Family
State family law, no-fault divorce everywhere and community property in nine states
Family law is state law, and the federal role is confined to interstate enforcement and constitutional limits. Every state now offers no-fault divorce on irretrievable breakdown or irreconcilable differences. Property division splits into two systems: nine community-property states treat marital acquisitions as jointly owned in equal shares, while the rest apply equitable distribution, which is discretionary rather than equal.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — State law; the UCCJEA allocates jurisdiction between states and the Hague Convention between countries
- Deadline — California: six-month waiting period from service before a divorce is final
- Deadline — Hague abduction return application: within one year to avoid the settled-child defence
- Deadline — Home-state custody jurisdiction under the UCCJEA: six months' residence
Governing law
- State domestic relations codese.g. California Family Code
- Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act
- Uniform Interstate Family Support Act
- Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
In practice
The community-property line matters far beyond divorce: it affects the tax basis of assets on death and how creditors reach marital property, and it means an identical marriage produces materially different outcomes in California and New York. Obergefell v Hodges requires every state to license and recognise same-sex marriage, and the Respect for Marriage Act 2022 added a federal statutory recognition guarantee that does not depend on that decision standing.