Family Law

The family plays a central role in American society, affecting both individual lives and the nation. Family law is the system of direct and indirect regulation that structures family life by determining both entry and exit from familial relationships, the rights and responsibilities that flow from family status, the behavior of family members, and the larger context for family life. Family law is one of the most important areas of law, as measured by its effect on people’s lives, the volume of litigation, and the financial and affective issues at stake for individuals. This course defines the reach of family law broadly. We will cover the bread and butter of traditional family law (such as marriage, divorce, and the child welfare system), but we will also reach more broadly to look at the multiple ways the state structures family life. This course also cuts across traditional law school disciplines, such as civil, criminal, and constitutional law. Throughout the semester, we will consider important and complex questions, including the following: How do race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and income affect family law and lives of family members? How does—and how should—family law address families that do not fit the dominant norm of two cisgender, different-sex, married parents with adopted or biological children? And much more.