Family Laws
The United States Adoption Laws
Overview of adoption laws in the United States, including details about the types of adoption allowed in the United States, the statute of limitations to challenge adoption, who is eligible for adoption and home residency requirements in the United States. There is also information on second parent adoption.
The United States Abortion Laws
General information on the United States laws and regulations pertaining to abortion in the United States, such as physician licensing requirements in the United States and the determination of when a fetus is considered “viable”. See the information on the anti-abortion movement in the U.S. legal encyclopedia.
The United States Child Custody Laws
General summary of the United States laws and regulations governing child custody decisions, rules, and procedures; including information about how family courts determine who gets custody, whether joint custody is offered, the availability of grandparents’ visitation rights, the age at which the child’s consent is needed and the types of custody. See the information on the child custody litigation issue in this American legal encyclopedia.
The United States Domestic Violence Laws
Domestic violence offenses covers legal grounds for charging defendants with the crime in the United States, information for victims, penalties and sentences for offenders in the United States, and related topics. An Overview of the United States domestic violence laws can include crimes such as assault, stalking, menacing, sexual misconduct or abuse, and strangulation and cross references to related information. Victims of domestic violence may bring civil charges in family court, criminal charges in criminal court, or simultaneous actions in both courts.
The United States Child Support
General information about how to how calculate child support amounts in the United States for divorcing or otherwise unmarried parents (guidelines for the United States), including a practical overview of considerations for non-custodial parents in the United States to determine amounts of payment. For additional details, see the U.S. entry on child support orders here.
The United States Child Abuse Laws
Summary of the United States’s child abuse legal regime, including a statutory definition of the offense, child abuse prevention issues, a list of those considered mandatory reporters, and other related topics.
The United States Marital Property Laws
General summary of marital property laws in the United States and how they impact the division of property following a divorce or separation in the United States, including the issue of who own possessions and real estate during and after the marriage (under the law of the United States), a list of property that is shared, and facts about community property in the United States.
The United States Marriage Requirements
General overview on the age isse to get married in the United States (marriage age requirements), and the age required to get married with or without parental consent in the United States. Explanations on what types of marriages are prohibited or annulled under the United States law (prohibited marriage laws), such as blood relatives; and additional information on common law marriages and designating bigamy as a felony. The issue os same-sex marriage in the United States is also addressed.
The United States Protective Order Laws
Basic information on protective orders practice in the United States, often called “restraining orders.” Protective orders, in general, are sought in the United States by victims of domestic violence or those who are threatened or stalked by former spouses. See the entry on domestic violence in the United States.
The United States Divorce Laws
General summary of the United States’s divorce laws and procedures, such as residency requirements, “no-fault” grounds for divorce, waiting periods, and other topics related to divorce and the crisis of the family structure in the United States. The introductory entry provides a list of the acceptable grounds for getting a divorce in the United States (legal requirements for divorce), such as residency requirements, waiting periods, and basics of the no fault divorce laws. In general, see U.S. legal information on fault divorce and on non-fault divorce.
Welcome to the United States’s family laws introductory entry, with information on family-related subject matters such as adoption, child support, marriage, divorce, and child custody. the United States family laws are created and revised by the actions of lawmakers and the courts. Many of the United States’s laws on this topic are similar to those of other states, with some minor differences.
Family law, in the United States and other U.S. states, is a rather broad practice area. There are so many different categories of family law that can come into play, encompassing domestic abuse, adoption, annulment, paternity, child abuse, marriage, minors, protective orders, divorce, child custody, and other issues related to the family structure. Family laws also covers controversial issues such as abortion rights and same-sex marriage, in addition to criminal matters like domestic violence and child abuse.
In the entries on family law of this the United States legal encyclopedia, the user will learn about the basics of family-related criminal offenses such as child abuse, domestic violence, and stalking; the legal requirements for getting a divorce or annulment in the United States; plus information about child support information and how courts determine custody cases.
Browse the United States Family Law Tipics
The cross-references below provide the United States-specific family laws on a wide range of matters. Click on a topic below to learn more about the United States statutes and laws.