International family law focuses on two discrete areas of international practice: (1) private international law, and (2) comparative family law. Key topics include marriage, divorce, custody and movement of children, child support, spousal support, and financial rights and remedies. In addition, there are some areas of developing law, such as parentage and family formation (for example, through adoption or surrogacy) and unmarried partnership rights.
A Primer on International Family Law
[This post is one in a series of primers on different topics in transnational litigation. To access other primers, please click on the “Topics” drop-down menu above.] International family law focuses on two discrete areas of international practice: (1) private international law, and (2) comparative family law. This area of practice is traditionally broken down…
Continue ReadingMaine Supreme Court Declines to Recognize Foreign Marriage
Under traditional choice of law rules, a marriage performed outside of a U.S. state (even in a foreign country) will be recognized as valid if it meets the requirements of the place of celebration. Under the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws, by contrast, the validity of a marriage is determined by the law of…
Continue ReadingMontana Supreme Court Decides International Child Custody Case
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act discourages forum shopping in child custody disputes by assigning subject-matter jurisdiction to the court located in the “home state” of the child. In Allen v. Allen, decided on April 21, 2026, the Montana Supreme Court had to determine whether the child’s “home state” was Montana or the…
Continue ReadingConfusion in the Recognition of Foreign Country Judgments
There are at least three different legal regimes in the United States that govern the recognition of foreign judgments. While the distinctions between these regimes are clear to me—and, I suspect, to many readers of this blog—the same is not necessarily true for many judges and practicing attorneys. In this post, I first discuss a…
Continue ReadingInternational Child Abduction Remedies Act
Golan v. Saada, 142 S. Ct. 1880 (2022)
Abbott v. Abbott, 560 U.S. 1 (2010)
Hague Convention on Celebration and Recognition of the Validity of Marriages (1974)
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (1980)
Hague Convention on the Recognition of Divorces and Legal Separation (1970)