Cretney's Principles of Family Law

Textbook on Family Law

As the leading textbook on this subject for the last 30 years, Cretney’s Principles of Family Law:

• Provides discussions of legal principles combined with authoritative discussion of policy, practice issues and relevant empirical research
• Covers all main areas of family law including formal and informal relationships, as well as child law and financial and property matters
• Continues to be not just an explanation of the law as it stands, but an account of its historical background
• Includes an analysis of the factors underlying its development and a prompt to encourage discussion of the law’s effectiveness in a contemporary society
• Discusses key policy developments including the Law Commission’s work on cohabitation law reform; Civil Partnerships; Welfare to Work; Care Matters; and the Public Law Outline
• Updates the reader with the latest legislative developments including those resulting from: Civil Partnership Act 2004, Gender Recognition Act 2004, Domestic Violence, Crimes and Victims Act 2004, Children Act 2004 and the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007
• Examines the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill; the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill and the Children and Young Persons Bill and the impact these will have on family law once enacted
• Has coverage of all significant case law including: Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza, Miller v. Miller, McFarlane v. McFarlane, Charman v Charman, Oxley v Hiscock, Stack v. Dowden, Re G, and Wilkinson v Kitzinger

• Marriage ceremonies and the registration of civil partnerships
• Capacity to marry or form a civil partnership
• The legal consequences of marriage and civil partnership

• Introduction - entitlement to family assets
• Family assets - ownership and protection
• State support for families
• Devolution of family property on death
• Reform of family property law: the future

• Protection from violence and harassment
• Divorce and dissolution
• Judicial separation and separation orders
• Termination of marriage by death
• Financial consequences of marital breakdown

• Child support
• Enforcement of financial obligations

• Parents
• Court proceedings
• Exercise of the court's discretion: the welfare principle
• Child abduction
• Local authorities
• Adoption

"For anyone interested in, studying or practising in this area of law, Cretney's Principles of Family Law is an indispensible guide to the law. Its accessibility and authoritative coverage of the issues mean it can be used by both experienced and inexperienced lawyers." Student Law Journal