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Description

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.

Publication Date

2024

Publisher

Family Law Quarterly, Volume 57, Number 4, 2024. © 2024 American Bar Association

Comments

Published in Family Law Quarterly, Volume 57, Number 4, 2024.

New Family Law Statutes in 2023: Selected State Legislation

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