Family Law

Reconceiving the Family Critique on the American Law Institute's Principles of the Law of Family Dissolution

By Robin Fretwell Wilson
Cambridge University Press September 2012

Specifications

ISBN-13
9781107407374
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Publication
September 2012
Format
Paperback , 564 pages
Jurisdiction
U.S. ? Countri(es) for reference only

Details

This 2006 book provides a critical examination of and reflection on the American Law Institute's (ALI) Principles of the Law of Family Dissolution: Analysis and Recommendations ('Principles'), arguably the most sweeping proposal for family law reform attempted in the US over the last quarter century. The volume is a collaborative work of individuals from diverse perspectives and disciplines who explore the fundamental questions about the nature of family, parenthood, and child support. The contributors are all recognized authorities on aspects of family law and provide commentary on the principles examined by the ALI - fault, custody, child support, property division, spousal support and domestic partnerships, utilizing a wide range of analytical tools, including economic theory, constitutional law, social science data and linguistic analysis. This volume also includes the perspectives of US judges and legislators and leading family law scholars in the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada and Australia.

• The only comprehensive scholarly appraisal to date on the ALI's undertaking in the Principles to reform the law of marriage and divorce

• Contributors are prominent scholars of family law in the US and abroad

• Diversity of perspectives regarding family law

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments page xi
Foreword, by Mary Ann Glendon xiii
List of Contributors xvii
Introduction 1
Robin Fretwell Wilson  
PART ONE.   FAULT  
1   Beyond Fault and No-Fault in the Reform of Marital Dissolution Law 9
    Lynn D. Wardle  
2   A City without Duty, Fault, or Shame 28
    Scott FitzGibbon  
PART TWO.   CUSTODY  
3   Partners, Care givers, and the Constitutional Substance of Parenthood 47
    David D. Meyer  
4   Custody Law and the ALI’s PRINCIPLES: A Little History, a Little Policy, and Some Very Tentative Judgments 67
    Robert J. Levy  
5   Undeserved Trust: Reflections on the ALI’s Treatment of De Facto Parents 90
    Robin Fretwell Wilson  
PART THREE.   CHILD SUPPORT  
6   Asymmetric Parenthood 121
    Katharine K. Baker  
7   Paying to Stay Home: On Competing Notions of Fairness and the Imputation of Income 142
    Mark Strasser  
PART FOUR.   PROPERTY DIVISION  
8   The ALI Property Division Principles: A Model of Radical Paternalism? 163
    John DeWitt Gregory  
9   Unprincipled Family Dissolution: The ALI’s Recommendations for Division of Property 176
    David Westfall  
10   You and Me against the World: Marriage and Divorce from Creditors’ Perspective 195
    Marie T. Reilly  
PART FIVE.   SPOUSAL SUPPORT  
11   Back to the Future: The Perils and Promise of a Backward-Looking Jurisprudence 209
    June Carbone  
12   Money as Emotion in the Distribution of Wealth at Divorce 234
    Katharine B. Silbaugh  
13   Postmodern Marriage as Seen through the Lens of the ALI’s “Compensatory Payments” 249
    Katherine Shaw Spaht  
PART SIX.   DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP  
14   Domestic Partnership and Default Rules 269
    Margaret F. Brinig  
15   Private Ordering under the ALI PRINCIPLES: As Natural as Status 284
    Martha M. Ertman  
16   Marriage Matters: What’s Wrong with the ALI’s Domestic Partnership Proposal 305
    Marsha Garrison  
17   Domestic Partnerships, Implied Contracts, and Law Reform 331
    Elizabeth S. Scott  
PART SEVEN.   AGREEMENTS  
18   The PRINCIPLES and Canada’s “Beyond Conjugality” Report: The Move towards Abolition of State Marriage Laws 351
    Jane Adolphe  
19   The ALI PRINCIPLES and Agreements: Seeking a Balance between Status and Contract 372
    Brian H. Bix  
20   The PRINCIPLES on Agreements: “Fairness” and International Human Rights Law 392
    Barbara Stark  
PART EIGHT.   JUDICIAL AND LEGISLATIVE PERSPECTIVES  
21   A Formula for Fool’s Gold: The Illustrative Child Support Formula in Chapter 3 of the ALI’s PRINCIPLES 409
    Maura D. Corrigan  
22   A Response to the PRINCIPLES’ Domestic Partnership Scheme 425
    Jean Hoefer Toal  
PART NINE.   INTERNATIONAL REFLECTIONS  
23   Empowerment and Responsibility: The Balance Sheet Approach in the PRINCIPLES and English Law 433
    John Eekelaar  
24   The Past Caretaking Standard in Comparative Perspective 446
    Patrick Parkinson  
25   Compensating Gain and Loss in Marriage: A Scandinavian Comment on the ALI PRINCIPLES 472
    Tone Sverdrup  
Afterword: Elite Principles: The ALI Proposals and the Politics of Law Reform, by Carl E. Schneider 489
Index 507

About the Author

Robin Fretwell Wilson
University of Maryland, Baltimore

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