s Perspective (pages 201-219) Martin J. McMahon, Jr., Tax Aspects of Divorce and Separation (pages 221-265) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LAW, POLICY & FAMILY (published quarterly) Oxford University Press unavailable JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF MATRIMONIAL LAWYERS (published two times per year; P .A551j) American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Samuel V. Schoonmaker, IV, Consequences and Validity of the Family Law Provisions in the "Welfare Reform Act" (pages 1-75): The author details the child and spousal enforcement provisions of the Welfare Reform Act, analyzes the validity of the Act, discussing constitutional, practical, and privacy issues, and forecasts the nationalization and globalization of family law. Patricia E. Apy, Managing Child Custody Cases Involving Non-Hague Contracting States (pages 77-97): The author offers suggestions on how to manage a custody case with international connections to countries which are not signatories to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Jan Rewers McMillan, Getting Them Back: The Disappointing Reality of Return Orders Under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (pages 99-131): While noting that 47 countries have signed on to the Convention, the author concludes that the reality is that practitioners are faced with sometimes insurmountable obstacles in effecting the return of children once orders for return are issued. The author suggests ways to avoid these obstacles. Tania Bailey, Child Support from U.S. Military Personnel Stationed Abroad (pages 133-151): The author details the statutory framework for promoting the establishment and enforcement of child support orders against members of the military, including Executive Order No. 12953 and military regulations. Cassandra Terhune, Cultural and Religious Defenses to Child Abuse and Neglect (pages 152-192): The author surveys the use of the "cultural" and "religious" defense to charges of child abuse, focusing on the practice of female genital mutilation as a cultural defense to child abuse and the practice of spiritual healing as a religious defense to child neglect. UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE JOURNAL OF FAMILY LAW University of Louisville Elvia R. Arriola, Law and the Family of Choice and Need (pages 691-701) Angelea Mae Kupenda, Two Parents are Better Than None: Whether Two Single, African American Adults, Who are Not in a Traditional Marriage or Romantic or Sexual Relationship with Each Other, Should be Allowed to Jointly Adopt and Co-parent African American Children (Proceedings of the Third Annual Mid-Atlantic People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference) (pages 703-720) Samuel A. Marcosson, The Lesson of the Same-Sex Marriage Trial: The Importance of Pushing Opponents of Lesbian and Gay Rights to Their Second Line of Defense (pages 721-753) Ana M. Novoa, The Removal of Adam’s Rib: The Creation and Polarization of Male and Female Virtues (pages 755-764) Joann Blair, Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother, But For How Long? (pages 765-782) Laura D. Robertson, Breaking Down the Language Barrier: A Move Toward Requiring Non-English Speaking Parents to Facilitate English Proficiency (pages 783-793) Lee A. Webb, A Nation That Values Family, Except When a Family Member is Foreign: An Overview of Proposed Changes in Immigration Law and Their Devastating Effects on Many U.S. Families (pages 795-811) OTHER PERIODICALS (alphabetical by author) Penelope Eileen Bryan, The Coercion of Women in Divorce Settlement Negotiations, 74 Denver University Law Review 931-940 (Summer 1997) (Part of Coercion: An Interdisciplinary Examination of Coercion, Exploitation, and the Law) Mark S. Coven, Welfare Reform, Contempt, and Child Support Enforcement, 30 Suffolk University Law Review 1067-1095 (Winter 1997) J. Herbie DiFonzo, Alternatives to Marital Fault: Legislative and Judicial Experiments in Cultural Change, 34 Idaho Law Review 1-60 (Winter 1997) John A. Gibbons, Who’s Your Daddy? A Constitutional Analysis of Post-Mortem Insemination, 14 Journal of Contemporary Health Law and Policy 187-210 (Fall 1997) Lynn Z. Gold-Biken, Agreements in Principle for Marital Property, 43 The Practical Lawyer 15 (Jan. 1998) Julie L.B. Johnson, The Meaning of "General Laws": The Extent of Congress’s Power Under the Full Faith and Credit Clause and the Constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, 145 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1611-1647 (June 1997) Leona M. Kopetski, Identifying Cases of Parental Alienation Syndrome, 27 Colorado Lawyer 65 (Feb. 1998) Kathryn E. Kovacs, Recognizing Gay and Lesbian Families: Marriage and Parental Rights, 5 Law & Sexuality 513-539 (1995) Nicole E. Miller, The Best Interests of All Children: An Examination of Grandparent Visitation Rights Regarding Children Born Out of Wedlock, 42 New York Law School Law Review 179-203 (Summer 1997) Arlin P. Neser, Family Law Practitioner Resources on the Internet, 7 Law Office Computing 20 (Dec. 1997) Rita Smity and Pamela Coukos, Fairness and Accuracy in Evaluations of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in Custody Determinations, 36 Judges Journal 38 (7) (Fall 1997) Paul L. Speakman, Equality for Same-Sex Partners in the European Community, 12 American University Journal of International Law and Policy 1063-1120 (Dec. 1997) Priscilla Steward, Access Rights: A Necessary Corollary to Custody Rights Under the Hague Convention, 21 Fordham International Law Journal 308-358 (Nov. 1997) Alan Wertheimer, Exploitation and Commercial Surrogacy, 74 Denver University Law Review 1215-1229 (Summer 1997) (Part of Coercion: An Interdisciplinary Examination of Coercion, Exploitation, and the Law)
~ INTERNET RESOURCES ~ Laura W. Morgan is a Senior Attorney in Family Law at the National Legal Research Group, in Charlottesville, Virginia, a firm that writes memoranda and briefs for attorneys nationwide. Ms. Morgan is the author of "Child Support Guidelines: Interpretation and Application," and is currently Chair of the Child Support Committee of the American Bar Association Family Law Section. She can be reached at: goddess@supportguidelines.com, or phone 1-800-727-6574 or 1-804-977-5690 © 1998 National Legal Research Group No information or materials posted here are intended to constitute legal advice, nor can we guarantee the accuracy of posted information, especially as to each individual situation. LawTek does not independently check the information contained herein and does not refer or endorse any product, service, or firm. This site does not constitute an attorney-client relationship; local counsel should always be consulted. Index of Fam-Law-Lit Issues |
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