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Family law is an area of the law
LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
 that deals with family-related
Family

Family denotes a group of people affiliated by a common ancestry, affinity or co-residence. Although the concept of consanguinity originally referred to relations by "blood," some cultural anthropology have argued that one must understand the idea of "blood" metaphorically, and that many societies understand 'family' through other concepts r...
 issues and domestic relations
Domestic relations

In the common law tradition, the law of domestic relations is a broad category that encompasses:* divorce;* property settlements;* alimony, spousal support, or other maintenance;...
 including, but not limited to:

This list is by no means dispositive of the potential issues that come through the family court
Family court

For family court in Hong Kong, see Family Court A family court is a court convened to decide matters and make court order in relation to family law, such as child custody....
 system. In many jurisdiction
Jurisdiction

In law, jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility....
s in the United States, the family court
Court

A court is a body, often a government institution, with the authority to adjudication legal disputes and dispense private law, criminal justice, or administrative law justice in accordance with rules of law....
s see the most crowded docket
Docket

The word docket can mean:*A brief summary of a document, also called an Abstract .*A listing of items that an organization plans on discussing, also called an Agenda ....
s. Litigants representative of all social
Social class

Social class refers to the hierarchy distinctions between individuals or groups in societies or cultures. Usually most societies have some notion of social class , but concretely defined social classes are not found in every known type of human societies....
 and economic classes are parties within the system.

For the conflict of laws
Conflict of laws

Conflict of laws is that branch of international law and intranational interstate law that regulates all lawsuits involving a "foreign" law element where different judgments will result depending on which jurisdiction's laws are applied as the lex causae....
 elements dealing with transnational and interstate issues, see marriage (conflict)
Marriage (conflict)

In conflict of laws, the issue of marriage has assumed increasing public policy significance in a world of increasing multi-ethnic, multi-cultural community existence....
, divorce (conflict)
Divorce (conflict)

In modern society, the role of marriage and its termination through divorce have become political issues. As people live increasingly mobile lives, the Conflict of Laws and its choice of law rules are highly relevant to determine:...
 and nullity (conflict)
Nullity (conflict)

In Conflict of Laws, the issue of nullity in Family Law inspires a wide response among the laws of different state as to the circumstances in which a marriage will be valid, invalid or null....
.

Criticism of Family Law
Members of the fathers' rights movement criticize the "win or lose" nature of family law in determining issues of divorce and child custody in many Western countries.






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Family law is an area of the law
LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
 that deals with family-related
Family

Family denotes a group of people affiliated by a common ancestry, affinity or co-residence. Although the concept of consanguinity originally referred to relations by "blood," some cultural anthropology have argued that one must understand the idea of "blood" metaphorically, and that many societies understand 'family' through other concepts r...
 issues and domestic relations
Domestic relations

In the common law tradition, the law of domestic relations is a broad category that encompasses:* divorce;* property settlements;* alimony, spousal support, or other maintenance;...
 including, but not limited to:
  • the nature of marriage
    Marriage

    Marriage is a social, spirituality, or law union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock....
    , civil union
    Civil union

    A civil union is a legally recognized union similar to marriage. Beginning with civil unions in Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide homosexuality with rights, benefits, and Moral responsibility similar to opposite-sex civil marriage....
    s, and domestic partnership
    Domestic partnership

    A domestic partnership is a legal or personal relationship between two individuals who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by marriage nor a civil union....
    s;
  • issues arising during marriage, including spousal abuse, legitimacy
    Legitimacy (law)

    File:Johns-James Smithson-1816.jpgAt common law, legitimacy is the status of a child that is born to parents who are legally marriage to one another, or that is born shortly after the parents' marriage ends through divorce....
    , adoption
    Adoption

    Adoption is the act of Family law placing a child with a parent or parents other than those to whom they were born. An adoption order has the effect of severing parental responsibilities and rights of the original parent and transferring those responsibilities and rights to the adoptive parent....
    , surrogacy
    Surrogacy

    Surrogacy is a method of reproduction whereby a woman agrees to become pregnancy and deliver a child for a contracted party. She may be the child's Genetics , or she may, as a gestational carrier, carry the pregnancy to delivery after having been implanted with an embryo, in some jurisdictions an illegal medical procedure....
    , child abuse
    Child abuse

    Child abuse is the physical abuse, psychological abuse or child sexual abuse maltreatment of children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines child maltreatment as any act or series of acts or commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child....
    , and child abduction
    Child abduction

    Child abduction is the kidnapping of a child by an older person.Several distinct forms of child abduction exist:* A stranger removes a child for Crime purposes:...
  • the termination of the relationship and ancillary matters including divorce
    Divorce

    Divorce or dissolution of marriage is a legal process in which a judge or other authority dissolves the bonds of matrimony existing between two persons, thus restoring them to the marital status of being single....
    , annulment
    Annulment

    Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage Void . Unlike divorce, it is retroactive: an annulled marriage is considered never to have existed....
    , property settlements, alimony
    Alimony

    Alimony, maintenance or spousal support is an obligation established by law in many countries that is based on the premise that both spouses have an absolute obligation to support each other during the marriage unless they are legally separated....
    , and parental responsibility
    Parental responsibility (access and custody)

    In the state of the European Union and elsewhere, parental responsibility refers to the rights and privileges which underpin the relationship between a child and either of the child's parents or those adults who have a significant role in the child's life....
     orders (in the United States
    United States

    The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
    , child custody
    Child custody

    Child custody and legal guardian are legal terms which are sometimes used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child....
     and visitation
    Contact (law)

    In family law, contact is one of the general terms which denotes the level of contact a parent or other significant person in a child's life can have with that child....
    , child support
    Child support

    In family law and government policy, child support or child maintenance is the ongoing obligation for a periodic payment made directly or indirectly by a non-custodial parent to a custodial parent, caregiver or guardian, or the government, for the care and support of children of a relationship or marriage that has been terminated....
     awards).


This list is by no means dispositive of the potential issues that come through the family court
Family court

For family court in Hong Kong, see Family Court A family court is a court convened to decide matters and make court order in relation to family law, such as child custody....
 system. In many jurisdiction
Jurisdiction

In law, jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility....
s in the United States, the family court
Court

A court is a body, often a government institution, with the authority to adjudication legal disputes and dispense private law, criminal justice, or administrative law justice in accordance with rules of law....
s see the most crowded docket
Docket

The word docket can mean:*A brief summary of a document, also called an Abstract .*A listing of items that an organization plans on discussing, also called an Agenda ....
s. Litigants representative of all social
Social class

Social class refers to the hierarchy distinctions between individuals or groups in societies or cultures. Usually most societies have some notion of social class , but concretely defined social classes are not found in every known type of human societies....
 and economic classes are parties within the system.

For the conflict of laws
Conflict of laws

Conflict of laws is that branch of international law and intranational interstate law that regulates all lawsuits involving a "foreign" law element where different judgments will result depending on which jurisdiction's laws are applied as the lex causae....
 elements dealing with transnational and interstate issues, see marriage (conflict)
Marriage (conflict)

In conflict of laws, the issue of marriage has assumed increasing public policy significance in a world of increasing multi-ethnic, multi-cultural community existence....
, divorce (conflict)
Divorce (conflict)

In modern society, the role of marriage and its termination through divorce have become political issues. As people live increasingly mobile lives, the Conflict of Laws and its choice of law rules are highly relevant to determine:...
 and nullity (conflict)
Nullity (conflict)

In Conflict of Laws, the issue of nullity in Family Law inspires a wide response among the laws of different state as to the circumstances in which a marriage will be valid, invalid or null....
.

Criticism of Family Law


Members of the fathers' rights movement criticize the "win or lose" nature of family law in determining issues of divorce and child custody in many Western countries. "Winning custody" is viewed not as a right to parent a child, but as a power given by the government to prevent someone else from parenting a child.

Cross-national parties dealing with legal systems in different countries simultaneously grapple with substantive and procedural issues regarding child abduction, child custody and visitation. International human rights treaties and the Hague Convention agreements seek to address such concerns.

See also


  • Paternity fraud
    Paternity fraud

    Paternity fraud is the act of falsely naming a man to be the biological father of a child, particularly for the purpose of collecting child support , by the mother when she knows or suspects that he is not the biological father....


Specific jurisdictions
  • Algerian Family Code
    Algerian Family Code

    The Algerian Family Code , enacted on June 9, 1984, specifies the laws relating to familial relations in arab Algeria . It includes strong elements of Islamic law which have brought it praise from Islamists and condemnation from secularists and feminists....
  • Family Court of Australia
    Family Court of Australia

    The Family Court of Australia is a superior Australian federal court of record which deals with Australian family law matters. Its core function is to determine cases with the most complex law, facts and parties, to cover specialised areas in family law, and to provide national coverage as the appellate court in family law matters....
    • Australian family law
      Australian family law

      Family Law in Australia is contained in various pieces of legislation, but also includes the common law and laws of Equity , which affect the family and the relationship between those people - including when those relationships end....
  • Mudawana
    Mudawana

    Mudawana is the Family law of Morocco. Based on the Maliki Madhab of Sunni Islam, the code has been praised by human rights activists for its social and religious Islamic Reformation....
     (The Moroccan
    Moroccan

    Moroccan may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Morocco, ia country located in North Africa** A person from Morocco, or of Moroccan descent....
     Family Code).
  • Family law system in England and Wales
    • The Children Act 1989
    • Sir Morris Finer
      Morris Finer

      Sir Morris Finer QC was a lawyer and judge.As a young barrister Morris Finer also wrote leaders for the London Evening Standard. He was called to the Bar association in 1943 and became a Queen's Counsel in 1963 and was made a Judge in 1972....
       - Report on One Parent Families
  • Civil Code of the Philippines
    Civil Code of the Philippines

    The Civil Code of the Philippines is the product of the codification of private law in the Philippines. It is the general law that governs family law and property law in the Philippines....
  • Merger doctrine (family law)
    Merger doctrine (family law)

    Historically, the merger doctrine was the notion that marriage caused a woman's legal identity to merge with that of her husband.Thus, a woman could not sue or testify against her husband any more than he could sue or testify against himself....


Further reading