In Australia the dissolution of a marriage is governed by the Family Law Act of 1975. This act covers the standard regulations for settling disputes concerning children and property, among other things, when a relationship has broken down. The main addition of the Family Law Act in 1975 was the addition of a no fault divorce. Prior to 1975 a misconduct was required for divorce and some examples of such include are adultery and cruelty. In the cases where it was mutual understanding a fault was required even though there may not have been a guilty party. In these cases faking fault was common just to get the divorce through and this was obviously illegal and frowned upon (Maley, 2012). What is interesting about Australia’s Family Law Act …show more content…
Since the 1970’s the percent of divorces involving children has actually decreased to approximately 48% in 2011. Although the percentage is on a decreasing trend, roughly the same number of children is being affected, fluctuating between 42,000 to 52,000 children per year (Weston, Qu, 2013). Approximately 30% of children in Australia are currently living with parents that are either unmarried or with a single parent. This means that many couples never reach the marriage commitment level or have done so and failed to make the relationship last. This change in the family dynamic due to a breakdown of a marriage and even a cohabiting relationship has long term effects on the children. The most common scenario for couples that divorce with children is that they live with the mother. In such cases, the financial burden and loss falls on the mother’s household. Poverty is an increased risk for such families and the children often have less resources to education, do not develop as extensively socially, and are less likely to reach high achievement and success in their adult years. The overall well being of the children involved in divorce is essentially at risk and has detrimental long term effects that can continue to play a role when they have children of their own. It is described as a cycle that continues on and on all stemming from the initial divorce occurring (Funder,
Australian Legal Case: The Mabo Case The Mabo case commenced in the late 70's about an Aborigine Eddie Mabo who fought for his land on Murray Island, part of the Torres Strait. The issue that started the court case was when Mr Mabo appealed for a permit from the Queensland Government to visit the island. His proposal was declineed so he was unable to return home to visit his homeland.
The main case that will be discussed in this paper is Nova Scotia (Attorney General) v. Walsh. This paper will argue that Bastarache J delivers the significant argument due to the recognition that individual’s choice to marry or not to marry must be respected; benefits arise from both married and common law relationships therefore, the Matrimonial Property Act does not discriminate unmarried heterosexual couples. This essay will address the facts, the legal issues, the decision, and an analysis of the decision.
The merits of both the adversarial and inquisitorial system will be explored throughout this paper. The Australian rule of law best describes as all law should be applied equally and fairly. The five vital operations of the rule of law includes fairness, rationality, predictability, consistency, and impartially. The adversarial system adopts these operations by having a jury decide on the verdict and the judge being an impartial decision maker. In contrast, the inquisitorial system relies heavily on the judge. This can result in abusive power and bias of the judge when hearing evidence and delivering verdicts. The operations of the rule of law determine why the rule of law is best served by the adversarial system in Australia.
This essay will first address the statute used and interpretation of the threshold test by the courts, and then focus on cases involving vulnerable children to assess whether the statute in The Children Act 1989 is sufficient in protecting these children from harm. I will look at the argument in favour of the current approach taken by the courts, and the counter-argument in favour of changing the current approach. The arguments are delicately balanced and the law is always developing, so it will be interesting to see how the Supreme Court resolves this issue in future.
The Family Law Legislation Amendment Act of 2011 and whether it has Reduced Violence and Abuse for Women and Children
In this day and age there are many variations of what constitutes a couple or family in comparison to many years ago. Long ago the idea of a ‘nuclear family’ was considered the norm; it consisted of the conventional husband, wife and children . But as our society progressed through the years this definition became less conventional and criticisms were made, this definition of ‘family’ did not account for gay unions, soul parents nor did it acknowledge the prevalence of extended family. The definition of family has changed over time, as have the socially defined roles of mothers and fathers. Within these varied family units, situations occur in which divorces and separations take place and a lot of the times these tricky situations may involve children, which can make an already tricky situation even more problematic. There are pieces of legislation which are in place which aim to protect the best interests of a child during the time their parents are going through divorce but sometimes these avenues can be more problematic and ultimately destroy unions whereas other avenues of dispute resolution such as mediation, albeit with its own criticisms, helps to keep relationships afoot in that it provides an opportunity for peaceful and mutual agreements to be made in a more laid back environment.
As a whole, “twenty-eight percent of children living with a divorced parent live in a household with an income below the poverty line” (32 Shocking). This is not only bad for the household, but for the nation’s economy. Since “seventy-five percent of children with divorced parents live with their mother,” (32 Shocking) the study done by American Sociological Review that “on average, women’s standard of living declines by 27 percent while men’s standard of living increases by 10 percent following divorce” (McDermott 515) is a major concern of divorce. This is not helping the children’s well-being following the divorce.
Divorce is becoming a worldwide phenomenon, significantly affecting children’s well-being. It radically changes their future, causing detrimental effects. According to (Julio Cáceres-Delpiano and Eugenio Giolito, 2008) nearly 50% of marriages end with divorce. 90% of children who lived in the USA in the 1960s stayed with their own biological parents, whereas today it makes up only 40% (Hetherington, E. Mavis, and Margaret Stanley-Hagan, 1999). Such an unfavorable problem has been increasing, because in 1969, the California State Legislature changed the divorce laws, where spouses could leave without providing cause (Child Study Center, 2001).
Zimiles, H. (2004). Schismatic studies of divorce: Essay reviews of for better or for worse: Divorce reconsidered by e.m. hetherington and j. kelly and of the unexpected legacy of divorce by j.s. wallerstein, j.m. lewis and s. blakesfee. Human development, 47(4), 239-250.
“Most children—five out of six—live with their mothers after a divorce, so the financial effects of divorce on women and children are largely the same. Generally, women suffer more from financial losses than men because of unequal wages for men and women and because women usually have more expenses associated with the physical custody of children after divorce.”[Divorce] Everyone is aware that divorce is a bad thing, morally and religiously speaking. Little do they know, the financial issues that tie into to divorce are breaking families and causing them to live below the poverty level.
Girgis, George, & Anderson (2011) define marriage as the union of a man and a woman who make a permanent and exclusive commitment to each other of the type that is naturally (inherently) fulfilled by bearing and rearing children together. These marriages are intended to last eternity and are partially accomplished by raising children together, yet four of every ten marriages lead to divorce and of these divorces, 35% involve children (Ambert, 2009). Children tend to blame themselves for the divorce and are usually caught in the crossfire. These divorces lead to both stress and depression for children and without a strong sense of family, children will have a huge disadvantage over children with a stable healthy family (Arreola, Hartounian, Kurges, Maultasch, & Retana, 2013). Without the ability to cope with the stress of a divorce, children can be effected in multiple ways including a change in mentality, unacceptable behavioural traits and both short and long term emotional factors that will ultimately lead to a critical issue in child development.
Divorce is a very common word in today's society. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, "divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage or a complete or radical severance of closely connected things"(Pickett, 2000). This dissolution of marriage has increased very rapidly in the past fifty years. In 1950 the ratio of divorce to marriage was one in every four; in 1977 that statistic became one in two. Currently one in every two first marriages results in divorce. In second marriages that figure is considerably higher, with a 67% average (National Vital Statistics Report, 2001). One critical aspect of divorce is often not taken into consideration: How it affects children. Every year 1.1 million children are affected by divorce (Benjamin, 2000). Children from divorce or separation often exhibit behavioral and long-term adjustment problems (Kelly, 2000). Throughout this paper I will discuss divorces effects on children at different age levels, how they react, and what can be done to help them.
(2009). The effects of divorce on children (Order No. 1470847). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text. (304998358). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/304998358?accountid=458
Along with almost any other topic, there are statistics based on divorce and the effects it has on children. First, the current divorce rate in the United States is the highest in the world. As of now, fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce and sixty seven percent of all second marriages end in divorce. The financial reality of divorce is hard to comprehend (Corcoran 1). Along with...
Currently the divorce law in England and Wales operates a fault-based system whereby the court grants a divorce if a person can prove that their marriage has broken down. The break down in the marriage can only be due to one of the following five reasons – adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion after two years, two years' separation with consent or five years' separation without consent. These requirements were established in the case of Buffery v Buffery [1988] 2 FLR 365.