Family Law

This lesson will cover the general area of adoption law and is designed as an introduction for those students who have not studied the subject and as a review for those students who have.

This lesson reviews the general law of alimony. It focuses on the differences between alimony and property distribution; the gender implications, justifications, eligibility, amount and duration of alimony; the forms of alimony; and alimony modification. This lesson does not discuss compensatory spousal payments under the American Law Institute's Principles of the Law of Family Dissolution, which are addressed in a separate CALI lesson.

This lesson is intended to be used as both an introduction to Child Custody Jurisdiction and as a review for students who have already studied the material.

This lesson explores the standards for modifying child custody orders and the policies underlying same. It is an introductory lesson and assumes an understanding of the issues involved in making an initial custody decree. This lesson should be worked, for review and reinforcement, after the topic has been covered in class. The lesson may also serve as a substitute for covering this topic in class, as long as the student has covered the more general topic of initial custody decision making. The lesson does not cover interstate jurisdiction or relocation (moving the child out of the jurisdiction). Those topics are covered in other lessons. 

This lesson considers the special classification issues associated with pensions, professional licenses and goodwill, personal injury and workers' compensation awards, and life insurance. The student should have a general understanding of the distinction between marital and separate property before working this lesson. The lesson can be used as an introduction to or review of the materials covered. It also works well as an independent lesson.

Cohabitants may litigate to obtain property, support, a share of an estate, or for derivative benefits such as wrongful death or survivor's benefits. This lesson reviews theories of recovery for cohabiting couples who were not formally married. The lesson explores contract, quasi-contract and equitable theories of recovery such as constructive and resulting trusts, quantum meruit, promissory estoppel and implied contract. Note that not all states allow all remedies reviewed in this lesson.

This lesson does not cover domestic partnerships or common law marriage. The lesson can be used as an introduction to the materials or for review.

This lesson covers characterization of commingled property at divorce. It covers tracing, transmutation, differentiation between income and passive appreciation and other rules regarding characterization of commingled property as marital or separate.

This lesson deals with a topic more commonly known as alimony, spousal support, or maintenance. Its focus is Chapter 5 of the American Law Institute Principles of the Law of Family Dissolution.

This lesson is intended as an overview of Constitutional Law principles that are important in Family Law. It can be used at the beginning of the Family Law course as a refresher of Constitutional Law. It can also be used during the course to clarify general constitutional doctrine. This lesson is related to two other lessons regarding constitutional aspects of Family Law.

The purpose of this lesson is to review basic doctrines and theories of individual rights covered in Constitutional Law courses. The lesson covers the Due Process Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and the First Amendment, as they apply in the Family Law context.

This lesson is an examination of the constitutional law aspects of Family Law. It builds upon lessons which provide a review of Constitutional Law in the Family Law context, but is much more detailed. It is intended as a supplement and review of constitutional doctrine as it occurs in specific Family Law areas such as marriage, divorce, parenting, procreation, sexuality, the rights of minors, and end-of life issues.