Family law is enormously complex, and the details of the subject vary from state to state. Most students enrolled in family law at California law schools plan to practice in California. This casebook is unique among family law books in its focus on California law. The book provides a thorough introduction to the day-to-day work of California family law attorneys. The book refers throughout to the California Family Code. Most cases in the book are from California courts.

The book provides a California focus on the subjects covered by other family law casebooks, including premarital agreements, agreements between unmarried cohabitants, marriage and divorce, annulment, child and spousal support, child custody, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, the Hague Convention on International Parental Child Abduction, property division, adoption, and alternative reproductive technology. In addition, because many students in family law have a strong desire to help children and families, the book has a chapter on the juvenile court.

The Chapter on California community property law is lengthy, and is designed to prepare students for community property questions on the California bar exam. Some students take family law because the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) tests family law. This casebook prepares students for the UBE.