DOMESTIC RELATIONS RESEARCH SOURCES Furman Smith Law Library Research Guide Professor Williams’ Domestic Relations Seminar – Spring 2007 A. Georgia Primary Law Sources - As with most states, Georgia family law is established mainly by statute. Courts apply applicable statutes to specific family law disputes. State administrative agencies can also authority in certain domestic relations matters. 1. Official Code of Georgia Annotated & West’s Code of Georgia Annotated – Most domestic relations law statutes contained in Title 19. 2. Georgia Case Law - Trial court decisions are not published. Divorce law appeals go directly to the Georgia Supreme Court (Georgia Reports & Southeastern Reporter). 3. Administrative Law – Certain state agencies, such as the Georgia DHR’s, Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS). Regulations contained in Official Compilation, Rules & Regulations of the State of Georgia, and on the Web: http://www.sos.state.ga.us/rules_regs.htm B. Georgia Secondary Sources on Domestic Relations Law - Aimed at practitioners. Continuing legal education (“CLE”) materials are good sources for the latest legal trends. 1. Georgia Divorce, Alimony and Child Custody – a.k.a., “McConaughey” Reserve KFG 100 .M25 2006 (Reserve & Ga Collection) Leading Georgia treatise on a variety of topics such as annulment, separation, divorce, alimony, child custody, tax, ethics and alternative dispute resolution. Also contains forms. Useful discussion with annotations to cases and statues. Helpful table correlating O.C.G.A. sections to discussion in the book. New editions annually. 2. Georgia Divorce Reserve KFG100 .M37 1981 Loose leaf treatise on Georgia divorce law. Contains discussion with annotations to Georgia cases and statutes. Also has a useful section on research references including cites to West’s Digest with Topic and Key Numbers, ALR annotations as well as texts. Geared toward assisting the practitioner with Data Packet forms for acquiring and recording information. Also contains other useful forms. Updated annually.
3. Georgia Domestic Relations Forms KFG 94 .A65B38 Contains numerous forms for pleadings, child support, custody, visitation, foreign judgment enforcement, name restoration etc. Also contains discussion on
practice considerations and significant recent cases with citations to Georgia cases and statutes. Helpful table correlates statute sections to the forms. 4. Georgia Domestic Relations Law Practice System Forms Georgia KFG 94 .S57 Forms Binder containing forms. Not as up-to-date as the previous source. No index or annotations. 5. Georgia Domestic Relations Case Finder Georgia KFG 94 .A53C35 1996 Provides case annotations for domestic relations issues. Helpful when writing briefs. Contains table of cases correlated with sections in the text. Updated annually with pocket parts. 6. Family Law Section Newsletter KFG94 .A15 G4 1997Newsletter put out by the family law section of the state bar. Contains articles and useful tips for and by practitioners as well as summaries of recent Georgia and foreign decisions. Comes out every two months. Can find on the Web at: http://www.gabar.org/FLSnewsletter.htm
7. Family Law Institute: Materials from Annual Program Georgia KFG 94 .Z P77 2003 (latest received: 2006) 8. Nuts and Bolts of Family Law: Program Materials (with forms) KF 505 .Z9 N8 2006 (latest received: 2006) Information by practitioners on current issues in family law practice. Especially helpful is the section on recent developments in family law with summaries of important cases. Prepared by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia. 9. Nuts and Bolts of Adoption Law and Practice in Georgia KFG 104 .5 .Z9 2005 Program Materials from the Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia. Providing materials on current topics of interest to practitioners. Comes out yearly. 10. Georgia Guardian and Ward Reserve KFG 106 .G8 1997 Treatise on appointment, duties and powers of guardians and other related issues with annotations to cases and statutes. Contains forms and a table correlating O.C.G.A. sections to sections within the book. Updated every two years.
C. General Secondary Sources - Use for very general background information and limited citations to primary authority, but not for in-depth analysis of a topic. Use
national encyclopedias (covers all fifty states) only if a state encyclopedia is not available, or as a last resort if your issue isn’t covered. 1. Georgia Jurisprudence Reference & Georgia Collections KFG 80 .G46 Georgia specific legal encyclopedia. Volume 8 covers the basic areas of domestic relations law: marriage and dissolution, family relationships and support and maintenance of family. Annotations to Georgia cases and statutes. References to other secondary sources. Check the pocket part for updated material. Updated annually. 2. Encyclopedia of Georgia Law Georgia Collection KFG65 .E5 Other Georgia law encyclopedia. Somewhat more in-depth than Georgia Jurispridence, with more historical information. No longer updated. 3. American Law Reports (ALR) Mulberry R-3 Contains annotations to specific issues in a variety of areas. Discusses the issues and cites to federal and state cases and statutes. Cites to other secondary sources as well. Updated annually. 4. American Jurisprudence 2d (Am Jur.) Reference KF 154 .A5 General legal encyclopedia arranged alphabetically by topic. 5. Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS) Reference KF 154 .C67 General legal encyclopedia arranged alphabetically by topic.
D. Other Secondary Sources 1. Family Law and Practice Walnut KF 503.4 .F35 1985 Six-volume loose leaf set of practice materials for domestic relations law put out by Matthew Bender/Lexis. Provides extensive commentary dealing with a comprehensive coverage of topics in this area. Contains annotations to cases and statutes. Provides great indexing tools. Updated annually. 2. Matthew Bender/Lexis family law loose leaf sets containing some of the same coverage and features as Family Law and Practice. Updated annually: Valuation and Distribution of Marital Property Walnut KF 526 .A6 M35
Modern Custody Practice Walnut KF 505.5 A98 Disputed Paternity Proceedings Walnut KF 543 .S37 1975 Adoption Law and Practice Walnut KF 545 .A93 1988 Child Custody and Visitation Law and Practice KF 547 .M2 Separation Agreements and Ante-nuptial Contracts KF 535 .L5 Family Law Reporter Walnut KF 503.4 .A3F32 Loose leaf newsletter containing the latest court decisions nationally. Also includes full texts of federal and state laws and model laws. E. Legal Periodicals - Search using Legaltrac, Current Index to Legal Periodicals, or Index to Legal Periodicals, available electronically at: http://library.law.mercer.edu/subscrip.htm. Periodicals are held in the Mulberry wing in alphabetical order. Many titles are also available on Westlaw, Lexis and HeinOnline. American Journal of Family Law Brandeis Law Journal - University of Louisville, Brandeis School of Law. A multi-subject law review since 1998, but continues former Brandeis Journal of Family Law and Journal of Family Law. Family Advocate Family Law- international emphasis Family Law Quarterly – published by American Bar Associations’ Family Law Section. Abstracts since 1996 are available at: http://www.abanet.org/family/familylaw/home.html International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family
Journal of Law and Family Studies F. Electronic Resources – An enormous amount of information about divorce, adoption, child custody and other family law subtopics is available on the Web. Caution: If a website is not maintained by a well-recognized publisher or organization, be sure it is accurate and up-to-date. 1. General Portals: a. LexisOne – free service aimed at sole practitioners and small firms. Excellent family law hyperlinks under “Practice Areas” – “Family & Domestic Law:” http://www.lexisone.com/legalresearch/legalguide/practice_areas/family_d omestic_law.htm b. Virtual Chase – Family Law Guide http://www.virtualchase.com/topics/family_law.shtml Hyperlinks to major Web-based sources. Updated frequently – maintained by law firm Ballard, Spahr, Andrews, & Ingersoll . c. Cornell Law Institute - http://www.law.cornell.edu/ Click onto Law About… and go to Family Law. Provides explanations of the law and links to primary law on domestic relations topics. d. Findlaw - Under “Legal Subjects” – “Family Law” http://www.findlaw.com/01topics/15family/index.html Contains decent “Family Law Web Guide” with good links to government agencies and family law related organizations. e. Heiros Gamos - Guide to Family & Elder Law: http://www.hg.org/family.html Contains decent “webliography” of hyperlinks to primary and secondary sources, as well as cites to print sources. Has hyperlinks to United Nations and European Union websites, too. f. DivorceNet – Non-lawyer, consumer-oriented, divorce law web portal http://www.divorcenet.com/ . Visually appealing, with links to state specific Web pages.
2. National Organizations & Federal Agencies a. American Bar Association – Family Law Section - main national organization for domestic relations law: http://www.abanet.org/family/home.html
b. American Bar Association – Center on Children & the Law http://www.abanet.org/child/home2.html c. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children & Families: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/ d. Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/index.html e. Supportguidelines.com: http://supportguidelines.com/main.html
3. Georgia a. Georgia Bar – Family Law Section: http://www.gabar.org/Familylaw.htm b. Superior Court of Fulton County, Family Division-- Has good legislative update, as well as forms and rules for the Family Division: http://www.fultoncourt.org/family/ c. Georgia.gov: Parent & Child Services Directory: http://www.georgia.gov/00/channel/0,2141,4802_5005,00.html d. Office of Child Support Services, Georgia Department of Human Resources - Information & worksheets for the new Child Support Guidelines. http://ocse.dhr.georgia.gov/portal/site/DHR-OCSE/