General Course Descriptions for Terms: marital
734 - Trusts & Estates I
"TNE" is a survey course on the legal and real-world aspects of transmission of property, usually at death. It covers such topics as intestate succession (dying without a will), wills, trusts and will substitutes, limitations on the disposition of assets and the impact of the Marital Property Act, powers of attorney and end-of-life decision making, and basic issues in the taxation of gifts and transfers at death. In addition to legal fundamentals, the course has a strong focus on legal practice–i.e., on how the law plays out on the ground.
771 - Marital Property (2nd half of term: GIE Session)
939 - Sel Prob Family Law: Adoption Law & Policy
Adoption Law & Policy (Law 939) is a 2-credit in-person course. This course meets for one 2- hour class period each week over the spring semester and carries the expectation that students will work on course learning activities (reading, writing, assignments, studying, etc.) for at least about 4 hours out of classroom for every class period. Overall, the 2-credit standard for this course is met by an expectation of a total of 85 hours of student engagement with the course’s learning activities (at least 42.5 hours per credit), which include regularly scheduled class meeting times, reading, writing, and other assignments. This course addresses adoption law and policy in the United States. Topics include: (1) an overview of the history of adoption law and current trends in adoption policy and practice; (2) the adoption process including an examination of the differences between agency and independent adoption, the form, timing and revocability of parental consent to adoption, the selection of adoptive parents and stepparent adoption; (3) parental rights of nonmarital fathers; (4) adoption by gay and lesbian parents; (5) transracial adoption; (6) adoption of Native American children and the Indian Child Welfare Act; (7) open adoption practice; (8) international adoption; (9) and government law and policy on the adoption of children from foster care. Course requirements include engaged, consistent and constructive class participation, serving as class discussion leader and drafting Commentaries and Discussion Questions, and completion of a research paper. This course offers a discussion-based examination of the readings in which regular class attendance and participation is absolutely crucial.