Family Law: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach, Second Edition

Family Law: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach emphasizes the issues and skills most relevant to domestic relations practice. The text employs a novel and dramatic organization with three substantive units that compare the legal treatment of the parent-child relationship vs. adult intimate relationships at stages of formation, regulation, and dissolution. Its geographical breadth delivers more comparative materials than other texts, using examples from a variety of cultures to provoke “why don’t we do this?” considerations. Each student-friendly chapter and section begins with a clear summary of current law that orients the reader before examining legal texts in detail. This structure invites theoretical critique after a solid foundation is laid. Statutes are core to the text which gives proper emphasis to the vital skill of statutory interpretation in today’s practice. Up-to-date material provides more recent cases than any other textbook. With an empirical emphasis, this text draws from the significant literature in sociology, psychology, anthropology and other fields so that legal analysis is grounded in real-life application. Focused questions direct students to the heart of the analysis, often using headings before questions to alert readers to the type of analysis required, for example: statutory interpretation, policy, client counseling, and moral theory. Contents: Part I. STATE CREATION OF FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS Chapter 1. State Creation of Parent-Child Relationships Chapter 2. State Creation of Legal Partner Relationships PART II. STATE REGULATION OF ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIPS Chapter 3. State Regulation of Adult Intimate Relationships Chapter 4. State Regulation of the Parent-Child Relationship PART III. DISSOLUTION OF FAMILY LEGAL RELATIONSHIPS Chapter 5. Dissolution of Parent-Child Relationships Chapter 6. Dissolution of Marital Relationships