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Law Library

Researching Family Law

This Info Series guide describes resources for researching divorce, alimony, child custody and visitation, adoption, marriage, unmarried couples, and family/domestic violence. (Note: Another term for “family law” is “domestic relations.”) Related issues are tax and estate planning, which are the topics of other Info Series guides. This guide is intended for the general public as well as for students.

PRIMARY SOURCES

Statutes

Official Code of Georgia: Title 19 (Domestic Relations)

United States Code: The U.S.C. does not have a specific title for family law (exception: family relevant laws for Native Americans are located in Title 25). Check the general index or popular name table to locate relevant statutes.

For family law matters involving immigrants or foreign adoption, it may be necessary to research the laws of other nations. Information on foreign laws is available on the Law Library of Congress’ Global Legal Information Network. Information about foreign adoption is available on the U.S. Department of State website.

Case Law

COL patrons can search for cases on LexisNexis and Westlaw using individual passwords. Patrons not affiliated with the COL can search for cases on LexisNexis Academic, which is available on GALILEO. To access this database at the Law Library, go to http://law.gsu.edu/library/alcove/ and click on the LexisNexis Academic link under Popular Electronic Resources. Then click on the Legal Research link in the top left corner of the page. To search for federal cases, click on Federal Case Law. To search for state cases, click on State Case Law and then select the state (LexisNexis Academic has no function for searching more than one state’s case law at a time). LexisNexis Academic is a database on GALILEO and so is accessible from any GSU computer.

Another way to locate cases is by using a digest, which groups summaries of cases by topic. See the Info Series guide “How to Use Digests to Find Cases” for more information. The digest system has several topics relevant to family law, including: Adoption, Child Custody, Child Support, Divorce, Husband and Wife, Marriage, and Parent and Child. Check the descriptive
word index at the end of the digest set of volumes for help with identifying a topic. The Law Library has digests for Georgia, the Southeastern Reporter, and the federal reporters. Also, Westlaw has a digest function accessible from its site map (subscription or credit card required for access).

Another print-based method for finding cases is to consult Georgia Domestic Relations Case Finder by Kathy L. Portnoy & Charla E. Strawser (3rd ed., KFG94 .A53 C35 2004, located behind the reference desk). Since new cases may have been decided, and existing cases overruled, since this resource was published, it is necessary to update case research using
Shepard’s or KeyCite (Shepard’s is available to all patrons inside the Law Library).

SECONDARY SOURCES

Georgia

The Law Library’s ready reference section (behind the reference desk) has these current materials:

  • Edward E. Bates, Jr., Georgia Domestic Relations Forms, KGF94 .A65 .B38 1988 (looseleaf).
  • Dan E. McConaughey, Georgia Divorce, Alimony and Child Custody, KFG100 .M25 2005.
  • Barry B. McGough, Georgia Divorce, KFG100 .M37 1981 (looseleaf).
  • Charles T. Robinson II & Edward A. Haman, How to File for Divorce in Georgia, 6th ed., KFG100 .Z9 R63 2005.

General (not Georgia-specific)

Print sources

The Law Library’s family law print collection starts at call number KF501. Below are some individual resources:

  • Homer H. Clark Jr., The Law of Domestic Relations in the United States (Hornbook Series), call# KF504 .C55 1988. Located on reserve.
  • Harry D. Krause & David D. Meyer, Family Law in a Nutshell, call# KF505 .Z9 K7 2003. Located on reserve.
  • Sandra Morgan Little, Child Custody and Visitation: Law and Practice, 5 vol., looseleaf, call# KF547 .C47 1983. Located in general stacks.

In addition Nolo Press, which specializes in law books for non-lawyers, publishes family lawbooks, including:

  • Hayden Curry, Denis Clifford & Frederick Hertz, A Legal Guide for Lesbian & Gay Couples, 13th ed., call# KF539 .Z9 C87 2005. Located in general stacks.
  • Toni Ihara, Ralph Warner & Frederick Hertz, Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples, 13th ed., call# KF538 .I35 2006. Located in general stacks.
  • Mimi E. Lyster, Building a Parenting Agreement that Lasts, 5th ed., call# KF547 .Z9 L97 2005. Located in ready reference.
  • Katherine E. Stoner & Shae Irving, Prenuptial Agreements, 2nd ed., call# KF529 .Z9 S76 2005. Located in general stacks.

Online sources

  • Family Law Reporter: Contains news highlights and cases from March 1998. It is accessible from the Law Library at the Law Library's database list. College of Law faculty, students, and staff can access it off-campus.
  • Journal Articles: To search for articles, go to the Law Library database list and click on the Select Subject Area button. Click on Legal Periodicals—Finding Aids. A list of links to searchable databases will come up. College of
    Law faculty, students, and staff can access these databases from off-campus. Print periodicals are shelved alphabetically in the lower level of the Law Library. To see whether the Law Library owns a particular journal in print or subscribes to
    it online, check the online catalog.

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