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  New Family Law Statutes in 2024: Selected State Legislation

  FAMILY LAW QUARTERLY 2024–25 EDITORS, NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL

  This article provides summaries and context for 35 changes to family law that were enacted in 2024 by legislatures in 25 states and the District of Columbia. The topics include (1) Equal Protection, (2) Child Custody and Visitation, (3) Nonparent Custody and Visitation, (4) Child Welfare, (5) Domestic Violence, (6) Juvenile Justice, (7) Parentage, (8) Age of Marriage, (9) Companion Animals, (10) Education, (11) Criminal Justice, and (12) Provision of Legal Services. More specifically, the topics of the laws featured in this article include (among others) supervised visitation; increased protections for LGBTQ+ families; pet custody in divorce proceedings; and strengthened domestic violence protections, including implementing a “Hope Card” program, protecting the family members of domestic violence survivors, and increasing protections for victims of coercive control. These topics are based on annual Charts published in the Year in Review issue of the Family Law Quarterly along with developing trends in the area of family law. The Charts are updated each year to track changes in specific areas of law and survey statutes within the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.1 The laws in this article were identified and selected in the course of updating the Charts and through additional research. The laws included here do not represent all new family law legislation from 2024, but they do reflect growing trends in the area. For example, there are summaries for three states that strengthened requirements for supervised visitation to prioritize child safety, two states that raised the age of marriage to 18, and two states that included specific “coercive control” provisions in their definitions for domestic abuse. This is our fourth year featuring this article in the Family Law Quarterly’s annual Year in Review issue. We look forward to covering new legislation in these rapidly changing areas of family law in the years to come.

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  New Family Law Statutes in 2023: Selected State Legislation

  FAMILY LAW QUARTERLY 2023–24 EDITORS, NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL

  This article provides summaries and context for 31 changes to family law that were enacted in 2023 by legislatures in 26 states and the District of Columbia. The topics include (1) Child Custody and Visitation, (2) Nonparent Custody and Visitation, (3) Children’s Representation, (4) Child Welfare, (5) Child Support, (6) Domestic Violence, (7) Companion Animals, (8) Age of Marriage, and (9) Other Topics. More specifically, the topics of the laws featured in this article include (among others) presumptions of 50-50 parenting time; virtual visitation; enhancement of children’s voices in child protective proceedings; pets and property division; and strengthened domestic violence protections, including special consideration of pets, addressing tracking devices, and financial abuse. These topics are based on annual Charts published in the Year in Review issue of the Family Law Quarterly along with developing trends in the area of family law. The Charts are updated each year to track changes in specific areas of law and survey statutes within the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The laws in this article were identified and selected in the course of updating the Charts and through additional research. The laws included here do not represent all new family law legislation from 2023 but do reflect growing trends in the area. For example, there are summaries for two states that adopted 50-50 parenting time presumptions, three states that raised the age of marriage, three states that included restrictions on tracking devices in orders of protection, and two states that included specific “financial abuse” provisions in their definitions for domestic abuse. This is our third year featuring this article in the Family Law Quarterly’s annual Year in Review issue. We look forward to covering new legislation in these rapidly changing areas of family law in the years to come.

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  New Family Law Statutes in 2022: Selected State Legislation

  FAMILY LAW QUARTERLY 2022–23 EDITORS, NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL

  This article provides summaries and context for 35 changes to family law that were enacted in 2022 by legislatures in 23 states. The topics include Child Custody, “Nonparent” Custody and Visitation, Child Representation and Child Welfare, Divorce and Alimony/Maintenance, Property Division, Child Support, Parentage, and Domestic Violence. These topics are based on annual Charts published in the Year in Review issue of the Family Law Quarterly. The Charts are updated each year to track changes in these specific areas of law and survey statutes within the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The laws in this article were identified and selected in the course of updating the Charts. The laws included here do not represent all new family law legislation from 2022, but do reflect developing trends in the area of family law. The topics of the laws featured in this article include (among others) a presumption of 50-50 physical custody; qualifications for forensic evaluators; grandparent visitation; enhancement of children’s voices in child protective proceedings; spousal maintenance guidelines; pets and property division; shared parenting and child support; unmarried fathers’ rights; and strengthened domestic violence protections, including special consideration of pets and addressing stalking and “coercive control.” This is our second year featuring this article in the Family Law Quarterly’s annual Year in Review issue. We look forward to covering new legislation in these rapidly changing areas of family law in future years.

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  New Family Law Statutes in 2021: Selected State Legislation

  NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL FAMILY LAW QUARTERLY EDITORS

  EDITED BY CAROLINA ABDULLAH, APRIL PACIS, AND LISA F. GRUMET

  This article provides summaries and context for 30 new family law statutes that were enacted in 2021 by legislatures in 20 states and the District of Columbia. The topics include Alimony/Maintenance, Child Custody, “Nonparent” Custody and Visitation, Child Representation and Child Welfare Proceedings, Property Division, Child Support, Parentage, and Domestic Violence. These topics are based on annual Charts published in this Year in Review issue of the Family Law Quarterly.1 The Charts survey statutes in the 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico and are updated each year in order to track changes in these areas of the law. The laws featured in this article were identified and selected in the course of updating the Charts.

  The laws included here do not by any means represent all new family law legislation from 2021. However, they reflect developing trends in the area of family law. For example, the article includes summaries of laws that strengthen preferences or adopt presumptions favoring joint custody; heighten consideration for domestic violence when determining child custody, spousal support, or property division; legalize and regulate surrogacy; recognize more than two parents; enhance representation for children in child protective proceedings; and provide for special consideration of pets in the context of property division. This article is a new feature for the Family Law Quarterly’s annual Year in Review issue. We look forward to continuing to cover new legislation in these areas of family law in future years as the law changes over time.