Welcome to our readers and to a much anticipated spring in the northern hemisphere. We are pleased to present an April special issue of Family Court Review on the topic of eldering and family law. Our special issue editors, Linda Fieldstone and Susan Bronson, define eldering as “a concept that extends beyond simply aging; it involves the growing development of an intended or unintended legacy of a family for its future generations.” They highlight the importance of eldering, since “interrelationships between younger and older family members are vital to maintaining family cohesion, transmitting values, fostering support, and nurturing a legacy for future generations.” We are very grateful to Linda and Susan for curating nine articles that provide a very comprehensive and multi-dimensional approach to the subject. In their “Introduction,” Linda and Susan introduce us to the authors and explain the contribution of each manuscript to the special issue. Our April issue also contains a special feature, consisting of an introduction and two articles from the seventh Nonmarriage Roundtable; two articles; and four Hofstra law student notes. Two special feature articles emanate from the Seventh Nonmarriage Roundtable, held in New York City at Cardozo Law School and supported by Brooklyn Law School, in September, 2025. In their “Introduction,” special feature editors Albertina Antognini, Naomi Cahn, Cynthia Godsoe, Clare Huntington, Kaiponanea Matsumura, Anibal Rosario-Lebron, and Ed Stein explain the conference and introduce the two authors. The goal of the Roundtable is to explore “relationships and statuses beyond monogamous marriage, bringing together scholars in law, sociology, economics, social work, gender and sexuality studies, critical race theory, relationship studies, singlehood studies, and related disciplines.” In our first “regular” article, “Cold war maternalism: The ideological legacy of operation babylift and intercountry adoption law,” Rong Kohtz examines international adoption practices from the lens of Vietnam and “implores us to reconcile the child's best interest with their mother's rights to the custody, care, and nurture of her own child….” The author argues that failing to do so perpetuates “the abuses and structural inequities within intercountry adoption….” Loren Kostense authors the second article, “The impact of divorce-related relocation for Dutch children: An empirical-legal survey study.” In this study of 418 Dutch participants, findings reveal that “contrary to prior research, psychological and behavioral outcomes are linked not to divorce and relocation but to parental conflict and stressful life events.” The author provides considerations for various professionals who deal with relocation issues. In the first of four Hofstra law student notes, “Numbers never lie: Streamlining financial elder abuse claims in relation to Article 81 proceedings,” Michael Kaplan circles the reader back to the April special issue topic. He proposes a system of reform in New York guardianship proceedings so that “incapacitated adults are not being taken advantage of through their reliance on the assistance provided by Article 81.” “No cap, that's a lot of money: The legal obligations for college funding by unmarried and divorced parents,” by Jessica Laguerre, is the second law student note. The author discusses how New York courts have the discretion and “authority to order the non-custodial parent to pay a percentage of their child(ren)'s college education,” without limitation on the amount. To provide consistency and predictability rather than to rely on judicial discretion in these cases, she proposes a formula courts can employ, in the form of an amendment to an existing New York statute, to establish a baseline level of college support for unmarried and divorced parents. Surrogacy is now possible in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the third law student note, “The greatest good is what we do for one another: The United Arab Emirates legalizes surrogacy,” by Rhea Mayall. “The removal of a prior ban on surrogacy reflects the cultural development and modernization of a predominantly Muslim country that is largely governed by Islamic law.” Attempting to improve the surrogacy process, “this note explores the surrogacy framework in the UAE, focusing primarily on Dubai, and proposes local legislation to provide protection and prevent the exploitation of Emirati surrogate women throughout the entire process.” In the final law student note, “Justice, money, or both: IDEA and the need for a definitive cause of action for counsel fees,” Dean Musto tackles the issue of those seeking attorneys' fees after prevailing in a due process hearing under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The attorneys' fees remedy remains unclear due to Congressional silence and a division among the Circuit Courts of Appeal, resulting in varying outcomes across the United States. “This note explores the Circuit divide and proposes an amendment to federal legislation creating a definitive statutory period….” This April issue of Family Court Review offers rich content in a variety of family law subject areas from interdisciplinary and international perspectives. We hope the articles cause you to critically examine your practices so that you may better support and serve the many families and children who, in one way or another, rely on your expertise. Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
Babb et al. (Thu,) studied this question.