Shared parenting after relationship breakdown is not in the best interests of children Discuss.

This paper will put forward that when parents cooperate shared parenting is indisputably in the best interests of children after relationship breakdown, however this is subject to many factors which often coalesce to sustain the alternative argument. This paper will demonstrate why shared parenting is in the best interests of the child when parents cooperate, initially by explaining the effects of the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006 (Cth)1 (hereafter 'SPA'), and then defining the subject area of this paper. The behaviour of post-separation parenting will then be examined to demonstrate why shared parenting is not always in the best interests of children. In support, this will be followed by a consideration of the influence which ongoing parental conflict post-separation has on children, as compared to the psychological effects and child adaptability to parental separation itself. Firstly, a look to the substance of the current legislation. I. THE RATIONALE OF THE AMENDMENTS; ALL VERY GOOD IN THEORY (A) The introduction of the SPA The key public policy concern behind the introduction of the legislative reforms to Part VII of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)2 (hereafter 'FLA') via the introduction of the SPA continues to be how to cultivate the continuing care and support of children following parental separation.3 S 60B (2) of the FLA highlights

  • Word count: 4071
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Family Law: The court's interpretation of parental responsibility for fathers focuses more on fathe

Family Law: The court's interpretation of parental responsibility for fathers focuses more on fathe The notion that there is a conflict, for if we suggest a focus we suggest imbalance, between a fathers' rights and a child's needs this is only a recent phenomenon. Historically the fathers rights prevailed, here we speak only of married fathers, and it was not until this century that women began to reverse the imbalance of control. As mothers are often the primary carer then perhaps the child's needs are often entangled with those of the mother. However the law now seems now to place a greater emphasis on the children's needs hence the child's welfare is "...the court's paramount consideration". The idea that there is any conflict at all was questioned by Lord Frazer "...parental rights...do not exist for the benefit of the parents. They exist for the benefit of the child...". Eekelaar emphasises that rights, now parental responsibility, are, in Lord Frazer's notion, only duties towards the child. He defines these duties as the role provided by the parent. He, however, sees responsibilities with two different meanings. We will concentrate on his first interpretation where parental responsibility is "...taking care of the child, providing for his education, maintenance, legal representation and the administration of his property". Father's can take three distinct forms, the

  • Word count: 1964
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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How to Make Lemonade When Life Gives You Lemons - Single Parenting

How to Make Lemonade When Life Gives You Lemons Single Parenting by Reasons and Statistics Single parent families are different to families with two parents living under the same roof. There are different reasons why a person becomes a single parent such as divorce, broken relationship, death, adoption or living apart though being married. Whatever the reason is; the facts are as follows: The percentage of children who live with two parents has been declining among all racial and ethnic groups. There are 12,687,000 female single-parent households, and 4,028,000 male single parent households (or over 16,715,000 single parent families in the U.S.)(1) Furthermore 32% of all births were to unmarried women in 1997. (2)As a result 28% (20 million) of all children in the US under 18 live with one parent however 84% of children who live with one parent, live with their mother. Moreover 56% of single parent households had no other adult living in the house. (3)There are 11.9 million single parents in the US. The number of single mothers (9.8 million) has remained constant while the number of single fathers grew 25% in three years to 2.1 million in 1998. Men comprise one-sixth of the nation's single parents. (4)On child basis, of children living with one parent: 38% lived with a divorced parent; 35% with a never-married parent; 19% with a separated parent; 4% with a widowed parent;

  • Word count: 1961
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Family Law Supervision

Family Law Supervision 8 Essay Q.6 Janet and Keith, aged 19 and 20, separated when their daughter Lucy was a few weeks old. Keith left the district suddenly, apparently unable to cope with the responsibility and did not maintain any contact with Janet or Lucy. Lucy is now eighteen months old. Keith has returned and asked Janet for a reconciliation, saying that he regrets his irresponsible action and that he sincerely wants to be fully involved in Lucy's life. He has found a stable job and is prepared to be a devoted father from now on. Janet wants nothing to do with Keith. She does not believe he has changed at all and in any case she has made a new life for herself and Lucy. She is about to move in with Martin Smith, who lives with his two children by a previous marriage. She wants Lucy to regard Martin as her father, and to this end wants to change Lucy's surname to Smith. Moreover, Janet and Martin plan to emigrate to Australia. Keith is violently opposed, and wants to know what his rights are and whether and how he can stop Janet from taking these steps. Advise Keith on the basis that: (a) Keith and Janet are married and Janet has instituted divorce proceedings; (b) Keith and Janet are not married. Firstly, on the basis that Janet and Keith are married, both parents will have parental responsibility if they were married at the time of the birth. In the Children

  • Word count: 1446
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Implication of assisted reproductive technologies

Taking into account genetic and non-genetic parents, critically discuss the legal and wider ethical implications of assisted reproductive technologies on 'The Family' While the advances in the field of assisted reproductive technologies may be heralded as great steps forward from a scientist's point of view, from a legal and, just as importantly, ethical standpoint the line separating advantage and disadvantage may have become somewhat blurred. The aim of this paper is to critically discuss how the advances in the law that governs assisted reproductive technology have caused great confusion with regard to parenthood when it comes to genetic and non-genetic parents. This is of utmost importance, because it is the person with parental responsibility of the child that has the most influence and control of its life. The steps by which this paper will achieve its aims are threefold. First, it is necessary to establish how the black letter law determines who the parents of a child produced by assisted reproduction are. This is to be done by highlighting the definitions of the parents as set out in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (HFEA). The paper will then critically examine the courts interpretation of these definitions and how their attitudes have subsequently led to further implications. Second, the discussion will address the changes proposed in the Human

  • Word count: 2340
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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There are many areas of law which have needed updating as changing times need changing views. The most recent need for change has been in family law in relation to transsexuals and cohabitants.

There are many areas of law which have needed updating as changing times need changing views. The most recent need for change has been in family law in relation to transsexuals and cohabitants. It has been suggested that the law in this area is outdated in light of current knowledge. For many years now the Government has been criticised following the cases of Bellinger, Goodwin v UK, of its treatment of transsexuals and cohabitants and not bringing in reforms to the law and the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. The first case of the up most importance was that of Corbett v Corbett1 in which, significantly, the Government was not criticised in their decision to uphold the marriage as void because it reflected not only society's views in 1970 but the Government's intentions. However in the case of Bellinger v Bellinger2, Mrs Bellinger had already transitioned when she got married and Mr Bellinger supported her in her application for confirmation of a valid marriage. Lord Nichols however, exercised his rights under s4 Human Rights Act 1998 said that s11[c]3 was incompatible with the European Convention saying it contravened Article 8 and Article 124 Although Mrs Bellinger's case was unsuccessful in English courts, it was apparent that there was a momentum for change increasingly recognised in the Court at Strasbourg and articulated in judgements critical of the approach in English

  • Word count: 3838
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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As the significance of marriage declines in family law there is no longer any justification for excluding cohabitation from full legal recognition. Discuss.

As the significance of marriage declines in family law there is no longer any justification for excluding cohabitation from full legal recognition. Discuss. As the question assumes that the significance of marriage is declining in family law, the first task of this essay will be to establish whether this is factually the situation. This will be ascertained using trends in the divorce rate, the effect of statutes on marriage, and consideration of whether marriage was ever particularly significant in family law anyway. The justification, if one exists, of excluding co-habitation from legal recognition will then be discussed, developing into more in depth reasoning regarding co-habitation, and whether it should enjoy a status in any way analogous to that of marriage. The more controversial issue of the extension of such rights to same sex couples will then be considered, in view of recent case law, and the Human Rights Act 1998. The role of marriage in society can be said to have been in decline in the latter half of the twentieth century, with statistics showing the marriage rate generally declining, especially in the final thirty years of the century, whilst the divorce rate increased. "Between 1971 and 1991 marriages fell by almost sixteen percent while divorces more than doubled. For every two marriages in Britain in 1991, there was one divorce1" The factors behind

  • Word count: 2982
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Treatment of same-sex marriages in the UK

"The denial of equal dignity and worth all too quickly and insidiously degenerates into a denial of humanity and leads to inhuman treatment by the rest of society in many other ways." Justice Ackerman National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality V Minister of Justice 1999 (1) South Africa (Constitutional Court) at 28 (para.42) Same-sex marriage, historically a controversial and uniformly prohibited status is now a legally available option in several countries. Even though the United Kingdom is not a jurisdiction where marriage is available for same-sex couples, the recognition of same sex marriage is a highly relevant topic because we live in an increasingly mobile and globalising world where couples are presented with opportunities and reasons to relocate. Therefore, a discussion on the current state of law regarding the recognition of same-sex marriages celebrated abroad, with special attention on the recent case of Wilkinson V Kitzinger & Ors1 and relevant provisions in the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, Civil Partnership Act 2004, and whether this approach is satisfactory and how it could be developed to meet the needs modern society. The current approach regards to same-sex marriage celebrated abroad The question of recognition for foreign same-sex marriage has been recently addressed in the case of Wilkinson V Kitzinger &Ors . The petitioner and the first

  • Word count: 3330
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Research Proposal. This proposal will look at the various rights and responsibilities that are currently held by unmarried fathers and married fathers and mothers. It will surface any differences that unmarried fathers might face in comparison to married

RESEARCH PROPOSAL "Wither or not unmarried fathers should be entitled to the same parental rights and responsibilities as married fathers and mothers?" SUBMITTED BY 4PM 6TH JANUARY 2009 CONTENTS PAGE "This contents page is compiled to reflect the requirements of the assessment. It gives a clear indication of me addressing each section of the research proposal as needed." .0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research Outline 2.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 2.1 A statement of the aims 2.2 Objectives 3.0 LITERATURE AND RESOURCES REVIEW 3.1 A review of the resources and literature 4.0 DEVELOPMENT OF RESEARCH 4.1 Developments of ongoing research 5.0 METHODOLOGY 5.1 The research methodology 5.2 The choice of methodology 6.0 FEASIBILITY AND LIMITATIONS 6.1 An analysis of the feasibility of the research proposal 6.2 The research development timetable 7.0 ETHICAL ISSUES 7.1 A discussion of ethical issues 8.0 SUMMARY 8.1 Conclusion 9.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY 9.1 Books 9.2 Websites 9.3 Legislation 9.4 Reading List 9.5 Other Sources .0 INTRODUCTION .1 Research outline This proposal will look at the various rights and responsibilities that are currently held by unmarried fathers and married fathers and mothers. It will surface any differences that unmarried fathers might face in comparison to married spouses. Furthermore, it will explore legislation that is currently in place to impose

  • Word count: 2409
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Law of the home: Ancillary relief Evaluation

Question 2: Since the turn of the century ancillary relief (AR) law has evolved greatly. Despite little legislative change, focusing on The Matrimonial Causes (NI) Order 1978 (MCO 1978), development can be put down to the courts wide discretionary power in the area, allowing this case specific approach to characterise the law in the recent decades.[1] This essay puts forward the argument that judicial developments, especially in the House of Lords, was a necessity for fairness regarding gender equality and non-discrimination. However, I will also argue that uncertainties exist within these developed principles, allowing for expensive, resource consuming litigation and confusion in practice. I will specifically be analysing the leading cases in the area, of White v White[2] and Miller; McFarlane[3] highlighting both the fairness developed afterwards but also the legal uncertainties which persisted in subsequent case law, concluding with the potential for reform. AR is a statutory regime, where upon breakdown of marriage there is a judicial regulation of assets, this is often the case when an agreement cannot be met outside of the courts. Before analysing case law development with regards AR, we first must look at how the law has been shaped. Judicial divorce was originally governed by the Matrimonial Causes Act 1939 (NI), traditionally difficult to obtain, further development

  • Word count: 2929
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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