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FAM-LAW-LIT: A SURVEY OF CURRENT PERIODICAL LITERATURE ADDRESSING FAMILY LAW ISSUES

Laura W. Morgan, Esquire
National Legal Research Group, Charlottesville, Virginia


Welcome to FamLawLit, a survey of current periodical literature concerning family law issues, for December 1998. This page provides a synopsis of current law review articles that discuss issues in family law. 

There will be no Ethics Spotlight this month.

~ PRIMARY FAMILY LAW PERIODICALS ~

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF FAMILY LAW (published quarterly; P .A56533)

Aspen Law & Business
1185 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Vol. 12, No. 3 (Fall 1998) (Rec’d 10/20/98)

(The following summaries are taken directly from the table of contents of the issue)

Gary A. Shulman and David I. Kelley, Present Value Settlement: Using the Kelley-Shulman Scale to Choose (pages 135-140): The process of dividing pension plans often places the domestic relations attorney on the horns of a dilemma. This article offers a novel solution for choosing between a lump-sum settlement or a properly drafted qualified domestic relations order.

Susan R. Bulfinch and Renee Sperling, When Mediation Meets Litigation: Cross-Over Dangers (pages 141-147): This article examines the interplay between mediation and litigation when a family law action has been filed and the parties vacillate between the two processes, choosing mediation to resolve issues yet keeping hearing dates on the calendar. The authors use a hypothetical case scenario to illustrate the cross-over dangers of mediation and litigation, when both processes are in play.

Linda Roberson, Abby Rupp, and Liza Roberson-Young, Admissibility of Mental Health Care Records in Custody/Displacement Disputes (pages 148-154): While no national standard has been established regarding the admissiblity of mental health records in custody disputes, both state legislation and national case law delineate appropriate public policy. These authors begin to map out ways for courts to both preserve confidentiality and admit relevant records without violating psychologiest-patient privilege.

Laura W. Morgan, Modification of Child Support Judgments (pages 155-163): Under common law, modification of a child support judgment can occur only if there has been a substantial and continuing change of circumstances since the last support order was rendered. This article explicitly considers the definition of a change in circumstances to the extent that such a change arises from application of the state child support guidelines mandated by the Family Support Act of 1988.

Gary C. Randall, The Family Home: A "Best" Asset in the Property Division (pages 164-167): Property transfers became nontaxable with the advent of Section1041 of the Internal Revenue Code, but that same nontaxability gave rise to some very difficult questions when the family home and divorce came together (or apart) as one. This author explains how the new Section 121 reduces the tax liability on the sale of the family home.

Robert J. Durst, II and Beth G. Baldinger, Marital Torts: Issues, Trends, and Practical Concerns in Pursuing Claims (pages 168-175): Presenting a marital tort claim poses many procedural and substantive issues for consideration by the family law attorney. Set forth here is a summary of those substantive issues and an overview of the practical concerns in pursuing marital tort claims, inverwoven with tips on thorough evaluation and strategizing of these claims to maximize the odds of their successful resolution.

Mikol Benjacob, Is Their "I Do" Good Enough For You? - The Unconstitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, Section 2 (pages 176-189): This author addresses Section 2 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages contracted in other states, as an unconstitutional exercise of congressional authority.

Ray Meyer, Professional Perspective: Family Law in Cyberspace (pages 190-192): The author notes some of the more useful stops on the information superhighway.

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
1285 Main Street
Buffalo, New York 14209-1987

Vol. 18, No. 2 (Spring 1998) (rec’d 7/8/98)

(Special Edition on Children with Life Threatening Diseases)

Arthur J. Amman, M.D., Introduction: The Need to Resolve Emerging Ethical, Legal, and Policy Issues Affecting Children with Serious and Life Threatening Diseases (pages 2-5): The author discusses the need for legal and legislative intervention to protect the health and welfare of children in the United States and abroad.

James G. Hoge, Jr. and Michael J. Parini, Perinatal HIV Transmission: A Children’s Human Rights Perspective (pages 6-19): An analysis of the human rights implications of public health programs to prevent perinatal HIV transmission.

Harold Paul Katner, Children and Adolescents with HIV/AIDS: Medical Breakthroughs and Prevention Failures (pages 20-26): A review of some of the major medical breakthroughs that have given hope to those with HIV/AIDS.

Ralph E. Kauffman, Drug Safety, Testing, and Availability for Children (pages 27-34): The author posits that the lack of clinical research to support approval and labeling of drugs for children presents physicians caring for children with an untenable conundrum: deprive children of possibly therapeutic drugs, or prescribe drugs off label. The author suggests the solution lies promoting ways the FDA can include pediatric information on drugs.

Michael Lipson, Psychology and the Dying Child: A Fundamental Challenge to Health and Service Professionals (pages 35-38): A review of ways health professionals can understand children’s dying, and work to overcome the emotional barriers to adequate care.

Ellen Wright Clayton, Genetic Testing in Children: The Law’s Role in Addressing the Challenges Posed by New Technology (pages 39-42): The physician’s role in preventing children from inappropriate genetic testing and parental treatment requests.

Mary Z. Pelias, Genetic Testing: Who Decides, Who Informs? (pages 43-46): A family by family approach to the ethical question of whether to provide genetic testing and information.

THE COMPLETE LAWYER (published six times per year)
American Bar Association General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section (rec’d 10/20/98)

Special Issue: Children and the Law

J. Thomas Dalby, Child Witness (pages 16-21): The author, a forensic psychologies and trial consultant, considers both the physical and metaphysical challenges of the child as witness.

Kathelen Hunt Federle, The Child as Client (pages 22-25): When the client is a child, the lawyer’s obligations to that child do not differ from those duties owed to an adult client. The author, an Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Justice for children Project at Ohio State University, considers an attorney’s ethical duties to a child client.

Larry Ramirez, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (pages 26-32): A review of IDEA, and how to secure rights under the Act.

Joan M. Burda, Collecting Child Support From Federal Civilian Employees and Military Personnel (pages 34-39): The author notes federal law and regulations creating the authority to garnish the wages of federal civilian employees and military personnel to collect child support, including the Uniformed Services Former Spouse’s Protection Act and 32 C.F.R. § 63.6(e).

John F. Thomasset, Planning an Estate, Protecting a Child (pages 40-43): Consideration of guardianship, children with special needs, education IRAs, and trusts to take care of children in estate planning devices.

Edward D. Beasley, Special Needs Trusts (pages 45-48): How to plan for a child with disabilities.

Joshua Van Kampen, The Fair Housing Act’s Protection of Children (pages LN1-LN4): The article examines the types of property governed under the FHA, the categories of unlawful conduct that are prohibited, proof models utilized in FHA claims, available defenses for landlords, and the remedial framework.

E.E. Anderson, Sex Crimes Against Children (pages 50-52): An overview of the Child Protection and Sexual Predator Act of 1998, which prohibits contacting a minor over the Internet for the purposes of engaging in illegal sexual activity.

DIVORCE LITIGATION (published monthly)

National Legal Research Group
2421 Ivy Road
Charlottesville, Virginia 22909

Vol. 10, No. 11 (November 1998) (expected ship date: 12/7/98)

Laura W. Morgan, Child Support Guidelines and the Shared Custody Dilemma (pages 213-222): A review of how child support guidelines attempt to fashion an equitable award when the child(ren) spend significant amounts of time in two households.

Laura W. Morgan, 1998 Bankruptcy Update (pages 222-225): A review of case law interpreting 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(15), disallowing discharge in bankruptcy of property settlements unless certain conditions are met.

Steve Miller and Beth Vallario, The Employability Experts Speak (pages 225-230): Two employment rehabilitation experts detail how they evaluation spouses to determine their income potential.

Laura W. Morgan, Five Tips to Prevent International Child Abduction (pages 230-232): Some practical steps an attorney can take to prevent a parent from leaving the country with a child.

EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION JOURNAL (published monthly; P .E573)

National Legal Research Group
2421 Ivy Road
Charlottesville, Virginia 22906

Vol. 15, No. 11 (November 1998)

Joan L. Cobb, Sanctions for Discovery Violations: A discussion of general principles governing the imposition of sanctions in equitable distribution proceedings, and a review of specific sanctions that are available for noncompliance with discovery obligations and orders.

FAIR$HARE

Aspen Law & Business
1185 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036

Vol. 18, No. 11 (November 1998) (rec’d 11/24/98)

Marilyn Barrett, Liberalized Innocent Spouse Relief and New Separate Return Election (pages 2-5): A review of H.R. 2676, amending I.R.C. § 6015, which expands potential relief for innocent spouses from joint income tax return liabilities.

Jay E. Fishman and William J. Morrison, Use of the Marketing Approach to Value a Travel Agency Business (page 6): A critique of the reasoning in Wright v. Quinllen, 909 S.W.2d 804 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1995).

Kevin C. McCullough and Amy M. Weinbrake, Family Law Application of Evidence Rules: Opinion Testimony of Law Witness (page 7): How to apply Rule 701 of the Federal Rules of Evidence (and its state cognates).

Hon. Anne Kass, Understanding Marriage Counseling (pages 12-13): A realistic assessment of what counseling can do.

FAMILY ADVOCATE

American Bar Association Section of Family Law
Vol. 21, No. 2 (Fall 1998) (rec’d 10/20/98)

Stephen J. Harhai, Tools of the Trade: Atlas.ti (pages 4-5): A description of Atlas.ti from Scientific Software, a tool to assist in qualitative analysis.

Kathleen A. Hogan, Case of the Issue: Professional Degrees Revisited (p0ages 6-7): An examination of Simmons v. Simmons, 244 Conn. 158, 708 A.2d 949 (1998) and In re Marriage of Speirs, 956 P.2d 622 (Colo. Ct. App. 1998), which address reimbursement for contributions to a spouse’s professional degree.

Burton Young and Mitchell K. Karpf, Winning Trial Prep (pages 9-11): The authors, lawyers with winning reputations, disclose their four secrets for success in the courtroom: decent facts, preparation, preparation, and more preparation. More specifically: know your judge, know your trial opponent, develop a theme, prepare a trial book, focus attention, and pay attention to your closing.

Cary B. Cheifetz, Deposition Strategies (pages 12-15): Winning deposition strategies, including how to prepare a deposition notebook, and how to prepare your witness.

Stephen J. Harhai, The Latest Bells and Whistles (pages 17-19): A summary of The Interactive Courtroom (CD-Rom), HotDocs, Lotus Notes, PowerPoint, and Axon Idea Processor.

Carroll J. Collins III and Christopher J. Donnelly, Witnesses Tell the Story (pages 21-23): How to let your lay and expert witnesses let the story unfold.

Elaine Lewis, The Not-So-Secret Secrets of Good Witnesses (pages 24-26): Taking a cue from Aristotle, the author proposes that a good witness should exhibit ethos, logos, and pathos.

Norman M. Sheresky, Dynamic Direct (pages 27-29): Hints on the fine art of staging and storytelling.

Suzanne Harris, The Art of the Expert (pages 30-33): How to select, prepare, depose, and lay foundation for, your expert.

James J. Jimmerson and Jennifer Leonescu, Cross-Examining the Opposing Expert (pages 34-41): How to effectively cross-examine the opposing expert, by outlining cross, using the expert’s deposition to impeach, and maintaining control at all times.

Jami B. Hotsinpiller, Your Honor, I Object! Preserving Error for Review (pages 42-47): Tips on preserving error at the trial level by proper objections, motions to strike, and motions in limine.

FAMILY AND CONCILIATION COURTS REVIEW (published quarterly; P .C6533)

Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
Sage Publications Inc.
2455 Teller Road
Thousand Oaks, CA 91320

Vol. 36, No. 4 (October 1998) (rec’d 10/6/98)

Thea Brown, Margarita Frederico, Lesley Hewitt, and Rosemary Sheehan, Problems and Solutions in The Management of Child Abuse Allegations in Custody and Acess Disputes in the Family Court (pages 431-443): The article summarizes a large research study that investigated the way the Family Court of Australia managed child abuse allegations in custody/visitation cases.

Emily B. Visher and John S. Visher, Stepparents: The Forgotten Family Members (pages 444-451): A call by the authors to acknowledge the differences between traditional nuclear families and stepfamilies, and to support stepfamily strengths.

Laurie Kramer and Amanda Kowal, Long-Term Follow-Up of a Court-Based Intervention for Divorcing Parents (pages 452-465): This study investigated whether participation in an educational program for divorcing parents is associated with a lower incidence of relitigating divorce issues over time.

Daniel J. Hynan, Interviewing Children in Custody Evaluations (pages 466-478): The ways to maximize the accuracy and usefulness of child interviews in child custody evaluations.

Mary F. Whiteside, Custody for Children Age 5 and Younger (pages 479-502): The empirical literature concerning the developmental consequences of postdivorce custody arrangements for children age 5 and younger is summarized.

FAMILY LAW QUARTERLY (published quarterly)

American Bar Association Section of Family Law
Chicago, IL

Vol. 32, No. 2 (Summer 1998) (Rec’d 9/14/98)

Patricia M. Hoff, The ABC’s of the UCCJEA: Interstate Child-Custody Practice Under the New Act (pages 267-299): An introduction to the new and improved uniform child custody jurisdiction and enforcement act.

Robert G. Spector, Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (pages 301-384): The reporter for the Uniform Laws commission offers his comments on the new UCCJEA.

John J. Sampson, Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (1996) (pages 385-520): An update of a previous article, explaining the provisions of UIFSA.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LAW, POLICY & FAMILY (published quarterly; P .I6786)

Oxford University Press
Cary, North Carolina 27513
Vol. 12, No. 2 (Summer 1998)

Margaret Hall, A Ministry for Children: Abandoning the Interventionist Debate in British Columbia (pages 121-145)

Catherine Blatier, The Specialized Jurisdiction in France: A Better Chance for Minors (pages 146-160)

Debbie S.L. Ong, The Test of Sex for Marriage in Singapore (pages 161-179)

Teresa Piconto-Novales, The Application of Spanish Child Welfare Law (pages 180-201)

Suzanne Hoelgaard, Cultural Determinants of Adoption Policy: A Colombian Case Study (pages 202-241)

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF MATRIMONIAL LAWYERS (published two times per year; P .A551j)

American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
150 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60601

Vol. 14, No. 1 (Winter 1997) (Rec’d 3/9/98)

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.

JUVENILE AND FAMILY COURT JOURNAL

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
University of Nevada, Reno Campus
Reno, Nevada
Vol. 49, No. 3 (Summer 1998) (rec’d 10/8/98)

Rick Rudell, G. Larry Mays, and Dennis M. Giever, Transferring Juveniles to Adult Courts: Recent Trends and Issues in Canada and the United States (pages 1-15): The authors researched the practice of transferring juvenile offenders to adult courts in Canada and the United States, and the consequences of the policies pursued by the two countries.

William Bradshaw and Mark S. Umbreit, Crime Victims Meet Juvenile Offenders: Contributing Factors to Victim Satisfaction With Mediated Dialogue (pages 17-25): The results of studies showing higher levels of victim satisfaction with the victim offender mediation process.

Patrick Yewell, Deborah Williamson, Michael Cornwall, and Paul Knepper, The Road to Court Improvement in Child Protection Cases: A Comment (pages 27-39): A report on the State Court Improvement Program funded by Congress in 1993.

SPECIAL SYMPOSIA OF INTEREST

16 Behavioral Sciences and the Law (Spring 1998)
Families and the Courts

11 Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics (Winter 1998)
The Ethics of a Law Practice

11 Harvard Journal of Law & Technology (Summer 1998)
Privacy, Property & Family In the Age of Genetic Testing

35 Houston Law Review (Summer 1998)
Domestic Violence and the Health Care System

73 Notre Dame Law Review (July 1998)
Propter Honoris Respectum

33 Willamette Law Review (Fall 1997)
Domestic Violence

 OTHER PERIODICALS

(Alphabetical by author)

Lori B. Andrews and Nanette Elster, Adoption, Reproductive Technologies, and Genetic Information, 8 Health Matrix 121-151 (Summer 1998)

Christa Arcos, Hague Convention Service of Process in Family Law Cases, 9 The Practical Litigator 21-26 (July 1998)

Abed Awad, Attorney-Client Sexual Relations, 21 Journal of the Legal Profession 131-191 (Annual 1997)

Gregory M. Bartlett, Setting Child Support for the Low Income and High Income Families in Kentucky, 25 Northern Kentucky Law Review 281307 (Winter 1998)

Karen Rothschild Cavanaugh and Daniel Pollack, Child Support Obligations of Incarcerated Parents, 7 Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy 531-553 (Winter 1998)

Nicole L. Cucci, Constitutional Implications of In Vitro Fertilization Procedures, 72 St. John’s Law Review 417-449 (Spring 1998)

Christine M. Donnelly, Until Debts Do Us Part: Marital Property Settlements in Bankruptcy, 103 Commercial Law Journal 98-121 (Spring 1998)

Jennifer Ann Drobac, For the Sake of the Children: Court Consideration of Religion in Child Custody Cases, 50 Stanford Law Review 1609-1670 (May 1998)

Renee C. Esfaniary, The Changing World of Genetics and Abortion, 4 William & Mary Journal of Women and the Law 499-522 (Spring 1998)

Mychal L. Feldman, The Child Welfare System and Its Implications on the Best Interests of the Children, 14 New York Law School Journal of Human Rights 615-650 (Spring 1998)

Jill Elaine Hasday, Federalism and the Family Reconstructed, 45 UCLA Las Review 1297-1400 (June 1998)

Laurence D. Houlgate, Family Law and Family Privacy, 17 Law and Philosophy 141-158 (March 1998)

Sanford N. Katz, Marriage As Partnership, 73 Notre Dame Law Review 1251-1274 (July `998)

Harry D. Krause, On the Danger of Allowing Marital Fault to Reemerge In the Guise of Torts, 73 Notre Dame Law Review 1355-1367 (July 1998)

Murray Levine, Do Standards of Proof Affect Decision Making in Child Protection Investigations?, 22 Law and Human Behavior 341-347 (June 1998)

Karen Marky, An Overview of the Legal Challenges Faced By Gay and Lesbian Parents: How Courts Treat Growing Numbers of Gay Families, 14 New York Law School Journal of Human Rights 721-755 (Spring 1998)

Cynthia A. McNeely, Lagging Behing the Times: Parenthood, Custody, and Gender Bias in the Family Court, 25 Florida State University Law School 891-956 (Summer 1998)

Hugh Miller III, DNA Blueprints, Personhood, and Genetic Privacy, 8 Health Matrix 179-211 (Summer 1998)

Jo-Ellen Paradise, The Disparity Between Men and Women in custody Disputes: Is Joint Custody the Answer to Everyone’s Problems?, 72 St. John’s Law Review 517-579 (Spring 1998)

Judith M. Reichler and Gila Brownstein, Child Support After Cassano: Do We need a Formula for Joint Custody?, 70 New York State Bar Journal 55 (May-June 1998)

Pamela Forrestall Roper, Hitting Deadbeat Parents Where it Hurts: Punitive Mechanisms in Child Support Enforcement, 14 Alaska Law Review 41-76 (June 1997)

Jeenie R. Shuki-Kunze, The "Defenseless" Marriage Act, 48 Case Western Reserve Law Review 351-379 (Winter 1998)

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
and LawTek Media Group, LLC
all rights reserved

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.

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