Treatises & Databases on Family Law

There are several national and state specific family law treatises available in the library.  Many familiar books on family law are now online on the major legal databases.   

Lexis for Law Schools has several national law treatises, including several from the publisher, Matthew Bender, see: Family Law and Practice,Lindsay and Parley on Separation Agreements and Antinuptual Agreements, Child Custody and Visitation Law and Practice and Adoption Law and Practice. 

Lexis for Law Schools offers material in state jurisdictions as well.   For Wisconsin, select, Wisconsin Family Law and Forms.

If you are looking for family law material for a specific state in Lexis for Law Schools, select the tab, Practice Area, then select Secondary Material.  The database provides a link to state material.  On this page you can also refine your search to a specific state jurisdiction.

Westlaw for Law Schools also has national treatises and state specific material which, to list only a few available in the West collection, include: Handling Child Custody, Abuse & Adoption Cases, 3d, International Family Law Practice, Children and the Law: Rights & Obligations, and Child Custody Practice & Procedure.   For more on family law material in Westlaw, select the Practice Area tab, select Family Law and refine your search using the tools on the left-hand side of the screen.  

Uniform Laws

The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) creates Uniform Laws to promote uniformity in state law.  The text of the uniform laws are modified and adopted by state legislatures.  You can find a multi-volume set of  the Uniform Laws by West Publishing in Uniform Laws Annotated. Volume 9, 9A, 9B, & 9C cover matrimonial, family and health laws.  The set is located behind the Circulation Desk.  Features of this set include official commentary, a table of adopting jurisdictions and general statutory notes.  

Another resource available on HeinOnline under the title, National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.  According to the information icon, this database "provides access to the full text of all Model Acts drafted, recommended, or endorsed by the National Conference of Commissions on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). It also includes Archive Publications and the Handbook of the NCCUSL, as well as the Proceedings of the Annual Conference Meeting from the first through the most recent Annual Meeting."

The Uniform Law Commission's website provides the text of uniform laws at, Uniform Laws.  The Commission's database allows users to refine a search by area of law.

Wisconsin Bar Books available on Family Law

Books Unbound published by the Wisconsin Bar Association has these titles listed below in full-text online.  If you prefer the print format, these titles are also located behind the circulation desk, ask for them by name: 

The links in this list of titles is to the UW catalog record:

Termination of Parent Rights and Adoption
Family Law Casenotes & Quotes
Family Law in Wisconsin A Forms & Procedures Handbook
Guardian ad Litem Handbook, 5th edition

Submitted by Jenny Zook, Reference Librarian on March 1, 2023

This article appears in the categories: Law Library

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