Family Law, fifth edition.

Cover -- Family Law -- Brief contents -- Contents -- Preface -- Guided tour -- Table of cases -- Table of statutes -- Table of statutory instruments -- Table of European legislation -- What is family law? -- Seeking a definition of the family -- The person in the street's definition -- A formalistic definition -- A function-based definition -- An idealised definition -- A self-definition approach -- Do we give up? -- Discussion of how the law defines families -- New families? -- Should family life be encouraged? -- Proposing new visions for families -- Approaches to family law -- What is family law? -- How to examine family law -- Current issues in family law -- How the state interacts with families -- Privatisation of family law -- Autonomy -- The decline in 'moral judgements' -- Sending messages through the law -- Legal aid and costs -- Families in crisis -- Solicitors, barristers and family law -- Non-legal responses to family problems -- Rights and consequentialism -- Rules or discretion -- Multiculturalism and religious diversity -- The Human Rights Act 1998 and family law -- The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child -- Conclusion -- Further reading -- Marriage, civil partnership and cohabitation -- Introduction -- Statistics on marriage -- What is marriage? -- The meaning of marriage -- The legal definition of marriage -- Why do people marry? -- Marriage as a status or contract -- The presumption of marriage -- Non-marriages, void marriages and voidable marriages -- The difference between divorce and nullity -- The difference between a void marriage and non-marriage -- The difference between a void and a voidable marriage -- The grounds on which a marriage is void -- The grounds on which a marriage is voidable -- Bars to relief in voidable marriages -- Effects of a decree of nullity -- Reform of nullity -- Forced marriages.

Civil partnerships -- Who can enter a civil partnership? -- How do you form a civil partnership? -- Annulling a civil partnership -- The end of the civil partnership -- The effect of a civil partnership -- The differences between civil partnership and marriage -- Is the Civil Partnership Act to be welcomed? -- The future: gay marriage? -- Unmarried cohabiting couples -- Comparisons between the legal position of spouses or civil partners and unmarried couples -- Formalities at the beginning and end of a relationship -- Financial support -- Children -- Inheritance and succession -- Criminal law -- Contract -- Tort -- Evidence -- Matrimonial property -- Marital confidences -- Taxation and benefits -- Citizenship -- Statutory succession to tenancies -- Domestic violence -- Fatal Accident Act 1976 -- The doctrine of unity -- Consortium -- Engagements -- Should the law treat cohabitation and marriage or civil partnership in the same way? -- Does the state benefit from cohabitation to the same extent as from marriage or civil partnership? -- Choice -- Reflecting current attitudes -- Discrimination -- Should marriage be discouraged? -- Protection -- The Law Commission's proposed reforms -- What if the state were to abolish legal marriage? -- Conclusion -- Further reading -- Divorce and mediation -- Statistics on divorce -- Causes of divorce -- Social explanations for increasing divorce -- What should be the aims of divorce law? -- The present law on divorce: Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 -- The background to the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 -- The current law: the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 -- Problems with the present law -- 'It is confusing and misleading' -- 'It is discriminatory and unjust' -- 'It distorts the parties' bargaining positions' -- 'It provokes unnecessary hostility and bitterness' -- 'It does nothing to save the marriage'.

'It can make things worse for the children' -- Reforming the divorce law: the failure of the Family Law Act 1996 -- General principles of the Family Law Act 1996 -- A timetable for divorce procedures under the Family Law Act 1996 -- The information meeting -- Encouragement of reconciliation -- The length of the process -- Counselling and mediation -- Divorce order to be granted only once the financial orders and arrangements for children are made -- Protecting children's interests during divorce -- 'Quickie divorce' -- Idealisation of divorce -- Some general issues on divorce -- Individualisation of divorce -- No-fault versus fault-based divorce -- Length of time for the divorce process -- Reconciliation and divorce -- The Human Rights Act 1998 and divorce -- Financial arrangements to be made before divorce -- Religion and divorce -- Children and divorce -- Pursuing an action for inducing divorce -- Separation orders -- Death and marriage -- Dissolving a civil partnership -- Mediation -- Introduction -- What is mediation? -- The role of the mediator -- The benefits of mediation -- The disadvantages of mediation -- The false dichotomy of mediation and litigation -- Conclusion -- Further reading -- Family property -- The reality of family finances -- The ownership of family property: general theory -- The ownership of personal property -- Jointly used bank accounts -- Housekeeping and maintenance allowance -- Gifts from one partner to the other -- Gifts to partners from third parties -- Improvements to personal property -- Express declarations of trust -- Criticisms of the present law -- Maintenance during marriage -- Unmarried cohabitants -- Married couples -- Ownership of real property: the family home -- Legal ownership -- Equitable ownership -- Improvements to the home -- Criticism of the present law -- Reform of the law.

Rights to occupy the home -- Contractual licences -- Home rights -- The sale of a family home: enforcing trusts -- Protection of beneficial interests against purchasers -- Protection of family property on bankruptcy -- Protecting creditors from family members -- Protecting the families from the creditors -- Spouses, partners and mortgages -- Undue influence -- Conclusion -- Further reading -- Property on separation -- Child support: theoretical issues -- Does the obligation to support children fall on the state or on the parents? -- Are the parents' obligations independent or joint? -- Biological or social parents? -- What level should the support be? -- Paternity fraud -- 'The lone-parent crisis' -- Child support and parental support -- Should child support be a private issue? -- Financial support of children -- Financial support of children living with both parents -- The Child Support Act 1991 -- The Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 -- The Children Act 1989 and child support -- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and children -- Powers of the court on divorce or dissolution -- 'Child of the family' -- Applications by children -- Factors to be taken into account -- Theoretical issues concerning financial support on divorce or dissolution -- The economic realities of divorce -- Why should there be any redistribution? -- The case for the abolition of maintenance -- Certainty or discretion? -- The Human Rights Act 1998 and maintenance -- The importance of discovery -- Orders that the court can make -- Income orders -- Property orders -- Clean break orders -- Interim orders -- Statutory factors to be taken into account when making orders -- The welfare of children -- Financial resources -- The needs, obligations and responsibilities of the parties -- 'The standard of living enjoyed by the family before the breakdown of the marriage'.

'The age of each party to the marriage and the duration of the marriage' -- 'Any physical or mental disability of either of the parties to the marriage' -- Contributions to the welfare of the family -- Conduct -- Loss of benefits -- Interpretation of the statute by the courts -- The principle of equality -- Compensation -- Balancing needs, compensation and fairness -- A claim on spouse's future earnings? -- A discussion of the case law -- Particular issues relating to redistribution of property on divorce -- The poor -- Pensions -- Family businesses -- Housing -- Pre-marriage or prenuptial contracts -- Consent orders -- The status of agreement before a court order has been made -- Enforcement of financial orders -- Avoiding enforcement problems -- Enforcement of periodical payments -- Enforcement of lump sum orders and property adjustment orders -- Defeating claims: Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, section 37 -- Bankruptcy and ancillary relief -- Variation of, appeals against, and setting aside court orders -- Variation -- Setting aside a consent order -- Appeal -- Transfer of tenancies -- Who can apply? -- Which tenancies can be transferred? -- Orders that can be made -- Factors to be taken into account -- Reform of the law on financial support for spouses -- Conclusion -- Further reading -- Domestic violence -- Introductory issues -- Terminology of topic and definitions -- The incidence of domestic violence -- Causes of domestic violence -- The development of the law on domestic violence -- Injunctions and orders under the Family Law Act 1996 -- The non-molestation order -- Occupation orders -- Ex parte non-molestation and occupation orders under the Family Law Act 1996 -- Undertakings -- Powers of arrest -- Punishment for breach of an order -- The reduction in the use of civil remedies.

Injunctions under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and tort.

The best-selling textbook in this area, Family Law provides an exceptional grounding in this fascinating, and often controversial, subject.  Family Law forms part of the successful Longman Law series, trusted by generations of students to spark their intellectual curiosity, it provide today’s law students with the best possible basis for legal study through: -         Clear, academically rich and scholarly exposition of legal doctrine-         Scintillating analysis of the theories, policies and societal influences underpinning the legal principles-         Engaging author commentary, a highly readable style and innovative stylistic features to support study and illuminate the complexities of the law.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2023. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.