"Designed to complement existing textbooks on family law, this book provides a wealth of material drawn not only from familiar primary sources but also from studies in related disciplines. This new edition has been fully revised to include all significant statute and case law developments since the fourth edition including the implications of the Family Law Act 1996 and the Human Rights Act 1998. This text is valuable reading for students studying family law, as well as those on sociology, social work, social policy and history courses, and essentially meets the needs of anyone interested in family law and policy."