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Book Details
Abstract
This best-selling textbook is loved by students and lecturers alike. Offering exceptional coverage of all key family law principles, this book also explores the theories, debates and ethical dilemmas which underpin the subject ensuring you have the knowledge required to critique the existing law and evaluate reform options.
Family Law provides you with an exceptional grounding in this fascinating, and often controversial, subject ensuring you get the most from your textbook by equipping you with:
● a strong understanding of the wealth of legal principles at play in this dynamic subject area that you are likely to encounter on your course
● an in-depth appreciation of the wider social, economic and political tensions which surround family life enabling you to critique the existing law and evaluate proposed reforms
● a wide range of carefully selected summaries of key cases and extracts from important legislative provisions to highlight clearly the primary source material which forms the bedrock of the subject
● a variety of interesting, and often surprising, key statistics relating to each topic to illustrate the practical effects of the laws you are studying on society
● stimulating debates on particularly controversial, sensitive or topical legal dilemmas encouraging you to draw on your critical analysis skills to form your own opinions and evaluate the arguments posed on each side of the debate
● invaluable further reading references to provide a springboard for further study
New to this Edition
● Important developments in the case law on the welfare principle
● New guidance on non-marriages
● Recent cases on financial provision
● Consideration of pre-nuptial agreements
● Examination of the law on parental responsibility
● Detailed discussion of domestic abuse
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front Cover | Front Cover | ||
| Title Page | iii | ||
| Copyright Page | iv | ||
| Dedication Page | v | ||
| Brief contents | vii | ||
| Contents | ix | ||
| Preface | xxi | ||
| Acknowledgements | xxiii | ||
| Table of cases | xlii | ||
| Table of statutes | lxxv | ||
| Table of statutory instruments | lxxxiv | ||
| Table of European and International legislation | lxxxvi | ||
| 1 What is family law? | 1 | ||
| 1 Introduction | 1 | ||
| 2 Seeking a definition of the family | 2 | ||
| A The person in the street’s definition | 2 | ||
| B A formalistic definition | 3 | ||
| C A function-based definition | 3 | ||
| D An idealised definition | 4 | ||
| E A self-definition approach | 4 | ||
| F Do we give up? | 4 | ||
| G Discussion of how the law defines families | 5 | ||
| H The Government’s definition of family | 6 | ||
| I New families? | 7 | ||
| 3 Should family life be encouraged? | 12 | ||
| A Proposing new visions for families | 14 | ||
| 4 Approaches to family law | 15 | ||
| A What is family law? | 15 | ||
| B How to examine family law | 16 | ||
| 5 Current issues in family law | 22 | ||
| A How the state interacts with families | 22 | ||
| B Privatisation of family law | 23 | ||
| C Autonomy | 25 | ||
| D The decline in ‘moral judgements’ | 26 | ||
| E Sending messages through the law | 27 | ||
| F Solicitors, barristers and family law | 28 | ||
| G Non-legal responses to family problems | 29 | ||
| H Rules or discretion | 29 | ||
| I Multiculturalism and religious diversity | 29 | ||
| 6 The Human Rights Act 1998 and family law | 32 | ||
| 7 Brexit and family law | 33 | ||
| 8 Conclusion | 33 | ||
| Further reading | 34 | ||
| 2 Family justice | 36 | ||
| 1 Introduction | 36 | ||
| 2 The Family Justice Review and reform of legal aid | 36 | ||
| 3 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 | 37 | ||
| A The exceptional categories | 38 | ||
| B Domestic violence | 38 | ||
| C Children at risk | 41 | ||
| D Exceptional funding | 41 | ||
| 4 The impact of the legal aid cuts | 42 | ||
| 5 The justification for the cuts | 43 | ||
| 6 The objections to LASPO | 45 | ||
| A Human rights | 45 | ||
| B Litigants in person | 47 | ||
| C Parties facing litigants in person | 49 | ||
| D Expert witnesses | 50 | ||
| E LASPO: the future | 51 | ||
| 7 Mediation | 51 | ||
| A Introduction | 51 | ||
| B What is mediation? | 53 | ||
| C The role of the mediator | 53 | ||
| D The benefits of mediation | 56 | ||
| E The disadvantages of mediation | 59 | ||
| F The false dichotomy of mediation and litigation | 64 | ||
| G Collaborative family law | 65 | ||
| 8 Arbitration | 66 | ||
| 9 Religious tribunals | 67 | ||
| 10 Conclusion | 69 | ||
| Further reading | 70 | ||
| 3 Marriage, civil partnership and cohabitation | 72 | ||
| 1 Introduction | 72 | ||
| 2 Statistics on marriage | 74 | ||
| 3 What is marriage? | 75 | ||
| A The meaning of marriage | 75 | ||
| B The legal definition of marriage | 77 | ||
| C Why do people marry? | 78 | ||
| 4 Marriage as a status or contract | 79 | ||
| 5 The presumption of marriage | 81 | ||
| 6 Non-marriages, void marriages and voidable marriages | 82 | ||
| A The difference between divorce and nullity | 82 | ||
| B The difference between a void marriage and non-marriage | 82 | ||
| C The difference between a void and a voidable marriage | 86 | ||
| D The grounds on which a marriage is void | 87 | ||
| E The grounds on which a marriage is voidable | 92 | ||
| F Bars to relief in voidable marriages | 99 | ||
| G Effects of a decree of nullity | 101 | ||
| H Reform of nullity | 102 | ||
| I Forced marriages | 102 | ||
| 7 Equal marriage | 105 | ||
| A The debates over equal marriage | 105 | ||
| B Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 | 107 | ||
| 8 Marriage and the definition of sex | 109 | ||
| A Trans people | 109 | ||
| B People with intersex bodies | 112 | ||
| 9 Civil partnerships | 113 | ||
| A Who can enter a civil partnership? | 113 | ||
| B How do you form a civil partnership? | 117 | ||
| C Annulling a civil partnership | 117 | ||
| D The end of the civil partnership | 118 | ||
| E The effect of a civil partnership | 118 | ||
| F The differences between civil partnership and marriage | 118 | ||
| 10 Unmarried cohabiting couples | 119 | ||
| 11 Comparisons between the legal position of spouses or civilpartners and unmarried couples | 121 | ||
| A Formalities at the beginning and end of a relationship | 121 | ||
| B Financial support | 122 | ||
| C Children | 123 | ||
| D Inheritance and succession | 123 | ||
| E Criminal law | 123 | ||
| F Contract | 124 | ||
| G Tort | 125 | ||
| H Evidence | 125 | ||
| I Matrimonial property | 126 | ||
| J Marital confidences | 126 | ||
| K Taxation and benefits | 126 | ||
| L Citizenship | 126 | ||
| M Statutory succession to tenancies | 127 | ||
| N Domestic violence | 127 | ||
| O Fatal Accident Act 1976 | 127 | ||
| P The doctrine of unity | 127 | ||
| Q Consortium | 128 | ||
| 12 Engagements | 128 | ||
| 13 Should the law treat cohabitation and marriage or civilpartnership in the same way? | 129 | ||
| A Does the state benefit from cohabitation to the same extent as frommarriage or civil partnership? | 129 | ||
| B Choice | 134 | ||
| C Discrimination | 134 | ||
| D Should marriage be discouraged? | 135 | ||
| E Protection | 136 | ||
| 14 The Law Commission’s proposed reforms | 137 | ||
| 15 What if the state were to abolish legal marriage? | 137 | ||
| 16 Conclusion | 140 | ||
| Further reading | 141 | ||
| 4 Divorce | 143 | ||
| 1 Statistics on divorce | 143 | ||
| 2 Causes of divorce | 144 | ||
| 3 What should be the aims of divorce law? | 145 | ||
| A Supporting the institution of marriage | 145 | ||
| B Saving marriages | 146 | ||
| C Limiting emotional harm | 146 | ||
| D Promoting on-going relationships | 147 | ||
| E Avoiding expense | 147 | ||
| F Protection from violence | 147 | ||
| G Dealing with emotional issues | 147 | ||
| 4 The present law on divorce: Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 | 148 | ||
| A The background to the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 | 148 | ||
| B The current law: the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 | 148 | ||
| 5 Problems with the present law | 157 | ||
| A ‘It is confusing and misleading’ | 157 | ||
| B ‘It is discriminatory and unjust’ | 158 | ||
| C ‘It distorts the parties’ bargaining positions’ | 158 | ||
| D ‘It provokes unnecessary hostility and bitterness’ | 158 | ||
| E ‘It does nothing to save the marriage’ | 159 | ||
| F ‘It can make things worse for the children’ | 159 | ||
| 6 Issues in reforming the divorce law | 159 | ||
| A Individualisation of divorce | 160 | ||
| B No-fault versus fault-based divorce | 161 | ||
| C Length of time for the divorce process | 164 | ||
| D Administrative or judicial procedure | 165 | ||
| E Reconciliation and divorce | 165 | ||
| F Religion and divorce | 166 | ||
| G Children and divorce | 167 | ||
| H Idealisation of divorce | 167 | ||
| 7 Reform proposals | 167 | ||
| A A notification system | 168 | ||
| B Addition of no-fault ground | 168 | ||
| C Modify current law | 168 | ||
| D No Reform | 168 | ||
| 8 Separation orders | 169 | ||
| 9 Death and marriage | 169 | ||
| 10 Dissolving a civil partnership | 170 | ||
| 11 Conclusion | 170 | ||
| Further reading | 171 | ||
| 5 Family property | 172 | ||
| 1 Introduction | 172 | ||
| 2 The reality of family finances | 173 | ||
| 3 The ownership of family property: general theory | 174 | ||
| 4 The ownership of personal property | 175 | ||
| A Jointly used bank accounts | 176 | ||
| B Housekeeping and maintenance allowance | 177 | ||
| C Gifts from one partner to the other | 177 | ||
| D Gifts to partners from third parties | 177 | ||
| E Improvements to personal property | 177 | ||
| F Express declarations of trust | 178 | ||
| G Criticisms of the present law | 178 | ||
| 5 Maintenance during marriage | 178 | ||
| A Unmarried cohabitants | 178 | ||
| B Married couples | 178 | ||
| 6 Ownership of real property: the family home: legal ownership | 180 | ||
| 7 Ownership of real property: the family home: equitable ownership | 181 | ||
| A Express trusts | 181 | ||
| B Resulting trusts | 181 | ||
| C Constructive trusts | 182 | ||
| D Proprietary estoppel | 190 | ||
| E The interrelation of constructive trusts and proprietary estoppel | 192 | ||
| 8 Improvements to the home | 193 | ||
| 9 Criticism of the present law | 194 | ||
| 10 Reform of the law | 195 | ||
| 11 Rights to occupy the home | 199 | ||
| A Contractual licences | 199 | ||
| B Home rights | 199 | ||
| 12 The sale of a family home: enforcing trusts | 200 | ||
| 13 Conclusion | 202 | ||
| Further reading | 202 | ||
| 6 Property on separation | 203 | ||
| 1 Introduction | 203 | ||
| 2 Child support: theoretical issues | 204 | ||
| A Does the obligation to support children fall on the state or on the parents? | 204 | ||
| B Are the parents’ obligations independent or joint? | 206 | ||
| C Biological or social parents? | 206 | ||
| D What level should the support be? | 208 | ||
| E Paternity fraud | 209 | ||
| F ‘The lone-parent crisis’ | 209 | ||
| G Child support and parental support | 210 | ||
| H Should child support be a private issue? | 210 | ||
| 3 Financial support of children | 210 | ||
| A Financial support of children living with both parents | 210 | ||
| B The Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 | 211 | ||
| C The encouragement to agree | 214 | ||
| D The Children Act 1989 and child support | 216 | ||
| 4 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and children | 220 | ||
| A Powers of the court on divorce or dissolution | 220 | ||
| B ‘Child of the family’ | 220 | ||
| C Applications by children | 220 | ||
| D Factors to be taken into account | 221 | ||
| 5 Theoretical issues concerning financial support on divorce or dissolution | 221 | ||
| A The economic realities of divorce | 222 | ||
| B Why should there be any redistribution? | 223 | ||
| C The case for the abolition of maintenance | 230 | ||
| D Certainty or discretion? | 231 | ||
| E The importance of discovery | 233 | ||
| 6 Orders that the court can make | 234 | ||
| A Income orders | 234 | ||
| B Property orders | 235 | ||
| C Clean break orders | 235 | ||
| D Interim orders | 240 | ||
| 7 Statutory factors to be taken into account when making orders | 241 | ||
| A The welfare of children | 242 | ||
| B Financial resources | 243 | ||
| C The needs, obligations and responsibilities of the parties | 246 | ||
| D ‘The standard of living enjoyed by the family before the breakdown of the marriage’ | 248 | ||
| E ‘The age of each party to the marriage and the duration of the marriage’ | 249 | ||
| F ‘Any physical or mental disability of either of the parties to the marriage’ | 250 | ||
| G Contributions to the welfare of the family | 250 | ||
| H Conduct | 251 | ||
| I Loss of benefits | 253 | ||
| J Other factors | 253 | ||
| 8 Principles developed by the courts | 253 | ||
| A The principle of meeting needs | 254 | ||
| B The principle of equal sharing | 254 | ||
| C The principle of compensation | 264 | ||
| D The principle of autonomy | 267 | ||
| 9 Particular issues relating to redistribution of property on divorce | 269 | ||
| A The poor | 269 | ||
| B Pensions | 269 | ||
| C Housing | 273 | ||
| D Pre-marriage or prenuptial contracts | 276 | ||
| E Periodic payments | 284 | ||
| 10 A discussion of the approach taken to financial orders by the courts | 286 | ||
| 11 Consent orders | 287 | ||
| A The status of agreement before a court order has been made | 287 | ||
| 12 Variation of, appeals against, and setting aside court orders | 288 | ||
| A Variation | 289 | ||
| B Setting aside a consent order | 293 | ||
| C Appeal | 294 | ||
| 13 Reform of the law on financial support for spouses | 296 | ||
| 14 Conclusion | 300 | ||
| Further reading | 301 | ||
| 7 Domestic abuse | 303 | ||
| 1 Introductory issues | 303 | ||
| A Terminology and definitions | 303 | ||
| B Domestic violence and gender | 308 | ||
| C The incidence of domestic violence | 308 | ||
| D Causes of domestic violence | 310 | ||
| 2 Injunctions and orders under the Family Law Act 1996 | 311 | ||
| A The non-molestation order | 311 | ||
| B Occupation orders | 317 | ||
| C Ex parte non-molestation and occupation orders under the Family Law Act 1996 | 334 | ||
| D Undertakings | 335 | ||
| E The reduction in the use of civil remedies | 335 | ||
| 3 Domestic Violence Protection Notices and Orders | 336 | ||
| 4 Injunctions under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and tort | 337 | ||
| 5 Protection under the Mental Capacity Act and inherent jurisdiction | 339 | ||
| 6 The Children Act 1989 and domestic violence | 340 | ||
| 7 Domestic violence and the criminal law | 341 | ||
| A The substantive law | 341 | ||
| B The new domestic violence offence | 342 | ||
| C The criminal law in practice | 345 | ||
| D Reforming the criminal procedure | 347 | ||
| 8 Children abusing their parents | 350 | ||
| 9 Why the law finds domestic violence difficult | 351 | ||
| A The traditional image of the family | 351 | ||
| B Privacy | 351 | ||
| C Difficulties of proof | 352 | ||
| D Occupation or protection | 353 | ||
| E Victim autonomy | 353 | ||
| F Integrated approaches | 354 | ||
| G The law is not appropriate | 355 | ||
| 10 Future reforms | 355 | ||
| 11 Conclusion | 355 | ||
| Further reading | 356 | ||
| 8 Who is a parent? | 358 | ||
| 1 Introduction | 358 | ||
| 2 Psychological, sociological and biological notions of parenthood | 359 | ||
| A Child psychologists | 359 | ||
| B Sociologists | 360 | ||
| C Biological perceptions | 360 | ||
| 3 The different meanings of being a parent in law | 360 | ||
| 4 Who is the child’s mother? | 362 | ||
| 5 Who is the child’s father? | 365 | ||
| A Legal presumptions of paternity | 365 | ||
| B Birth registration | 366 | ||
| C Rebutting legal presumptions of paternity | 368 | ||
| D Fathers and assisted reproduction | 369 | ||
| E DIY assisted reproduction | 372 | ||
| F An analysis of the allocation of parenthood in the HFE Acts | 372 | ||
| G Surrogacy | 374 | ||
| 6 Adoption | 383 | ||
| 7 Losing parenthood | 383 | ||
| 8 Social parents | 383 | ||
| A Guardianship | 383 | ||
| B Foster parents | 386 | ||
| C Special guardians | 387 | ||
| D Those who treat a child as a child of the family | 388 | ||
| E Step-parents | 389 | ||
| F Others caring for the child | 390 | ||
| 9 Relatives | 390 | ||
| 10 The Human Rights Act 1998 and the right to respect for family life | 393 | ||
| A What is family life? | 393 | ||
| B What is respect? | 395 | ||
| C When can infringement be justified? | 396 | ||
| 11 Who has parental responsibility? | 396 | ||
| A Outline of the law | 396 | ||
| B Consideration of the law in more detail | 397 | ||
| 12 Who should get parental responsibility? | 404 | ||
| A Unmarried fathers | 404 | ||
| 13 Losing parental responsibility | 409 | ||
| 14 Wider issues over parenthood | 411 | ||
| A What is the basis for granting parenthood? | 411 | ||
| B Is there a right to know one’s genetic parentage? | 416 | ||
| C Is there a right to be a parent? | 425 | ||
| D ‘Illegitimacy’ | 428 | ||
| E Same-sex couples and parenthood | 429 | ||
| 15 Conclusion | 434 | ||
| Further reading | 434 | ||
| 9 Parents’ and children’s rights | 437 | ||
| 1 Introduction | 437 | ||
| 2 When does childhood begin? | 438 | ||
| 3 When does childhood end? | 438 | ||
| 4 The nature of childhood | 439 | ||
| 5 Parents’ rights, responsibilities and discretion | 441 | ||
| A Parental rights | 442 | ||
| B Are parents’ rights and responsibilities linked? | 442 | ||
| C Why do parents have rights and responsibilities? | 445 | ||
| 6 Parental responsibility | 450 | ||
| A What is parental responsibility? | 450 | ||
| B Parental responsibility in practice | 453 | ||
| C The rights of a parent without responsibility | 454 | ||
| D The extent of parental responsibility | 455 | ||
| 7 Sharing parental responsibility | 455 | ||
| A Are all parental responsibilities equal? | 458 | ||
| B Is the law in a sound state? | 458 | ||
| 8 The welfare principle | 461 | ||
| A What does ‘welfare’ mean? | 461 | ||
| B What does ‘paramount’ mean? | 462 | ||
| C The nature of welfare | 463 | ||
| D When does the welfare principle apply? | 467 | ||
| E When does the welfare principle not apply? | 467 | ||
| F What if the case involves two children – whose interests are paramount? | 471 | ||
| G Conflict of interests between parents and children | 472 | ||
| 9 The Human Rights Act 1998 and children’s welfare and rights | 476 | ||
| A Balancing the rights of parents and children under the Convention | 477 | ||
| B Is there any practical difference between the approaches of the European Convention and the Children Act 1989? | 479 | ||
| 10 Criticisms of the welfare principle | 480 | ||
| 11 Alternatives to the welfare principle | 482 | ||
| 12 Children’s rights | 484 | ||
| A Should children have all the rights adults have? | 485 | ||
| B The argument against rights for children | 490 | ||
| C Extra rights for children | 494 | ||
| D Children’s rights for adults | 495 | ||
| E Children’s rights in practice | 495 | ||
| F Is there a difference between a welfare-based approach and a rights based approach? | 497 | ||
| 13 Children and medical law | 499 | ||
| A 16- and 17-year-olds | 499 | ||
| B Under 16-year-olds | 500 | ||
| C Comments on the law | 512 | ||
| 14 Children’s rights in other cases | 514 | ||
| 15 Children in court | 518 | ||
| A Children bringing proceedings in their own right | 519 | ||
| B Representation | 521 | ||
| 16 The Children’s Commissioner | 525 | ||
| 17 Corporal punishment | 526 | ||
| 18 Children’s duties | 530 | ||
| 19 Conclusion | 531 | ||
| Further reading | 531 | ||
| 10 Private disputes over children | 535 | ||
| 1 Introduction | 535 | ||
| 2 Negotiated settlements | 536 | ||
| 3 The orders available to the court | 536 | ||
| A Child arrangements orders | 536 | ||
| B Specific issue orders | 539 | ||
| C Prohibited steps orders | 539 | ||
| D Restrictions on the use of section 8 orders | 540 | ||
| E Attaching conditions | 542 | ||
| 4 Who can apply for section 8 orders? | 544 | ||
| A Persons who can apply without leave | 544 | ||
| B People who need the leave of the court | 545 | ||
| C How the court decides whether to grant leave | 545 | ||
| D Restricting section 8 applications: section 91(14) | 546 | ||
| 5 Children’s welfare on divorce and relationship breakdown | 548 | ||
| 6 How the court obtains information on the child’s welfare | 549 | ||
| 7 How the court decides what is in the welfare of the child: the statutory checklist | 551 | ||
| A The various factors | 551 | ||
| 8 Issues of controversy in applying the welfare principle | 561 | ||
| A The use of presumptions | 561 | ||
| B Shared residence | 561 | ||
| C I s there a presumption in favour of mothers? | 564 | ||
| D The ‘natural parent presumption’ | 565 | ||
| E Is there a presumption that siblings should reside together? | 568 | ||
| F Religion | 568 | ||
| G Employed parents | 571 | ||
| H Disabled parents | 571 | ||
| I Names | 572 | ||
| J Relocation | 577 | ||
| K Internal relocation | 581 | ||
| L When should there be contact between a child and parent? | 583 | ||
| 9 Wardship and the inherent jurisdiction | 616 | ||
| 10 Child abduction | 618 | ||
| 11 Conclusion | 618 | ||
| Further reading | 618 | ||
| 11 Child protection | 621 | ||
| 1 The problems of child protection | 621 | ||
| 2 The Children Act 1989 and child protection | 625 | ||
| 3 The Human Rights Act 1998 and child protection | 626 | ||
| 4 Defining and explaining abuse | 627 | ||
| 5 Voluntary services provided by local authorities | 629 | ||
| A Voluntary accommodation | 629 | ||
| B Services for children in need | 634 | ||
| C The family assistance order | 636 | ||
| 6 Investigations by local authorities | 637 | ||
| A Section 47 investigations | 637 | ||
| B Section 37 directions | 639 | ||
| C Child assessment orders | 639 | ||
| 7 Emergencies: criminal prosecutions and protection orders | 641 | ||
| A Police protection | 641 | ||
| B The emergency protection order | 641 | ||
| C Secure accommodation orders | 644 | ||
| D Detention of a child | 646 | ||
| E Exclusion orders | 647 | ||
| F Wardship and the inherent jurisdiction | 648 | ||
| G Local authorities and section 8 orders | 649 | ||
| H The problem of ousting the abuser | 650 | ||
| I Protection of children by the criminal law | 651 | ||
| 8 Compulsory orders: care orders and supervision orders | 652 | ||
| A Who can apply? | 653 | ||
| B Who can be the subject of care or supervision proceedings? | 653 | ||
| C The effect of a care order | 653 | ||
| D The effect and purpose of the supervision order | 655 | ||
| E Care or supervision order? | 657 | ||
| F Grounds for supervision and care orders: the threshold criteria | 658 | ||
| G Grounds for supervision and care orders: the welfare test | 674 | ||
| H Interim care orders | 676 | ||
| I Procedural issues | 678 | ||
| 9 Special guardianship | 679 | ||
| A Who can apply for a special guardianship? | 680 | ||
| B The grounds for making a special guardianship order | 680 | ||
| C The effect of special guardianship | 682 | ||
| D Variation and discharge of special guardianship | 684 | ||
| E An assessment of special guardianship | 684 | ||
| 10 Adoption | 686 | ||
| A Adoption and secret birth | 688 | ||
| B Who can adopt? | 689 | ||
| C Who can be adopted? | 690 | ||
| D The adoption procedures | 690 | ||
| E Placement for adoption | 693 | ||
| F Revocation of a placement order by court order | 694 | ||
| G Revocation by the local authority | 695 | ||
| H The making of an adoption order | 696 | ||
| I The effect of an adoption order | 707 | ||
| J Open adoption | 708 | ||
| K Adoption by a parent | 710 | ||
| L Adoption by parent and step-parent | 711 | ||
| M Post-adoption support | 712 | ||
| N Revocation of an adoption order | 713 | ||
| O The breakdown of adoption | 715 | ||
| P Access to birth and adoption register | 716 | ||
| Q Inter-country adoption | 717 | ||
| 11 The position of children in care | 718 | ||
| A Duties imposed upon a local authority | 719 | ||
| B Empowering children in care | 723 | ||
| 12 Questioning local authority decisions about children in care | 723 | ||
| A Internal complaints procedures | 724 | ||
| B Human Rights Act 1998 | 724 | ||
| C Judicial review | 724 | ||
| D Secretary of State’s default powers | 725 | ||
| E The local government ombudsman | 726 | ||
| F Civil actions | 726 | ||
| G Private orders | 727 | ||
| H Inherent jurisdiction | 728 | ||
| 13 The balance of power between courts and local authorities | 728 | ||
| 14 Conclusion | 733 | ||
| Further reading | 734 | ||
| 12 Families and older people | 736 | ||
| 1 Introduction | 736 | ||
| 2 Statistics on older people | 737 | ||
| A Number of older people | 737 | ||
| B Older people and their families | 737 | ||
| C Income | 738 | ||
| D Age discrimination | 739 | ||
| 3 Do children have an obligation to support their parents? | 739 | ||
| A Moral obligations or legal obligations? | 740 | ||
| B What obligations do people actually feel? | 741 | ||
| C Integrating family and state care | 741 | ||
| D Conclusion | 742 | ||
| 4 Financial support for older people and their carers | 743 | ||
| 5 Inter-generational justice | 745 | ||
| 6 Incapable older people | 746 | ||
| A Do older people have rights? | 746 | ||
| B When does an older person lose capacity in the eyes of the law? | 747 | ||
| C Advance decisions | 749 | ||
| D Lasting powers of attorney | 751 | ||
| E Deputies | 751 | ||
| F Court decision based on best interests | 751 | ||
| G The best interests of the person | 752 | ||
| 7 Succession and intestacy | 754 | ||
| A Theory | 755 | ||
| B The law in cases where there is a will | 756 | ||
| C Intestacy | 756 | ||
| D The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 | 758 | ||
| 8 Elder abuse | 766 | ||
| A Defining elder abuse | 766 | ||
| B The law | 767 | ||
| C Issues concerning elder abuse | 768 | ||
| 9 Conclusion | 769 | ||
| Further reading | 769 | ||
| Bibliography and further reading | 771 | ||
| Index | 827 | ||
| Back Cover | Back Cover |