What are secondary family law sources?
Secondary sources provide the researcher with a general overview of a topic and identify, with citations, the relevant primary law that relate to a topic. These sources should be used to find citations or references to primary sources (the law) and to gain an overview of a particular subject such as divorce, custody or adoption, etc.
Secondary Family Law sources include:
• Encyclopedias
• Practice materials
• Treatises & texts
• Form books
• Journal literature
An example of a secondary resource:
Legal Encyclopedia
New York Jurisprudence 2d
This encyclopedia covers a broad range of legal issues pertaining to New York Family Law. Family Law matters are discussed under the subject of “Domestic Relations” in volumes 45 through 48A. These volumes offer a topical treatment of areas including marriage, divorce, parent-child, adoption, neglect, etc. All topics discuss principles of law and provide citations to supporting cases, New York state and federal statutes, New York regulations, and cross references to other law sources. Also available in Westlaw (NYJUR) and Lexis (NYJUR).
