Family Law

Family law has emerged as one of the most dynamic and controversial areas of modern law. Drawing increasingly from constitutional law, conflicts of laws, property, torts, criminal law, tax and welfare law, family law has also grown ever more complex. The fifth edition of this classic text, available in late August 2007, comprehensively surveys the traditional landscape of family law as well as important new legislation and case law relating to domestic partnerships, same-sex marriage, parentage, adoption, child custody and support.

Understanding Family Law includes comprehensive coverage of topics such as traditional and nontraditional families, nonmarital and postmarital contracts, annulment, paternity and legitimacy, procreation rights, contraception, abortion, sterilization, artificially assisted conception, and adoption and termination of parental rights. Like the prior edition published in 2005, this new Fourth Edition of Understanding Family Law explains specific family law issues, such as intrafamily tort immunity and liability, medical care for child and spouse, wrongful life and wrongful birth, domestic violence, PINS, CHINS, ethical issues for the lawyer, alternative dispute resolution, equitable distribution, community property, and child custody and visitation. This Fourth Edition is updated to reflect changes in the law since the last edition. The discussion of assisted conception in particular, has been substantially revised to address technological changes and new law, such as the post- death conception case. This Fourth Edition also includes references to 50 states surveys so the reader can find their local law quickly.

A book about family law is necessarily a book both about family life and the role law can and should take in regulating family life. Individually and together, these are vast topics. American family law is ever-changing and affects every facet of our lives. The Oxford Introductions to U.S.Law: Family Law provides a critical introduction to the enduring topics in the field, including not only an overview of the basic rules, but also the history and principles underlying them. In this short and accessible volume, Brian Bix gives the necessary legal background for understanding current media coverage and political debates in family law. He explores the general principles and fundamental themes that currently dominate legislation and case law in the area while marking trends for change. Topics covered include same-sex marriage, divorce reform, surrogacy, open adoption, domestic violence, and the standards applied to custody battles.Ultimately, The Oxford Introductions to U.S. Law: Family Law illuminates our collective struggle to shape the proper role for individuals, families, and government in U.S. family life and family law, providing an essential introduction to the richness and complexity of the subject.

Practice makes perfect! Friedman's Practice Series helps you develop the skills for spotting issues and preparing A+ answers for your next exam. Real laws school exams test your knowledge of the key concepts and rules with a collection of essay and multiple-choice questions. Set up to mirror actual exams, the series features long essay questions as well as some that are relatively short and medium-length, giving you great practice in the length and variation of questions on the final. Friedman's is one of the only series to fully emulate complete essay examinations - they are as close to actual exam-questions that you can find. And as Friedman's texts are compiled by professors who wrote the exams, you get sound advice as well as keen insight on what instructors look for in grading your answers. Friedman's Practice Series titles test your knowledge with real law school exams. Test your knowledge of key concepts and rules with comprehensive essay and multiple-choice questions. Practice questions of various length prepare you for any exam. Experience actual exams! Get sound advice from the professors who wrote the exams. Find insight into what professors look for when grading.

A favorite among successful students, and often recommended by professors, the unique Examples & Explanations series gives you extremely clear introductions to concepts followed by realistic examples that mirror those presented in the classroom throughout the semester. Use at the beginning and midway through the semester to deepen your understanding through clear explanations, corresponding hypothetical fact patterns, and analysis. Then use to study for finals by reviewing the hypotheticals as well as the structure and reasoning behind the accompanying analysis. Designed to complement your casebook, the trusted Examples & Explanations titles get right to the point in a conversational, often humorous style that helps you learn the material each step of the way and prepare for the exam at the end of the course. Examples & Explanations: Family Law, 5E provides readers with an in-depth understanding of complex family law principles and how they are applied in practice. Its clear organization breaks family law into distinct topics. Following the Examples and Explanations pedagogy, this book features examples based on challenging real-life situations followed by practical solutions in the explanations section. Citations and links to additional source material make the text a valuable research tool. The Fifth Edition puts a greater emphasis on self-assessment and helping students prepare for a variety of testing approaches. There is a new focus on emerging national legislative trends, and the legal issues faced by same-sex partners are discussed across chapters. This edition includes new alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes and professional responsibility issues arising from interdisciplinary roles. Family law evolves quickly and the Fifth Edition captures recent developments while anticipating future policy challenges. Features: Updated chapters, including coverage of recent same-sex marriage decisions. Updated and additional problems. Sharper focus and detail in several chapters. Text that is easily researched using the index and Table of Cases. More identification and discussion of emerging policy issues.