Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships; issues arising during marriage, including spousal abuse, legitimacy, adoption, surrogacy, child abuse, and child abduction; the termination of the relationship and ancillary matters including divorce, annulment, property settlements, alimony, and parental responsibility orders (in the United States, child custody and visitation, child support and alimony awards).
Carbondale is a city in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carbondale is located approximately 15 miles due NE of the city of Scranton in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 9,804 at the 2000 census. The land area that became Carbondale was developed by William and Maurice Wurts, the founders of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, during the rise of the anthracite coal mining industry in the early 1800s. Carbondale was the site of the first underground mine in the United States. It was also a major terminal of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad. Like many other cities and towns in the region, Carbondale has struggled with the demise of the once-prominent coal mining industry that propelled the region into a haven for Eastern European immigrants seeking work during the late 1800s and early 1900s.