For many years family law was viewed as a study of the regulation of relationships of husband and wife and parent and child. Both relationships were clearly defined. In the case of husband and wife, it was through formal legal procedures or informal arrangements called marriage. In the case of parent and child it was either through biology or adoption. Equally defined were the stages by which these relationships were established, maintained, and terminated. By the close of the twentieth century, basic questions about who should be officially designated a family member and by what procedure were being raised both in the legislature and in litigation. In addition, conventional models that had defined domestic relations such as marriage, divorce, and adoption were either being expanded to include contemporary patterns of living arrangements and the current reality or new models were being constructed. In Family Law in America, Professor Sanford N. Katz examines the present state of family law in America. Themes include the tension between individual autonomy and governmental regulation in all aspects of family law, the extent to which relationships established before marriage are being regulated, and how marriage is being redefined to take into account equality of the sexes. It demonstrates how the definition of marriage as a partnership in which the individual spouse's rights are recognized has resulted in protection of the vulnerable spouse and examines fault and no-fault divorce procedures and the extent to which these procedures reflect social realities. This volume describes state intervention into the parent and child relationship and how this is reflected in the reexamination of the privacy of the family unit. It concludes with a discussion of the conventional model of adoption of children and how additional models are being developed to take into account new family forms.

Examining the changes that have occurred in families, family research, and family law in the late 20th century, this volume describes a paradigm shift in the legal and social regulation of the family to an emphasis on parents' relationships to their children, rather than to each other.

One of the law’s most important and far-reaching roles is to govern family life and family members. Family law decides who counts as kin, how family relationships are created and dissolved, and what legal rights and responsibilities come with marriage, parenthood, sibling ties, and other family bonds. Yet despite its significance, the field remains remarkably understudied and poorly understood both within and outside the legal community. Family Law Reimagined is the first book to evaluate the canonical narratives, examples, and ideas that legal decisionmakers repeatedly invoke to explain family law and its governing principles. These stories contend that family law is exclusively local, that it repudiates market principles, that it has eradicated the imprint of common law doctrines which subordinated married women, that it is dominated by contract rules permitting individuals to structure their relationships as they choose, and that it consistently prioritizes children’s interests over parents’ rights. In this book, Jill Elaine Hasday reveals how family law’s canon misdescribes the reality of family law, misdirects attention away from the actual problems that family law confronts, and misshapes the policies that legal authorities pursue. She demonstrates how much of the “common sense” that decisionmakers expound about family law actually makes little sense. Family Law Reimagined uncovers and critiques the family law canon and outlines a path to reform. Challenging conventional answers and asking questions that judges and lawmakers routinely overlook, it calls on us to reimagine family law.

"Cases and materials on family law for law students taking a family law course"--

Presented in an accessible format, this text provides a detailed and authoritative exposition of the law, illustrated by carefully selected materials and complemented by clear and engaging commentary drawing on a range of critical and theoretical perspectives.

Family Law offers an engaging and debate-driven guide to the subject, with each chapter crafted by a team of highly experienced teachers writing on their specialist subject under the expert editorship of Ruth Lamont. Each chapter is a superbly clear guide to the topic, structured around the key debates central to that topic, which are then explored in detail throughout the chapter. Students are thereby introduced to an enlightening range of perspectives on the key issues in family law today, allowing them to formulate their own opinions and arguments. The social, economic, and political backdrop to each topic is also extensively discusssed to ensure that students' understanding is grounded in this essential context. Family Law is a critical and modern guide to this dynamic subject.

This collection provides a snapshot of big ideas in family law reform. The book asks: if you could change one part of family law, what would it be? This deceptively simple question is answered by 10 family law experts and debated within the volume by expert respondents. The book puts the proposal first, forcing authors (and their respondents) to critically engage with what family law should look like, and where the development of law is needed to address the changing landscape of family life. Cultural and religious plurality, the use of technology, and changes in societal attitudes have all had an impact on the continuing evolution of families. As a consequence, the law has some complex challenges to address in its attempt to regulate familial diversity. This book is an invaluable resource for scholars of family law, practitioners, policymakers, or anyone more broadly interested in family law reform, and serves as a companion to Hart Publishing's landmark Criminal Law Reform Now.