The Family in Law

The Family in Law provides a jurisprudential analysis of current family law, connecting doctrinal discourse with sociological, historical and economic analyses of the institution of family. The law's focus on the nuclear family as the default model is central to the book's discourse, which contains in-depth discussions of the key areas of family law - marriage, divorce, children and property matters. Written for Australian legal actors - whether students, academics or professionals - readers are encouraged to question current frameworks, critique well-known cases and make informed conclusions on whether changes could be made to engender a fairer and more equitable society. In developing doctrinal analysis within a theoretical framework, The Family in Law challenges the conventional boundaries of family law, providing readers with both a solid foundation and a multi-layered perspective to their understanding of the topic.

• Canvasses a broad range of legal issues including the conventional areas of family formation, divorce, property relations and child disputes, and goes further by including areas such as family violence, reproductive technologies, adoption and abortion, and family policy and welfare
• Provides multi-disciplinary perspectives on family law including psychology and sociology; the influence of philosophical, sociological and historical materials on judicial decision-making in this area; and the influence of social policy on legislative reform
• Provides an integrated analysis of different areas of family law and draws connections between family law and other social structures, such as the market, workplace arrangements, the education system, the tax system, and welfare regimes