Archive
In a Divorce or Dissolution Who Gets the Pension Rights: Domestic Relations Law and Retirement Plans
In a Divorce or Dissolution Who Gets the Pension Rights: Domestic Relations Law and Retirement Plans
Source: Pepperdine Law Review
When a marriage begins, it is made in heaven and will last "forever." However, when a marriage is legally over there is the rough sundering of dreams and hopes for the future and the need to sort out amongst the former life companions what is legally the property of each. This article will explore the evolving legal process which divides the property rights acquired during marriage in a retirement plan which was, intended to act as a shield against deprivation of the marriage partners in their mutually shared old age.
Public Support for Marriage for Same-sex Couples by State
Public Support for Marriage for Same-sex Couples by State
Source: Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law (UCLA)
By the end of 2012, 12 states and the District of Columbia had support for same-sex marriage at or above 50%. Of these 12 states, all currently perform marriages, civil unions, or domestic partnerships for same-sex couples. Thirteen additional states presently are within 5 percentage points of majority support. In the last eight years, every state has increased in its support for marriage for same-sex couples with an average increase of 13.6%. If present public opinion trends continue, another 8 states will be above 50% support by the end of 2014.
The Impact of Internet Diffusion on Marriage Rates: Evidence from the Broadband Market
The Impact of Internet Diffusion on Marriage Rates: Evidence from the Broadband Market
Source: Institute for the Study of Labor
The Internet has the potential to reduce search frictions by allowing individuals to identify faster a larger set of available options that conform to their preferences. One market that stands to benefit from this process is that of marriage. This paper empirically examines the implications of Internet diffusion in the United States since the 1990s on one aspect of this market: marriage rates. Exploring sharp temporal and geographic variation in the pattern of consumer broadband adoption, I find that the latter has significantly contributed to increased marriages rates among 21-30 year olds. A number of tests suggest that this relationship is causal and that it varies across demographic groups potentially facing thinner marriage markets. I also provide some suggestive evidence that Internet has likely crowded out other traditional meeting venues, such as through family and friends.
About 6 in 10 Recent Moms in Their Early 20s are Unmarried, Census Bureau Reports
About 6 in 10 Recent Moms in Their Early 20s are Unmarried, Census Bureau Reports
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
As of 2011, 62 percent of women age 20 to 24 who gave birth in the previous 12 months were unmarried, according to a report released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. This compares with 17 percent among women age 35 to 39.
The information comes from Social and Economic Characteristics of Currently Unmarried Women with a Recent Birth: 2011, an American Community Survey report. The analysis is based on separate survey questions on whether women have given birth to any children in the past 12 months and what their marital status is. The statistics in the report are presented at the national and state levels, with a separate table and map containing metropolitan area data.
"This is the first report from the Census Bureau showing geographic variation in recent births to unmarried women, as well as characteristics of the women such as educational attainment," said Rose Kreider, a family demographer with the Census Bureau and one of the report’s authors. "The American Community Survey is the nation’s exclusive source of data on the demographic characteristics of mothers with this level of geographic detail."
In 2011, 4.1 million women reported that they had given birth in the last year. Of these women, 36 percent were unmarried at the time of the survey, an increase from 2005 when an estimated 31 percent of recent births were to unmarried women (2005 was the earliest year for which statistics are available from the American Community Survey).
"The increased share of unmarried recent mothers is one measure of the nation’s changing family structure," Kreider said. "Nonmarital fertility has been climbing steadily since the 1940s and has risen even more markedly in recent years."
First Premarital Cohabitation in the United States: 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth
First Premarital Cohabitation in the United States: 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (PDF)
Source: National Center for Health Statistics
Objective—This report provides an updated description of trends and patterns in first premarital cohabitations among women aged 15–44 in the United States using the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Trends in pregnancies within first premarital cohabiting unions and differences by Hispanic origin and race, and education are also presented.
Methods—Data for 2006–2010 were collected through in-person interviews with 22,682 women and men aged 15–44 in the household population of the United States. This report is based primarily on the sample of 12,279 women interviewed in 2006–2010, and is supplemented by data from the 1995 and 2002 NSFGs.
Results—Forty-eight percent of women interviewed in 2006–2010 cohabited with a partner as a first union, compared with 34% of women in 1995. Between 1995 and 2006–2010, the percentage of women who cohabited as a first union increased for all Hispanic origin and race groups, except for Asian women. In 2006–2010, 70% of women with less than a high school diploma cohabited as a first union, compared with 47% of women with a bachelor’s degree or higher. First premarital cohabitations were longest for foreign-born Hispanic women (33 months) and shortest for white women (19 months). In 2006–2010, 40% of first premarital cohabitations among women transitioned to marriage by 3 years, 32% remained intact, and 27% dissolved. Nearly 20% of women experienced a pregnancy in the first year of their first premarital cohabitation.
Transcript/Audio — United States v. Windsor (Supreme Court oral arguments on DOMA)
Transcript/Audio — United States v. Windsor (Supreme Court oral arguments on DOMA)
Source: Supreme Court of the United States
UNITED STATES,
etitioner : No. 12-307
v. :
EDITH SCHLAIN WINDSOR, IN HER CAPACITY AS EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE: OF THEA CLARA SPYER, ET AL.
APPEARANCES:
VICKI C. JACKSON, ESQ., Cambridge, Massachusetts; for Court-appointed amicus curiae.
SRI SRINIVASAN, ESQ., Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; for Petitioner, supporting affirmance.
PAUL D. CLEMENT, ESQ., Washington, D.C.; for Respondent Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives.
DONALD B. VERRILLI, JR., ESQ., Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; for Petitioner, supporting affirmance.
ROBERTA A. KAPLAN, ESQ., New York, New York; for Respondent Windsor.
Transcript — Hollingsworth v. Perry (Supreme Court Oral Arguments on Same Sex Marriage)
Transcript — Hollingsworth v. Perry (Supreme Court Oral Arguments on Same Sex Marriage) (PDF)
Source: Supreme Court of the United States
The above-entitled matter came on for oral argument before the Supreme Court of the United States at 10:07 a.m.
APPEARANCES:
CHARLES J. COOPER, ESQ., Washington, D.C.; on behalf of Petitioners.
THEODORE B. OLSON, ESQ., Washington, D.C.; on behalf of Respondents.
DONALD B. VERRILLI, JR., ESQ., Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; for United States, as amicus curiae, supporting Respondents.…
Growing Support for Gay Marriage: Changed Minds and Changing Demographics
Growing Support for Gay Marriage: Changed Minds and Changing Demographics
Source: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
The rise in support for same-sex marriage over the past decade is among the largest changes in opinion on any policy issue over this time period. A new national survey finds that much of the shift is attributable to the arrival of a large cohort of young adults – the Millennial generation – who are far more open to gay rights than previous generations. Equally important, however, is that 14% of all Americans – and 28% of gay marriage supporters – say they have changed their minds on this issue in favor of gay marriage.
The long-term shift in the public’s views about same-sex marriage is unambiguous. Polling conducted in 2003 found most Americans (58%) opposed to allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally, and just a third (33%) in favor. The new survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted March 13-17, 2013 among 1,501 adults nationwide, confirms that these figures have crossed, with 49% supporting same-sex marriage, and 44% opposed.
Marriage: What It Is, Why It Matters, and the Consequences of Redefining It
Marriage: What It Is, Why It Matters, and the Consequences of Redefining It
Source: Heritage Foundation
Marriage is based on the truth that men and women are complementary, the biological fact that reproduction depends on a man and a woman, and the reality that children need a mother and a father. Redefining marriage does not simply expand the existing understanding of marriage; it rejects these truths. Marriage is society’s least restrictive means of ensuring the well-being of children. By encouraging the norms of marriage—monogamy, sexual exclusivity, and permanence—the state strengthens civil society and reduces its own role. The future of this country depends on the future of marriage. The future of marriage depends on citizens understanding what it is and why it matters and demanding that government policies support, not undermine, true marriage.
Knot Yet: The Benefits and Costs of Delayed Marriage In America
Knot Yet: The Benefits and Costs of Delayed Marriage In America
Source: The National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia
One of the most important social developments of our time is the recent rise in age at first marriage, which now stands at 27 for women and 29 for men–a historic high. Delayed marriage in America has helped to bring the divorce rate down since 1980 and increased the economic fortunes of college-educated women, according to Knot Yet: The Benefits and Costs of Delayed Marriage in America, a new report from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, and the RELATE Institute. But another important consequence of delayed marriage is that most Americans without college degrees now have their first child before they marry. By contrast, the vast majority of college-educated men and women still put childbearing after marriage. Knot Yet explores the causes and consequences of this revolution in family life, especially the ways that delayed marriage is connected to the welfare of twentysomethings, their children, and the nation as a whole.
CRS — Federal Benefits and the Same-Sex Partners of Federal Employees
Federal Benefits and the Same-Sex Partners of Federal Employees (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
The federal government provides a variety of benefits to its 4.4 million civilian and military employees and 4.7 million civilian and military retirees. Among these benefits are health insurance; enhanced dental and vision benefits; survivor benefits; retirement and disability benefits; family, medical, and emergency leave; and reimbursement of relocation costs. Pursuant to Title 5 U.S.C. Chapters 89, 89A, 89B, and other statutes, federal employees may extend these benefits to eligible spouses and children.
In 1996, Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA, P.L. 104-199; 1 U.S.C §7) “[t]o define and protect the institution of marriage.” DOMA contains two provisions. The first provision allows all states, territories, possessions, and Indian tribes to refuse to recognize an act of any other jurisdiction that designates a relationship between individuals of the same sex as a marriage. The second provision prohibits federal recognition of these unions for purposes of federal enactments. Pursuant to DOMA, the same-sex partners of federal employees are not eligible to receive federal benefits that are extended to the spouses of federal employees. An estimated 34,000 federal employees are in same-sex relationships—including state-recognized marriages, civil unions, or domestic partnerships.
The Obama Administration has extended certain benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees and annuitants—and argued that it has done so within the parameters of existing federal statutes. On June 2, 2010, President Obama released a memorandum that extended specific benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees, including coverage of travel, relocation, and subsistence payments.
Some Members of Congress argue that same-sex partners of federal employees should have access to benefits afforded married, opposite-sex couples in order to attract the most efficient and effective employees to federal service. Other Members of Congress argue that the law prohibits the extension of such benefits, and, therefore, actions to distribute any spousal benefits to samesex couples is contrary to both the text and spirit of DOMA.
Congress has had a long-standing interest in overseeing the benefits provided to federal employees. On the one hand, the federal government seeks to attract the most effective, highly trained workforce to address technical and complex issues. On the other hand, finite resources can present challenges when considering whether to extend benefits to federal employees. When DOMA was enacted, the House report that accompanied the legislation stated that a primary goal of the law was to “preserve scarce government resources.”
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that extending benefits to the partners of employees in same-sex relationships pursuant to S. 1910 would cost the federal government $144 million in discretionary spending between 2013 and 2022. CBO also estimated, however, that extending the benefits could “limit future rate increases” in federal health care costs because health care providers would be required to recover certain health care costs that previously went unrecovered. These recovered costs could lower the federal government’s health care premiums.
In the 112th Congress, two bills have been introduced that, if enacted, would permit federal employees to extend insurance, long-term care, and other benefits to same-sex partners. On November 18, 2011, Senator Joseph Lieberman introduced S. 1910, the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2011. That same day, Representative Tammy Baldwin introduced a companion bill, H.R. 3485, also called the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2011, in the House. On May 16, 2012, S. 1910 was ordered to be reported favorably from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. H.R. 3485 was referred to multiple committees, but no further action has been taken on the bill.
This report examines current policies on the application of benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees and reviews certain policy debates about the extension or removal of these benefits. This report also presents data on the prevalence of same-sex partner benefits in the private and public sector. This report focuses on federal benefits for same-sex partners and not on same-sex relationships in general. For more information on the implementation of DOMA and how it affects same-sex partnerships, see CRS Report RL31994, Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues, by Alison M. Smith. For information on private sector employee benefit plans and samesex partner benefits, see CRS Report R41998, Same-Sex Marriage and Employee Benefit Plans: Legal Considerations, by Jennifer Staman.
Educational Differences in Divorce in Japan
Educational Differences in Divorce in Japan
Source: Demographic Research
Background: Evidence of a negative relationship between educational attainment and divorce in Japan is not consistent with predictions derived from standard theoretical emphases on the costs of divorce.
Objective: Using marital history data from a cross-sectional survey, we estimated educational differences in divorce for two marriage cohorts: 1980-89 and 1990-2005. We also used 14 years of panel survey data to evaluate four possible explanations for the observed negative educational gradient.
Results: Our results confirmed that educational attainment is inversely related to divorce in Japan, and showed that, in contrast to some previous findings, the negative relationship between women’s education and divorce has not become stronger in recent years. Analyses of the panel data provided some support for hypotheses that focused on the role of economic strain and on cultural values regarding reputation or "face," but they also showed that the negative relationship between education and divorce remained strong even after controlling for a range of posited correlates.
Conclusions: Our failure to solve the theoretical puzzle motivating these analyses suggests that other types of contextual modification to standard theories of family change are required to explain the strong negative relationship between educational attainment and divorce in Japan. We discussed possible examples of such modifications, focusing on the patterns of selection into marriage and the central importance of investment in children’s educational success in Japan’s highly competitive educational system, while also offering more nuanced theorization regarding the role of reputation or "face".
The Effect of Unpredicted Changes in Income on the Probability of Divorce
The Effect of Unpredicted Changes in Income on the Probability of Divorce (PDF)
Source: University of California, Santa Barbara (Milosch, Economics)
This paper contributes to the literature on the economic determinants of marital stability. Surprises that reduce expected marital surplus, such as shocks to permanent income, are among the possible causes of divorce (Becker et al. (1977); Weiss and Willis (1997)). Measures of predicted permanent income are constructed for NLSY79 respondents and their spouses for each year of the marriage, and the effects of cumulative deviations from predicted permanent income at the time of marriage on divorce are estimated. I find that unpredicted decreases in predicted permanent income of the husband increase the probability of divorce. The results are robust to a number of methods and sub-samples, however some interesting patterns emerge across ethnic groups and education levels. Unpredicted decreases in predicted permanent income for the wife have no direct effect on divorce, unless they occur from a switch into unemployment. Characteristics of couples who experience large income shocks are examined. The empirical findings are compared to predictions of several types of marriage models.
Divorce and Women’s Risk of Health Insurance Loss
Divorce and Women’s Risk of Health Insurance Loss
Source: Journal of Health & Social Behavior
This article bridges the literatures on the economic consequences of divorce for women with that on marital transitions and health by focusing on women’s health insurance. Using a monthly calendar of marital status and health insurance coverage from 1,442 women in the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we examine how women’s health insurance changes after divorce. Our estimates suggest that roughly 115,000 American women lose private health insurance annually in the months following divorce and that roughly 65,000 of these women become uninsured. The loss of insurance coverage we observe is not just a short-term disruption. Women’s rates of insurance coverage remain depressed for more than two years after divorce. Insurance loss may compound the economic losses women experience after divorce and contribute to as well as compound previously documented health declines following divorce.
See: Divorce costs thousands of women health insurance coverage (EurekAlert!)
Mapping America’s attitudes toward marriage equality: Mapping opinion patterns reveals how our neighborhoods and communities vary in their acceptance, their laws, and their sentiments (expressed in social media) toward marriage equality
Source: ESRI
Despite media attention, little data has been reported (especially with any local geographic detail) on how people view same-sex marriage across the nation.
While there has never been a comprehensive geographic survey on this subject, every community and neighborhood within the United States has been described using thousands of demographic variables. These variables can be combined and analyzed to determine spatial patterns and trends.
Recently voters passed California’s Proposition 8 and North Carolina’s Amendment 1, which forbid same-sex marriage. Using the voting results of these two pieces of legislation, Esri analyzed the demographic and consumer data of these voters to identify the geographic views of same-sex marriage. The results were then summarized using Esri’s Tapestry market segmentation system to extrapolate an acceptance index across the country.[1]
Colors on the resulting map show four relative levels of same-sex marriage acceptance by county and census tract. Size of the symbols indicate the total number of people in the county or tract. Within every community, there will be diverse levels of acceptance; for example, two neighbors may share opposite viewpoints. However, the map shows summary data on the relative acceptance of the overall community as they relate to other communities in the United States. Locations shown in dark green are more likely to be accepting as a general community than those communities shown in red.
You can explore how your acceptance of same-sex marriage correlates to the combined modeled results of your census tract, and you can explore how communities vary in their general acceptance across cities, counties, and the nation.
Mapping the overall acceptance index can help promote understanding by revealing the diversity of beliefs present in the United States. Review the next map (State Laws), to see how same-sex marriage laws compare with geographic acceptance patterns.
The New American Family: The MetLife Study of Family Structure and Financial Well-Being
The New American Family: The MetLife Study of Family Structure and Financial Well-Being
Source: MetLife
Key Findings
- Retirement security remains a major concern for a large percentage of Americans across all family types, particularly concerns about being able to maintain a “reasonable” standard of living for the rest of their lives.
- The presence of children is both a financial burden (half of those with adult children have provided them some financial assistance) and a potential source of support (one-fourth of respondents expect children to help retired parents in need).
- More couples than non-couples have taken action to lower their debt, have met with a financial advisor, and have invested for their retirement.
- More single women believe it’s harder for them to save for retirement than respondents who are married or have a blended family.
Salient Features of Vietnamese and Filipina Brides of American Citizens: Findings Based on the Micro Data of Recent American Community Surveys
This paper studies the educational, employment, and income status of Vietnamese and Filipina brides of American citizens, based on the merged micro data of the 2005, 2006, and 2007 American Community Surveys. We found that the Vietnamese brides tended to be much less educated than the Filipina brides. This difference, together with the fact that the former tended to be much weaker in English language ability than the latter, contributed than did the Filipina brides, and (2) the finding that the economic niche of the employed Vietnamese brides (in the salon sector) tended to yield substantially lower wages than did the economic niche of the employed Filipina brides (in the medical service sector). Since better-educated brides had a better chance to get married to better-educated husbands, we naturally found that the husbands of the Vietnamese brides tended to be less educated than the husbands of the Filipina brides. However, the gap in educational attainment between the two groups of husbands was substantially smaller than the corresponding gap between the two groups of the brides. Underlying this gender difference was the fact that in addition to educational status, beauty and pleasant personality were also important criteria for selecting wives, and the possibility that beauty and pleasant personality were not positively correlated with educational status. With respect to household income, the gap between the two groups of brides was not large, partly because of the strong tendency of the Vietnamese brides toward hypergamy. A nice finding was that both Filipina and Vietnamese wives of American citizens were at rather low risk of being in poverty. The rather negative images of foreign brides in higher-income Asian countries conveyed by many ethnographic studies have been countered by our more sanguine finding about the Vietnamese and Filipina brides in the United States. With respect to the idea that women in lower-income countries tend to accept hypogamy at the personal level in order to achieve hypergamy at the societal level, it was moderately supported by the Filipina cases but largely negated by the Vietnamese cases.
The Economic Consequences of Excess Men: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Taiwan
As sex ratio imbalances have become a problem in an increasing number of countries, it is important to understand their consequences. With the defeat of the Kuomintang Party in China, more than one million soldiers and civilians, mainly young males, retreated to Taiwan in the late 1940s. Initially, the soldiers from mainland China were not allowed to marry. The ban was relaxed in 1959, however, suddenly flooding the marriage market with a large number of eligible bachelors. The operational ratio of males to females at marriageable age peaked at nearly 1.2 in the 1960s. Using data from multiple sources, we find that during times of high marriage competition, young men are more likely to become entrepreneurs, work longer hours, save more, and amass more assets. The findings highlight the important role of biological forces in shaping human economic behavior.
Cohabitation and U.S. Adult Mortality: An Examination by Gender and Race
Cohabitation and U.S. Adult Mortality: An Examination by Gender and Race (PDF)
Source: Journal of Marriage and Family
From press release (Michigan State University):
Black people who are married don’t appear to live any longer than black couples who simply live together, suggesting marriage doesn’t boost longevity for blacks the way it does for whites, according to a large national study led by Michigan State University.
“This finding implies that marriage and cohabitation have very different meanings for blacks and whites,” said MSU sociologist Hui Liu, the study’s lead researcher.
The study, in the Journal of Marriage and Family, is the first to document mortality differences between cohabiters and married people across racial groups in the United States.
The number of Americans who cohabitate (live together without being married) has increased dramatically in the past 50 years – from 400,000 in 1960 to 7.6 million in 2011, census data shows.
Liu and Corinne Reczek of the University of Cincinnati studied national health survey data of nearly 200,000 people taken from 1997 to 2004. They found that white people who were married had lower mortality rates than whites who simply lived together.
However, there were no significant mortality differences between blacks who were married and blacks who cohabitated.
Liu said whites are more likely to see cohabitation as a trial marriage, which may mean lower levels of shared social, psychological and economic resources.
In contrast, among blacks cohabitation is more prevalent and is perceived as an alternative to marriage, meaning it may mirror the dynamics of marriage and promote health like marriage tends to do, Liu said.
In addition, because blacks tend to earn less money than whites, marriage may not confer the same degree of social and economic benefits for blacks as for whites, Liu said.
Marriage Structure and Resistance to the Gender Revolution in the Workplace
Marriage Structure and Resistance to the Gender Revolution in the Workplace
Source: Social Science Research Network
In this article, we examine a heretofore neglected pocket of resistance to the gender revolution in the workplace: married male employees who have stay-at-home wives. We develop and empirically test the theoretical argument suggesting that such organizational members, compared to male employees in modern marriages, are more likely to exhibit attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that are harmful to women in the workplace. To assess this hypothesis, we conducted four studies with a total of 718 married, male participants. We found that employed husbands in traditional marriages, compared to those in modern marriages, tend to (a) view the presence of women in the workplace unfavorably, (b) perceive that organizations with higher numbers of female employees are operating less smoothly, (c) find organizations with female leaders as relatively unattractive, and (d) deny, more frequently, qualified female employees opportunities for promotion. The consistent pattern of results found across multiple studies employing multiple methods and samples demonstrates the robustness of the findings. We discuss the theoretical and practical import of our findings and suggest directions for future research.
