Skip to Main Content
West Academic Study Aids
-
Black Letter Outline on Family Law (West Academic)
This outline summarizes the black letter rules of family law, allowing students to understand how their course materials fit together.
-
Community Property in a Nutshell (West Academic)
Summarizes the marital property laws dealing with creation, management and termination of community property in nine states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin). The first portion of each chapter presents a broad overview, followed by the detail of the law in the second part. A third part explains how various states differ. Covers premarital contracts, transmutations, community property, separate property, and characterization issues. Discusses community property during a marriage, management and control, and liabilities. Addresses the termination of community property and the special problems that can result.
-
Family Law in a Nutshell (West Academic)
Few areas of law practice cover as many issues as family law. The subject embraces marriage and divorce, annulment, custody of children, spousal and child support, complex property issues, paternity, domestic violence, adoption, and alternative means of reproduction. Each of these topics itself is complex. For example, within the broad subject of child custody lie the issues of interstate move away cases, international parental child abduction, and the impact of domestic violence on a parent’s right to custody or visitation. In addition to purely legal issues, family law has a large psychological component, touching on some of the most important and sensitive aspects of human nature and interaction, such as, what is a family, what are the rights and responsibilities of parents toward children, and how should society respond to child abuse and domestic violence? All of these issues, and more, are discussed in this Nutshell. The book provides a thorough introduction to this challenging field of practice.
-
Family Law in Perspective, 3d (West Academic)
Continuing the approach of the previous editions, this book offers a conceptual approach to the legal issues implicit in family law. It describes the developments of: • Alternatives to marriage• Same-sex marriage• The expansion of assisted reproductive technology and gestational surrogacy Spousal and child support continue to be addressed at the state level through:• Expanding definitions of what constitutes property• The need to limit the duration of spousal support• The presumptive value of child support statutes Federal statutes have demanded greater support enforcement at the state level, and Congress retains control over ERISA, Social Security, and military benefits.
-
Family Law Stories (West Academic)
Sanger’s Family Law Stories presents the historical, procedural, personal, and political background of 11 significant family law cases. The essays, written by leading family law scholars, cover four main areas: Marriage Parenting and custody Separation and divorce The definition of family Other essays investigate well-known state and federal cases on such topics as child kidnapping, the intentional infliction of emotional distress, the Indian Child Welfare Act, and frozen embryos.
-
Gilbert Law Summaries on Community Property (West Academic)
The subjects discussed in this Community Property outline include classifying property as community or separate, management and control of property, liability for debts, and division of property at divorce. Also covered are devolution of property at death, relationships short of valid marriage, conflict of laws problems, and constitutional law issues (including equal protection standards, and due process issues).
-
Sum and Substance Audio on Community Property (West Academic)
This audio lecture overviews determination of separate and community property, quasi-marital property, and quasi-community property. Explores transmutation; general and special presumptions; commingling, apportionment, and reimbursement; management and control; and liability for debt. Also covers management on dissolution of marriage, disposition on death, and constitutional law principles.
-
Sum and Substance Audio on Family Law (West Academic)
Now you can assimilate the essentials of family law at your convenience. This audio product simplifies difficult concepts and brings them to life, while offering helpful exam tips.
-
Sum and Substance Quick Review of Family Law (West Academic)
Sum and Substance Quick Review is a short, clear, concise, and substantive outline. It is designed to make the study of law clear and convenient, and it is designed to help students prepare for their law school exams. The main body is an outline of the substantive content that a stuent needs to prepare for a law school exam. The concise format provides a "Big Picture" overview allowing students to review the subject quickly prior to final exams.
Lexis OverDrive Study Aids
-
Mastering Adoption Law and Policy (Lexis OverDrive)
This title is the first of its kind — it is a deskbook detailing the intricacies of U.S. domestic adoption law and policy. This deskbook is geared for use as a reference by the adoption law attorney, adoption professional, and law students. This book, written in clear and concise language, provides an in-depth discussion and analysis of adoption law. In addition to 14 chapters addressing the most critical topics of adoption law and policy (including, for example, consent, ICWA and TRA), the guide offers a chart of the current statutes from all 50 states, a detailed bibliography, a discussion of key Federal legislation, and much more.
-
Mastering Family Law (Lexis OverDrive)
Mastering Family Law helps students understand the basic principles and underlying policies of the topics covered in a general family law course. The content in this book is drawn from the table of contents of all the major family law teaching texts and includes all of the major topics covered in those texts. Consequently, a student will find this book a helpful supplement to any family law casebook. The book includes traditional family law topics such as marriage and divorce, but also covers child law topics such as the constitutional rights of parents and the definition of parents, among others. It provides a roadmap at the beginning of each chapter to focus attention on the important topics that will be addressed and a checkpoints list at the end of each chapter to summarize the important concepts as an aid to student comprehension and retention. The book is written in a student-friendly style designed to present the major concepts in easily understood language.
-
Questions & Answers: Family Law (Lexis OverDrive)
This study guide includes over 210 multiple-choice and short-answer questions arranged topically for ease of use during the semester, plus an additional set of 28 questions comprising a comprehensive "practice exam." For each multiple-choice question, Professor Strasser provides a detailed answer that indicates which of four options is the best answer and explains thoroughly why that option is better than the other three options. Each short-answer question is designed to be answered in fifteen minutes or less. For these questions, Professor Strasser provides a thoughtful, comprehensive, yet brief model answer.
-
Understanding Family Law (Lexis OverDrive)
This clearly-written Understanding treatise includes coverage of both traditional and nontraditional families, nonmarital and postmarital contracts, annulment, paternity and legitimacy, procreation rights, contraception, abortion, sterilization, artificially assisted conception, adoption and termination of parental rights. Understanding Family Law explains specific family law issues, such as intrafamily tort immunity and liability, medical care for child and spouse, wrongful life and wrongful birth, domestic violence, PINS, ethical issues for the lawyer, alternative dispute resolution, equitable distribution, community property, and child custody and visitation.
-
Understanding Juvenile Law (Lexis OverDrive)
This Understanding treatise discusses the various bodies of law in relation to a fundamental issue permeating the entire field of juvenile law: the extent to which the law should protect young people rather than recognize them as autonomous persons.
Aspen Study Aids
-
Casenote Legal Briefs for Family Law Keyed to Ellman, Kurtz, Weithor (Aspen)
After your casebook, a Casenote Legal Brief is your most important reference source for the entire semester. Expert case studies and analyses and quicknote definitions of legal terms help you prepare for class discussion.
-
Casenote Legal Briefs for Family Law Keyed to Harris, Carbone, and Teitelbaum, Fifth Edition (Aspen)
After your casebook, a Casenote Legal Brief is your most important reference source for the entire semester. Expert case studies and analyses and quicknote definitions of legal terms help you prepare for class discussion.
-
Emanuel Law Outlines for Family Law, Fifth Edition (Aspen)
Any law school graduate will tell you that when picking your outline tool you need to pick the best because your outlines are the most important study tool you will use throughout your law school career. Developed by legendary study aid author Steve Emanuel, Emanuel® Law Outlines (ELOs) are the #1 outline choice among law students.
-
Examples & Explanations for Family Law, Sixth Edition (Aspen)
A favorite classroom prep tool of successful students that is often recommended by professors, the Examples & Explanations (E&E) series provides an alternative perspective to help you understand your casebook and in-class lectures. Each E&E offers hypothetical questions complemented by detailed explanations that allow you to test your knowledge of the topics in your courses and compare your own analysis.
-
Friedman's Practice Series for Family Law (Aspen)
Friedman's Practice Series is keyed to exam preparation with real law school essay exams, model answers, multiple choice questions and academic analysis, and offers students insights into writing essay exams in core courses.
CALI Lessons
-
Adoption (CALI Lesson)
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.
-
Alimony (CALI Lesson)
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.
-
Battered Woman's Syndrome (CALI Lesson)
This is a lesson on battered woman syndrome with respect to the defense of self-defense. Over the last few decades, there has developed in the legal literature a recognition of this, and other similar syndromes, in the context of homicide cases. The situation of an abused person who kills the abuser raises questions about the basis for a defense of self-defense in circumstances that might not easily fit into the traditional self-defense mold. Though courts allow the defense in many cases, the invocation of the defense still presents problems in certain situations. The purpose of this lesson is to explore those varying circumstances and the issues raised with respect to the possibility of a defendant invoking the defense of self-defense.
-
Child Custody Jurisdiction (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.
-
Child Custody Modification (CALI Lesson)
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.
-
Classifying Special Types of Marital Property (CALI Lesson)
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.
-
Cohabitation (CALI 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.
-
Commingled Property at Divorce (CALI Lesson)
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.
-
Compensatory Spousal Payments under the ALI Principles (CALI Lesson)
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.
-
Constitutional Aspects of Family Law (CALI Lesson)
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.
-
Constitutional Powers and Structures Review for Family Law (CALI Lesson)
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.
-
Constitutional Rights Review for Family Law (CALI Lesson)
This lesson is intended as an overview of Constitutional Rights that are important in Family Law. It can be used at the beginning of the Family Law course as a refresher, or during the course to clarify general doctrine, or at the end of the course as review.
-
Custody Disputes (CALI Lesson)
This lesson will review general principles of custody disputes including terminology and factors used in resolving custody disputes. Separate lessons will cover custody jurisdiction, modification, and visitation.
-
Determining Child Support (CALI Lesson)
This lesson is a review of the duty to support children and the growing federal role in determining child support.
-
Distribution of Property at Divorce (CALI Lesson)
This lesson focuses on distribution of property that has already been identified and valued. Before beginning the lesson students should have a general understanding of the differences between common law and community property systems. They should also be aware of the basic distinction between marital and separate property. This lesson may be used either as an introduction to the distribution of property at divorce or as a refresher that tests a student's understanding of this subject.
-
Enforcement of Child Support Obligations (CALI Lesson)
This lesson is a review of child support enforcement at both the state and federal levels.
-
The Marital Status (CALI Lesson)
This is an introduction to some of the legal aspects of the husband-wife relationship, including property and support obligations along with a number of issues involving the marital status.
-
Marriage Regulations (CALI Lesson)
This lesson addresses the formal and substantive regulations imposed on the right to marry.
-
Modification of Alimony and Child Support (CALI Lesson)
This lesson can serve either as an introduction to modification or as a review that reinforces and tests your understanding of this subject. Before beginning the lesson, you should be familiar with the general law of alimony and child support. The CALI lessons on Alimony and Child Support can help.
-
New Reproductive Technologies or Who's Your Mama? (CALI Lesson)
This lesson covers emerging issues of assisted reproduction technologies. Most specifically, it explores issues of parental rights on both a constitutional and state level. Topics covered include artificial insemination, surrogacy, and the status of un-implanted pre-embryos when the parties disagree about implantation. It does not cover post-partum conception. The lesson includes the issue of lesbian partners when one provides the egg and the other is the gestational mother but it does not cover other issues of lesbian parenthood.
-
Paternity and Legitimacy (CALI Lesson)
This is a lesson for reviewing the emerging rights of the nonmarital child and the nonmarital father.
-
Premarital Agreements (CALI Lesson)
This lesson explores premarital agreements, also known as antenuptial or prenuptial agreements. It contrasts traditional and contemporary views of premarital agreements, the procedural and substantive requirements for enforcement, the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act and relevant provisions of the ALI Principles of the Law of Family Dissolution.
-
Support Jurisdiction (CALI Lesson)
This lesson covers the basics of both spousal and child support jurisdiction. It is intended as an introduction to the materials and it can also be used for review.
-
UCCJEA - Enforcement Provisions (CALI Lesson)
This lesson addresses the enforcement provisions of the child custody jurisdiction statutes. It also addresses the international aspects of child custody enforcement. The lesson should be worked after completing the lesson on Child Custody Jurisdiction.
-
Visitation and Relocation (CALI Lesson)
This lesson is a review of visitation and relocation issues. The lesson can be used to introduce or review these topics. Students should be familiar with basic principles of custody determinations.
The lesson contains twenty questions, three of which are essay questions.
