Written with sensitivity to issues of gender, race, and class, Modern Family Law, Fourth Edition features:
- Probing coverage that reflects the social diversity of modern families;
- A candid examination of the development of family law in response to the women's movement;
- The children's rights movement;
- The fathers' rights movement;
- Domestic violence;
- Changing sexual mores;
- Nontraditional family forms;
- Developments in reproductive technology;
- Interdisciplinary perspectives throughout the text; balanced coverage of contemporary themes and basic family law; a variety of problem exercises, most derived from actual cases and events; flexible organization adapts to shorter or longer courses.

Updated throughout, the Fourth Edition addresses recent developments in the law, addressing: - Abortion, domestic violence, no-fault divorce reform, parentage, adoption and assisted reproduction;
- Same-sex marriage, civil unions and same-sex divorce;
- Major new cases, such as Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health, holding unconstitutional the exclusion of same-sex couples from the right to marry; Gonzales v. Carhart, upholding the constitutionality of the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act; Lawrence v. Texas, developments relevant to sexual behavior;
- Recent amendments to FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) and VAWA (Violence Against Women Act).

Now in its Fourth Edition, Weisberg and Appleton's Modern Family Law reflects a progressive and inclusive perspective that recognizes how the diversity of today's families challenge traditional legal concepts and principles.