Also known as: familial relationships · family relationship
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A close connection by blood, marriage, adoption, or law between individuals that triggers specific legal rules or protections in areas such as professional conduct, custody, tort immunity, and donative transfers.
Fiona Foster asked her lawyer to draft a will leaving her a substantial sum. The lawyer prepared the instrument naming himself as beneficiary. Because Fiona and the lawyer maintained a close familial relationship, the preparation did not violate the prohibition on client gifts.
Floyd Franklin sought custody of his niece after her parents died. Floyd had lived with the child for years and shared daily responsibilities. The court recognized his status because he held a familial relationship with the child by blood.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Felix Franco, an unemancipated minor, sued his father for injuries sustained during a family car trip. The father had been exercising ordinary parental supervision at the time. The court dismissed the suit to preserve harmony within the family relationship.
Fernando Farrell's mother died in an accident caused by a third party. Fernando sought damages for loss of her support even though his parents had never married. The familial relationship between mother and child received equal protection regardless of legitimacy.
Francesca Fiore discovered paintings missing from her studio decades earlier. She later learned a relative had quietly transferred one piece through family channels. The court examined whether the familial relationship affected the running of the limitations period.
A lawyer may accept or prepare an instrument for a substantial gift when the recipient is related to the client by blood, marriage, or a close familial relationship. The rule treats such ties as removing the risk of undue influence that the prohibition otherwise addresses.
Supporting sources
A nonparent may establish standing by showing a familial relationship by blood or law together with a substantial emotional bond formed without expectation of compensation. Courts then weigh whether that relationship supports an award of custody or visitation.
Supporting sources
The doctrine shields parents from ordinary negligence claims by unemancipated minors when the conduct involves parental authority or supervision. It rests on preserving family harmony and parental autonomy rather than on the absence of fault.
Supporting sources
…for replevin. Frank traces his possession of the paintings to his father, Dr. Frank, who died in 1968. He claims there is a family relationship by marriage between his family and the Stieglitz family, a contention that O'Keeffe disputes. Frank does not know how his father acquired the paintings, but he recalls seeing them in his…