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ABA House of Delegates Approves Four Uniform Acts

  • 1.  ABA House of Delegates Approves Four Uniform Acts

    Posted 02-15-2022 01:38 PM

    February 15, 2022 – Four new uniform acts – the Uniform College Athlete Name, Image or Likeness Act, the Uniform Cohabitants' Economic Remedies Act, the Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act, and the Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfers Act – have been approved by the American Bar Association's House of Delegates as "appropriate Acts for those states desiring to adopt the specific substantive law suggested therein."  The acts were approved at the ABA's 2022 Virtual Midyear Meeting, February 9-14, 2022.  The acts were drafted and approved by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) in 2021.  

    Uniform Cohabitants' Economic Remedies Act. The rate of nonmarital cohabitation within the U.S. is increasing rapidly.  Today, states have no consistent approach for addressing whether and how cohabitants can enforce contract and equitable claims against each other when the relationship ends.  The Uniform Cohabitants' Economic Remedies Act does not create any special status for cohabitants.  In most instances, the Act defers to other state law governing contracts and claims between individuals.  The Act enables cohabitants to exercise the usual rights of individual citizens of a state to contract and to successfully maintain contract and equitable claims against others in appropriate circumstances.  The Act affirms the capacity of each cohabitant to contract with the other and to maintain claims with respect to "contributions to the relationship" without regard to any intimate relationship that exists between them and without subjecting them to hurdles that would not be imposed on litigants of similar claims.  The Act ensures that the nature of the relationship of the parties is not a bar to a successful claim.

    Uniform College Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Act. Until recently, college athletes have not been allowed to receive compensation for the use of their name, image, or likeness (NIL) while still maintaining athletic eligibility.  The Uniform College Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Act allows college athletes to earn compensation for the use of their NIL while also providing reasonable protections to educational institutions, athletic associations, and conferences.  The Act will provide a clear and uniform framework for states to enact that allows college athletes to earn compensation for the use of their NIL while maintaining a level playing field across state lines.

    Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act. Community property acquired by a married couple retains its character as community property even when the couple relocates to reside in a non-community property state.  This result creates potential distribution problems at the death of the first spouse but also creates potential estate planning opportunities.  However, the probate court in a non-community property state may not recognize the status of community property in a decedent's estate.  The Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act provides clear default rules to ensure the proper disposition of community property in any state.   It is recommended for adoption by all non-community property states.

    Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act. In some cases, parents find that, after the birth or adoption of their child, they experience considerable difficulty or even inability in caring for or effectively managing the child's behavior, which sometimes leads to families transferring a child to another person outside of the courts and the child welfare system.  Without specific regulations directed at these types of unregulated transfers, a transfer of custody might go unnoticed within the child welfare system. The Act addresses the transfer of children in these types of cases.

    Information on each of these uniform acts is available at the ULC's website at www.uniformlaws.org.

    The Uniform Law Commission, now in its 131st year, provides states with non-partisan, well-conceived and well-drafted legislation that brings clarity and stability to critical areas of state statutory law.  The organization comprises more than 300 lawyers, judges, and law professors, appointed by the states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, to research, draft and promote enactment of uniform state laws in areas of state law where uniformity is desirable and practical.  Since its inception in 1892, the group has promulgated more than 200 acts, among them such bulwarks of state statutory law as the Uniform Commercial Code, the Uniform Probate Code, and the Uniform Partnership Act.  

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    Contact:  Katie Robinson, ULC Communications Officer, krobinson@...

    Uniform Law Commission / 111 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 1010, Chicago, IL 60602 / 312-450-6600 www.uniformlaws.org

     



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    Katie Robinson
    Senior Director for Strategy and Communications
    Chicago IL
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