Family law and the indissolubility of parenthood

There are few areas of public policy in the Western world where there is as much turbulence as in family law. Often the disputes are seen in terms of an endless war between the genders. Reviewing developments over the last 30 years in North America, Europe and Australasia, Patrick Parkinson argues that, rather than just being about gender, the conflicts in family law derive from the breakdown of the model on which divorce reform was predicated in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Experience has shown that although marriage may be freely dissoluble, parenthood is not. Dealing with the most difficult issues in family law, this book charts a path for law reform that recognizes that the family endures despite the separation of parents, while allowing room for people to make a fresh start and prioritizing the safety of all concerned when making decisions about parenting after separation.

• Part I. Family Law and the Meaning of Divorce: 1. Family law and the issue of gender conflict
• 2. The divorce revolution and the process of allocation
• Part II. Parenthood in the Enduring Family: 3. Redefining parenthood after separation
• 4. Reasons for the demise of sole custody
• 5. Shared parenting: the new frontier
• Part III. Parents Forever? Issues about Post-Separation Parenting: 6. Violence, abuse and post-separation parenting
• 7. Relocation
• Part IV. The Family Law System and the Indissolubility of Parenthood: 8. Dispute resolution for the enduring family
• 9. Adjudication for the enduring family
• Part V. Financial Transfers in the Enduring Family: 10. Child support and the obligations of parenthood
• 11. Spousal support and the feminization of poverty
• Part VI. The Future of Family Law: 12. Between two conflicting views of divorce.