Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations.
Overview
Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include:
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Marriage, , and domestic partnerships:
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Entry into legally recognized spousal and domestic relationships
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The termination of legally recognized family relationships and ancillary matters, including divorce, annulment, property settlements, alimony, child custody and visitation, child support and alimony awards
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Prenuptial and Postnuptial agreements
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Adoption: proceedings to adopt a child and, in some cases, an adult.
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Surrogacy: the law and process of giving birth as a surrogate mother
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Child protection: court proceedings that may result from state intervention in cases of child abuse and child neglect
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Juvenile court: Matters relating to minors including , delinquency, emancipation and juvenile adjudication
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Paternity law: proceedings to establish and disestablish paternity, and the administration of paternity testing
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Human rights: Children's rights, Youth rights, Mothers' rights, Fathers' rights, Parents' rights, Right to family life
This list is not exhaustive and varies depending on jurisdiction.
Conflict of laws
Issues may arise in family law where there is a question as to the laws of the jurisdiction that apply to the marriage relationship or to custody and divorce, and whether a divorce or child custody order is recognized under the laws of another jurisdiction.
For child custody, many nations have joined the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction in order to grant recognition to other member states' custody orders and avoid issues of parental kidnapping.
By jurisdiction
See also
Further reading
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David Bradley. ‘Family law’, in Elgar encyclopedia of comparative law, 3rd edn. Vol. 2: E-L. Eds. Jan M. Smits et al. Cheltenham/Northampton, M.A.: Edward Elgar, 2023.
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Elizabeth Brake & Lucinda Ferguson, eds. Philosophical foundations of children's and family law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.
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Aleck Chloros, Max Rheinstein, & Mary Ann Glendon, eds. International encyclopedia of comparative law, vol. 4: Persons and family. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007.
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Shazia Choudhry & Jonathan Herring, eds. The Cambridge companion to comparative family law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019.
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John Eekelaar. Family law and personal life. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
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Marsha Garrison. Family life, family law, and family justice: tying the knot. Abingdon: Routledge, 2023.
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Laurence D. Houlgate. Philosophy, law and the family: a new introduction to the philosophy of law. Cham: Springer, 2017.
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Shamil Jeppie, Ebrahim Moosa, & Richard L. Roberts, eds. Muslim family law in Sub-Saharan Africa: colonial legacies and post-colonial challenges. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2010.
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Harry D. Krause. ‘Comparative family law’, in Oxford handbook of comparative law. Eds. Mathias Reimann & Reinhard Zimmermann. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 1099–1130.
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Ziba Mir-Hosseini et al., eds. Gender and equality in Muslim family law: justice and ethics in the Islamic legal tradition. London: I.B. Tauris, 2017.
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Jens M. Scherpe, ed. European family law. 3 vols. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2016.
External links
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Testimony of Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, Ph.D., Co-Director, National Marriage Project Rutgers University, before US Senate Subcommittee
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(an analysis of the long-term effect of divorce on children)
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R. Partain, "Comparative Family Law, Korean Family Law, and the Missing Definitions of Family", (2012) HongIk University Journal of Law, Vol. 13, No. 2.
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" Hong Kong Family Court Tables" includes a summary of Hong Kong family law principles, a guide to the recent case law and relevant statutes, and a glossary of relevant terms related to the Hong Kong family law.
