Family law (also called matrimonial law) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations, including:
- marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;
- adoption and surrogacy
- child abuse and child abduction
- the termination of relationships and ancillary matters, including divorce, annulment, property settlements, alimony, child custody and visitation, child support, and alimony awards.
- juvenile adjudication
- paternity testing and paternity fraud
This list is not exhaustive and varies depending on the jurisdiction. In many jurisdictions in the United States, the family courts see the most crowded dockets. Litigants representative of all social and economic classes are parties within the system.
For the conflict of laws elements dealing with transnational and interstate issues, see marriage (conflict), divorce (conflict), and nullity (conflict).