Legal Aspects of Family Stability: Is the State Too Intrusive?
Titel:
Legal Aspects of Family Stability: Is the State Too Intrusive?
Auteur:
Mayo, Marylyn Mason
Verschenen in:
Australian social work
Paginering:
Jaargang 31 (1978) nr. 1 pagina's 3-14
Jaar:
1978-03
Inhoud:
The rapid changes in American laws relating to “no-fault” divorce, and such legislation as the recent Family Law Act in Australia, with its strengthening of conciliation provisions, prompt a reexamination of marriage counselling procedures, as well as a fresh look at the role of the State in fostering and preserving marriages. Australia's new law concerning marriage dissolution places primary responsibility with the parties rather than the State and provides a reduced discretionary role for the Courts, except as to reconciliation. Implicit in provisions for “nofault” dissolution of marriage, based solely on irretrievable breakdown, is the view that no marriage should be treated as having broken down irretrievably, unless at some stage efforts have been made by the parties to reconcile their differences. “Living apart” provisions also look to permanent disruption of the conjugal life as the principle governing the availability of relief, and assume that the State's interest lies in providing, rather than denying, irreconcilable parties the opportunity to establish new relationships. Once there is formally satisfactory evidence that the parties are irreconcilable (e.g. separation for a reasonable period of time) the State's interest in marital stability is exhausted and relief will be granted.
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