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This article proposes an updating of the concept of family life and a synthesis of what it brings to the field of family therapy. Families are dynamic groups that evolve and change as they develop. Each stage of the life cycle of a family entails a reorganization of family-relations and shared rules of life (a young adult’s autonomy from his/her original family, couple formation, family with young children, family with school-aged children, adolescence, empty nest, retired parents. . .) Moving from successive stages confronts families with new problems and this may give rise to a crisis. These difficulties for family members in evolving together are an important factor within the problems and symptoms that occur in families. The diversification of family structures doesn’t undermine the relevance of the concept of family life cycle. As families are more fragile and changing, it has become useful to treat them as family trajectories and consider the stages of their evolution.