Fifty Years In Family Law

Stephen Cretney has long been regarded as the leading English scholar in the field of family law, as prolific as he is profound. His writing has always been a model of elegance and erudition. Even had the essays in this book not been written in his honour they would inevitably have had to rely heavily on his work.

The enactment of the Divorce Reform Act 1969 was a landmark moment in family law. Coming into force in 1971, it had a significant impact on legal practice and was followed by a dramatic increase in divorce rates, reflecting changes in social attitudes. This new interdisciplinary collection explores the background to the 1969 Act and its influence on law and society. Bringing together scholars from law, sociology, history, demography, and film and literature, it reflects on the changes to divorce law and practice over the past 50 years, and the changing impact of divorce on different people in society, particularly women. As such, it offers a 'biography' of this important piece of legislation, moving from its conception and birth, through its reception and development, to its imminent demise. Looking to the future, and to the new law introduced by the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, this collection suggests ways for evaluating what makes a 'good' divorce law. This brilliant collection gives insight not only into this crucial piece of legislation, but also into a key period of societal change.

This book brings together past and present law commissioners, judges, practitioners, academics and law reformers to analyse the past, present and future of the Law Commissions in the United Kingdom and beyond. Its internationally recognised authors bring a wealth of experience and insight into how and why law reform does and should take place, covering statutory and non-statutory reform from national and international perspectives. The chapters of the book developed from papers given at a conference to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Law Commissions Act 1965.

In the last fifty years our understanding of what constitutes "the family" in Canadian society and Canadian law has undergone a radical transformation. Similarly profound changes have taken place in the areas of child and spousal support and dispute resolution. "Canadian Family Law" incorporates these new developments to present a concise yet thorough analysis of family law in Canada at the beginning of the new millennium. It provides insight into the Federal "Child Support Guidelines," alternative dispute resolution, as well as the fundamental principles of family law within topics such as Marriage, Cohabitational Relationships, Domestic Contracts, Family Violence, Spousal Separation and Divorce, and Matrimonial Property Rights. "Canadian Family Law" will be of particular interest to practitioners and to other professionals who require an understanding of the law related to families.

When people are going through the emotional trauma of separation and divorce, they turn to Canada's best-selling guide to family law, Surviving Your Divorce. In it, family law expert Michael G. Cochrane, LL.B., answers questions such as: What are my rights? What will happen to the children? How much does divorce cost? Surviving Your Divorce is a non-technical book that explains the legal options available to married, common-law, and same-sex couples going through separation or divorce. This popular guide covers child custody, division of property, support, domestic violence, the rights of common-law couples, and much more provides tips and strategies to help you negotiate separation and divorce with your lawyer, potentially saving a lot of time and money includes real-life stories that illustrate the application of family law includes samples of key legal and financial documents, a comprehensive resource section, and a glossary of legal terms Be prepared for the process of divorcing. You can help your lawyer by knowing what questions to ask and what steps are involved. Considering self-representation? An entirely new chapter shows you how to build a framework for your case the same way lawyers do, with 50 tips on how to handle court appearances and more. "This readable, informative book is packed with all the information necessary to make informed decisions about marriage and divorce agreements. Cochrane has taken pains to describe just about every legal pitfall and divorce experience imaginable." —Calgary Herald "This book is not intended to convince you to go it alone, without a lawyer. It's designed, rather, to help you know what to expect. . . This is a book full of common-sense advice delivered in plain talk." —The Gazette (Montreal) Money- and Anxiety-Saving Strategies How to Help Your Lawyer Help You What Not to Do When Going through Divorce Secrets, Tactics, and Strategies Used by Lawyers How to Represent Yourself in Court

Comparative in both approach and framework, Family Law, Sex and Society provides a critical exposition of key areas in family law, exploring their evolution and development within their historical, cultural, political and legal context. Cross-referencing to English law throughout, this comparative textbook pays particular attention to the transformation of marriage; the development of divorce laws; matrimonial property; the legal recognition of unmarried heterosexual and same-sex cohabitants; the universal adoption of the best interests standard for children in domestic and international legislation; and the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on family law in a variety of jurisdictions. Divided into different sections, Family Law, Sex and Society includes coverage of: a jurisdictional and historical survey of some of the main themes in Family Law, as well as consideration of the evolution of the Western family the English law relating to divorce, marital property and children and a comparison with the equivalent law in the civil law jurisdictions of France and Germany family law developments in other common law countries such as Australia and New Zealand, selected American jurisdictions, parts of Africa and some Far Eastern countries; and hybrid jurisdictions like Japan and Russia an analysis of the law relating to unmarried cohabitation and domestic partnerships in civil law jurisdictions such as France, Germany and Sweden in comparison to Anglo-American law a comparative analysis of the laws relating to domestic violence. Family Law, Sex and Society offers valuable socio-legal and socio-cultural insights into the practice of family law, and is the only textbook that provides a unified, coherent and comparative approach to the study of family law as it operates in these particular jurisdictions.

This volume presents global and comparative perspectives on the perpetual pendular movement of family law between status and contract. It contributes to the topical academic debate on ‘family law exceptionalism’ by exploring the blurred lines between public law, private law and family law, and sheds light on the many shades of grey that exist. The contributions focus on both substantive and procedural family law on parents and children and on life partners, with particular attention for contractual arrangements of family formations and of conflict resolution. The hypothesis underlying all contributions was the trend towards contractualisation of family law. A convergent research outcome resulting from the comparison of national reports was the ambivalent position of family law in legal systems worldwide. That comparison shows that, whereas family law is clearly moving towards contract with regard to old family formations, the contrary is true for new family formations. The movement towards contract is rarely considered to be contractualisation pur sang, with civil effect. The movement towards status, finally, does not necessarily witness ‘family law exceptionalism’ vis-à-vis private law, in view of the increasing State interventionism in private law relations in general. In sum, as the volume shows, the high permeability of the demarcations between the State, the family and the market impedes a categorial approach. This volume is based on the general and selected national reports on the topic “Contractualisation of Family Law” that were presented at the XIXth International Congress of Comparative Law in Vienna in July 2014.

A CANADIAN BESTSELLER FULLY REVISED AND UPDATED For more than 30 years, Canadian Family Law has helped us to understand the legal issues surrounding marriage, separation and divorce, child custody and support. Now in its tenth edition, Canadian Family Law provides information on recent developments in family law, such as same-sex marriage, alternative dispute resolution and child support. Among the topics covered are: The rights and obligations of marriage The components of a separation agreement Spousal support Child support and the new guidelines Guiding principles regarding custody of children Property rights and division of property The divorce procedure Domestic contracts The enforcement of agreements Mediation and arbitration A comparative analysis of family law statutes. Illustrated with case studies, Canadian Family Law is the standard reference guide that people who are contemplating marriage, or separation and divorce, turn to for informative, readable and authoritative commentary.