The law relating to the Family

Brandon D. Allen

2011

Family law is of crucial importance to every individual, whether adult or child. Family law that regulates interpersonal relationships. Family law provides the legal framework for the establishment of marriage, the dissolution of marriage, the legal consequences of marriage and cohabitation, civil partnerships and the legal regulation of domestic violence. Much of the family law nowadays is concerned with the law relating to children. The status of a child, its parentage, and the rights of the child, the child’s welfare and the powers of the state in relation to the child are all central concerns.

Family law has a wide and diverse. Some topics will require considerable more time than others. For example, the formalities of marriage, although detailed and rather complex, it should require much less of your time than the law relating to divorce. Family law is a growing body of cases which deals with the incorporation into English law. Family law is one of those fields in which you simply cannot avoid talking about, its those things that are happening in the outside would, economic changes, political changes, the sexual revolution, and so on. (Oxford University Press, 2003). Family law seems to be everywhere today. Abortion remains a litmus rest for political allegiances. Single-sex marriage divides state voters. Child custody cases periodically dominate newspaper from pages, Parents, family experts, and social critics debate the consequences. The only place that family law seems absent is in the history classrooms. Aside from occasional lines in textbooks, students rarely encounter family law as a significant subject or historical inquiry. (organization of American historians 2001). Like the present the American past is stern with remains of family law conflict as well as controversies. Family law is the body of rules, belief, and practices. It can be made into a teaching tool in relationship to legal and family changes. Family law’s past can be divided into three recognizable eras, beginning with formative phase which took place from the 1790’s to the 1870’s, which the first law book on family domestic relations was titled. The second era in American family law lasted from the 1870’s to the 1930’s. this era was in the midst of a crisis over the family although it did not alter the content of the law it did however make some major changes. For instances the American find the Brits some what slow. The English Law has gone from tough divorces to easy divorces now. For instance Kantaras vs. Kantaras (884 So.2d 155(2004), This couple name Michael and Linda met and fell in love. They applied and received a marriage license, Michael had adopted Linda’s child later they had their own child by artificial insemination. A few years later Michael filed for a divorce and petition the court for custody of the two children. Linda countered by asking for an annulment. Because it turns out that Michael had been born a woman and undergone a sex change! (which at this time his wife Linda was fully aware of this). Linda argued that the marriage should be voided because they were of the same sex and that Florida law did not allow same sex marriages.(513 N.E 2d828 (1987)), In addition Florida did not allow homosexual to adopt. The court found that under Florida State Law, Michael was legally a male at the time of the marriage. Therefore it was not void. As of 2008, New Jersey is the only state that allows for valid marriages of transsexual (the New Jersey case M.T vs J.T (355 A.2d 204 (1976)). In Roe vs. Wade (1973) The Supreme Court’s decision in Roe vs Wade, the legal, moral and political controversy surrounding the abortions issue has polarized the American public. Their protracted political battle continues today. The political divisions that the case created or revealed not only conflicting social and moral views, but the conflicting views of the family law as well. Roe vs. Wade sought an extension of the “right to Privacy” in which the courts recognized for the first time in the case Griswold vs. Connecticut, 1965. In Texas the law prohibited the termination of a pregnancy by artificial means except for if the life of the mother was in danger. In Planned Parenthood of southeastern Pennsylvania vs. Casey 1992, the court reaffirmed Roe’s central holding but they abandoned the trimester structure.(pearson education 2005). In the Family Law case of Moe vs. Dinkins (533 F.Supp6231981)). It was about an adult who wanted to marry a minor. Raoul was 18 and wanted to marry Maria who was 15. They lived together and had a child (Ricardo). In order to get a marriage license, they had to have parental consent, in this case Maria’s mother would not give. The couple sued in Federal Court because Maria’s mother did not want to consent because she would loose her welfare benefits for the minor. The couple sued to have New York parental consent requirement declared to be unconstitutional and violation of due process. The trial court found for New York and dismissed the case. The courts found that while minors do have constitutional right, they have made adjustment to the constitutional right of minors. They found that the right of minors to marry is not a fundamental right and that the courts do not need to apply strict scrutiny. All that is required is that the courts have a rational basis for making the law. Under the historical common-law, the age of consent for marriage was 14 for males and 12 for females. Children as young as 7 were presumed to have the capacity to consent to a future marriage. (669 f2nd67, 1982 U.S App.) A New You Domestic Relation Family Law provides that all male marriage licenses application between 16 and 18 and all female between 14 and 18 must obtain written consent from both parents. (Section 15.3) Because of the unique position between minors and marriage the law is examined under a rational relationship test rather than strict scrutiny.

I learned a lot from this, its richness of detail, and its exposition of the complex maneuvering in parliament and in the administration that went into the making of certain family law practices. For those concerned with the sociology of English law it will be useful with regards to family law, and to the operation of the brits in law making matters in general. And for those in the United States, that are interested in Family Law as a culture or political phenomenon it will be equally valuable to you. Family Law provides a basis of comparison, a control group, as it were, which shed oblique light on our system hoe it grew and its multiple twists and turns over the years.

Reading and Resources

Herring J. Family Law ( Harlow: Longman 2007) Masson, J. R. Bailey- Harris and R Probert, Cretney’s Principles of Family Law (London: sweet and Maxwell, 2008) Diduck, A law’ Families. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2003) O’Donovan, K. Family Law Matters (London: Plueto Press 1993)