Copyright (c) 2009 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer Recent documents in Jana B. Singer en-us Sun, 31 May 2009 06:58:39 PDT 3600 http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/18 http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/18 Wed, 20 May 2009 10:26:49 PDT Over the past two decades, there has been a paradigm shift in the way the legal system handles most family disputes - particularly disputes involving children. This paradigm shift has replaced the law-oriented and judge-focused model of adjudication with a more collaborative, interdisciplinary and forward-looking family dispute resolution regime. It has also transformed the practice of family law and fundamentally altered the way in which disputing families interact with the legal system. This essay examines the elements of this paradigm shift in family dispute resolution and explores the opportunities and challenges it offers for families, children and the legal system. Jana B. Singer Disupte Resolution Family Law http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/17 http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/17 Wed, 13 May 2009 10:56:55 PDT The purpose of this paper is to give a brief historical overview of the way in which the American legal system has traditionally regulated marriage. Jana B. Singer Marriage http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/16 http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/16 Tue, 05 May 2009 10:23:27 PDT Jana B. Singer Family Law http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/15 http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/15 Fri, 01 May 2009 07:29:50 PDT Jana B. Singer Family Law http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/14 http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/14 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:30:33 PDT Jana B. Singer Family Law http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/13 http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/13 Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:25:26 PDT Karen S. Czapanskiy Legal Profession http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/12 http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/12 Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:25:25 PDT Jana B. Singer Family Law http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/10 http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/10 Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:25:24 PDT The modern shift from fault-based to no-fault divorce has disappointed those who expected the no-fault system to eliminate economic inequality between divorced women and men. The fact that women and their dependent children invariably experience economic hardship after a divorce has caused Lenore Weitzman and other commentators to romanticize the "good old days" of fault-based divorce. Professor Singer attacks the logic of this nostalgia by demonstrating that women were 'not[' better off under the fault-based system. She then proposes an investment partnership model of post-divorce allocation which would insure a fair result for both spouses. Jana B. Singer Family Law http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/11 http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/11 Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:25:14 PDT Naomi Cahn Family Law http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/9 http://works.bepress.com/jana_singer/9 Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:48:24 PDT The Bankruptcy Code currently divides divorce-related obligations into two categories: awards or agreements in the nature of support are non-dischargeable; obligations arising from property divisions can be discharged in the same manner as ordinary commercial debts. Because recent developments in family law have undermined the support/property distinction and because privately negotiated divorce agreements often fail to distinguish between payments intended to serve as support and those intended to distribute property, the Code's reliance on this classification often leads to confusion and hardship for divorce obligees. In addition, because of the rise of equitable distribution as the dominant method of allocating marital gains and losses, the policy of refusing to protect divorce-related property divisions is unfair to divorcing couples who structure their financial arrangements according to modern notions of marital partnership.Tracing the history of the marital support exemption and examining recent trends in family law, Professor Singer argues that the goals of bankruptcy law and divorce law could be better served by amending the Bankruptcy Code to exclude from discharge all divorce-related obligations. Such a rule would recognize the particular nature of financial commitments arising out of marriage, and allow the Code to conform with our modern understanding of the marriage relationship. Jana B. Singer Family Law