This concise casebook introduces students to basic family law doctrines in the context of the fundamental but often unarticulated moral and policy debates. The organization of the 26 chapters is simple and coherent. Chapter One introduces foundational principles; the remaining 25 chapters are divided into six sections that discuss family law regulation of the formation, continuation, and dissolution of horizontal (spousal) and vertical (parent-child) family relationships. Each subchapter includes cases, statutes, short notes (emphasizing the variations among state laws, historical context and conceptual grounding for the family law doctrines), problems, and a review of multiple perspectives that have influenced the development of the relevant family law doctrines, rules and policies.