Family law

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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. [1]

Contents

Overview

Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include:

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. [8] 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. [9]

See also

Specific jurisdictions

Related Research Articles

Child custody, conservatorship and guardianship describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and the parent's child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.

A court order is an official proclamation by a judge that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out of certain steps by one or more parties to a case. A court order must be signed by a judge; some jurisdictions may also require it to be notarized.

Child support is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid directly or indirectly by an obligor to an obligee for the care and support of children of a relationship that has been terminated, or in some cases never existed. Often the obligor is a non-custodial parent. The obligee is typically a custodial parent, a caregiver, or a guardian.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family court</span> Court dealing with matters of family law

Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintiff came into court with "clean hands" and the request was reasonable, "quantum meruit". Changes in laws and rules have made this distinction superfluous.

In the common law tradition, the law of domestic relations is a broad category that encompasses:

Child custody is a legal term regarding guardianship which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of legal custody, which is the right to make decisions about the child, and physical custody, which is the right and duty to house, provide and care for the child. Married parents normally have joint legal and physical custody of their children. Decisions about child custody typically arise in proceedings involving divorce, annulment, separation, adoption or parental death. In most jurisdictions child custody is determined in accordance with the best interests of the child standard.

In family law, contact, visitation and access are synonym terms that denotes the time that a child spends with the noncustodial parent, according to an agreed or court specified parenting schedule. The visitation term is not used in a shared parenting arrangement where both parents have joint physical custody.

The main family law of Japan is Part IV of Civil Code. The Family Register Act contains provisions relating to the family register and notifications to the public office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family Law Act 1975</span>

The Family Law Act 1975(Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia. It has 15 parts and is the primary piece of legislation dealing with divorce, parenting arrangements between separated parents (whether married or not), property separation, and financial maintenance involving children or divorced or separated de facto partners: in Australia. It also covers family violence. It came into effect on 5 January 1976, repealing the Matrimonial Causes Act 1961, which had been largely based on fault. On the first day of its enactment, 200 applications for divorce were filed in the Melbourne registry office of the Family Court of Australia, and 80 were filed in Adelaide, while only 32 were filed in Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Divorce law by country</span> Overview of divorce laws around the world

Divorce law, the legal provisions for the dissolution of marriage, varies widely across the globe, reflecting diverse legal systems and cultural norms. Most nations allow for residents to divorce under some conditions except the Philippines and the Vatican City, an ecclesiastical sovereign city-state, which has no procedure for divorce. In these two countries, laws only allow annulment of marriages.

The fathers' rights movement in the United States is a group that provides fathers with education, support and advocacy on family law issues of child custody, access, child support, domestic violence and child abuse. Members protest what they see as evidence of gender bias against fathers in the branches and departments of various governments, including the family courts.

The fathers' rights movement has simultaneously evolved in many countries, advocating for shared parenting after divorce or separation, and the right of children and fathers to have close and meaningful relationships. This article provides details about the fathers' rights movement in specific countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International child abduction in Japan</span>

International child abduction in Japan refers to the illegal international abduction or removal of children from their country of habitual residence by an acquaintance or family member to Japan or their retention in Japan in contravention to the law of another country. Most cases involve a Japanese parent taking their children to Japan in defiance of visitation or joint custody orders issued by Western courts. The issue is a growing problem as the number of international marriages increases. Parental abduction often has a particularly devastating effect on parents who may never see their children again.

Divorce in the United States is a legal process in which a judge or other authority dissolves the marriage existing between two persons. Divorce restores the persons to the status of being single and permits them to marry other individuals. In the United States, marriage and divorce fall under the jurisdiction of state governments, not the federal government.

International matrimonial law is an area of private international law. The area specifically deals with relations between spouses and former spouses on issues of marriage, divorce and child custody. In the last 50 years, the States Members of the Hague Conference on Private International Law have attempted to harmonize domestic matrimonial laws and judicial rulings across international borders in these areas.

The Ohio Courts of Common Pleas are the trial courts of the state court system of Ohio.

Parental child abduction is the hiding, taking, or keeping hold of a child by a parent while defying the rights of the child's other parent or guardian.

The Probate and Family Court of Massachusetts has jurisdiction over family matters such as divorce, paternity, child support, custody, visitation, adoption, termination of parental rights, and abuse prevention. Probate matters include jurisdiction over wills, administrations, guardianships, conservatorships and change of name. The Court also has general equity jurisdiction.

References

  1. 1 2 Atkinson, Jeff. "ABA Family Legal Guide" (PDF). American Bar Association. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  2. Weitzman, Lenore J. (1980). "The Economics of Divorce: Social and Economic Consequences of Property, Alimony and Child Support Awards". UCLA Law Review. 28: 1181. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  3. Wadlington, Walter (1980–1981). "Adoption of Adults a Family Law Anomaly". Cornell Law Review. 54: 566. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  4. Capron, A.M.; Radin, M.J. (1988). "Choosing Family Law over Contract Law as a Paradigm for Surrogate Motherhood". Law, Medicine & Health Care. 16 (1–2): 34–43. doi:10.1111/j.1748-720X.1988.tb01048.x. PMID   3060684. S2CID   20125279.
  5. Lawrie, Moloney; Smyth, Bruce M.; Weston, Ruth; Richardson, Nich; Qu, Lixia; Gray, Matthew (2007). "Allegations of family violence and child abuse in family law children's proceedings: key findings of Australian Institute of Family Studies Research Report No. 15". Family Matters. 77. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  6. Babb, Barbara A. (1998). "Fashioning an interdisciplinary framework for court reform in family law: A blueprint to construct a unified family court". Southern California Law Review. 71: 469. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  7. Lee, Chang Ling (1975). "Current Status of Paternity Testing". Family Law Quarterly. 9 (4): 615–633. JSTOR   25739134.
  8. Currie, David P. (1966). "Suitcase Divorce in the Conflict of Laws: Simons, Rosenstiel, and Borax". The University of Chicago Law Review. 34 (1): 26–77. doi:10.2307/1598624. JSTOR   1598624.
  9. "International Parental Kidnapping". U.S. Department of Justice. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2019.

Further reading