The Marriage Moment: “We Inherit Nothing Truly, But What Our Actions Make Us Worthy Of”

Volume 88, Online

By Fredrick E. Vars, Professor, University of Alabama School of Law [PDF]

In its landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision, the United States Supreme Court held that same-sex couples have the same right to marry as others. “[M]arriage is essential to our most profound hopes and aspirations,” the Court declared. This is certainly true for many people, but marriage is not an unmitigated good. Like all things, it can be abused. As the right to marry expands, the potential for such abuse ought to be narrowed.

This Essay proposes that a person who procures a marriage solely to receive advantages at death and through misconduct that would support a will contest should not be treated as a spouse for purposes of intestacy, the elective share, or other death benefits.

Author: Jasnoor Hundal In early August 2023, the Supreme Court stayed the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision, In re Purdue Pharma L.P., and granted certiorari to hear oral argument in December of 2023. The parties were asked to brief and argue “[w]hether the Bankruptcy Code authorizes a court to approve, as part of a […]

Randy Kominsky is a member of Temple Law’s Class of 1979. Mr. Kominsky was a staff editor for Volume 51 and an associate research editor for Volume 52 of Temple Law Review. His case note, Housing Discrimination – The Appropriate Evidentiary Standard for Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, was published in 1978.[1] After graduating, he moved […]

Disrupting Hierarchies In Legal Education: Increasing Access By Supporting First Gen Success Katharine Traylor Schaffzin, Dean and Professor of Law, University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law The first-generation college students of Generation Z will challenge all of higher education, including legal education, to reconsider the delivery of education. Fortunately, undergraduate institutions have been […]