Family law generally concerns domestic relations and family-related matters such as marriage, adoptions, paternity, guardianships, domestic abuse, surrogacy, child custody, child abduction, the dissolution of marriage and associated issues. According to U.S. Census data the make-up of the American family has been changing. For instance, the 2000 Census revealed that less than a quarter of American families are married couples with minor children compared with 45% of such households in 1960.

A large percentage of marriages end in separation or divorce. When a couple decides to terminate their marriage, one of the parties will petition the court for a divorce. Besides seeking a legal termination of the relationship, the couple will also ask the court to divide the marital assets, grant child custody to one or both parent, and impose child and spousal support obligations, if applicable.

• Adoption: Adoption is the legal process during which the parental rights to a child are transferred from the child’s birth parents to the child’s adoptive parents. Once the adoption is finalized, the adopted child becomes a permanent member of the adoptive family. Persons seeking to become adoptive parents may pursue an adoption through several avenues, including an agency adoption, independent adoption or intra country adoption. In an agency adoption, the prospective adoptive parents will work with a public or private adoption agency to secure the adoption of a child. In an independent adoption, the birth parents will choose the prospective adoptive parents. In an inter country adoption, the prospective adoptive parents will adopt a child from a foreign country.
• Child support: Child support regulations require non-custodial parents to pay for the care and support of their children. Non-custodial parents are parents who do not live with their children and who do not act as their children’s primary caregiver. Courts or child support agencies issue child support orders and consider the finances of both parents when calculating the amount and frequency of child support payments.
• Child custody: When a husband and wife seek an annulment, legal separation or divorce, a court will decide which parent as custody of the couple’s minor children. A court may order that one parent has sole custody of the minor children or that both parents share joint custody of the minor children.
• Domestic violence: Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior that occurs between individuals in intimate relationships. While domestic violence is typically associated with those who are married or dating, domestic violence may also occur between family members who reside together in the same household. Anyone may become a victim of domestic violence, regardless of age, gender, race, or socioeconomic status.
• Spousal support: During a divorce or legal separation proceeding, a court may impose a financial obligation on one spouse to continue supporting the other after the divorce or separation. This obligation may be called alimony, spousal support or maintenance, and will depend on the individual circumstances of the parties.