ABSTRACT
One of the most striking developments to have taken place in post-separation care arrangements for children in recent times has been the rising interest in and practice of shared (dual) residence. The current position is that while shared residence orders are an option and judicial acceptance of such orders is increasing, they remain little used. This chapter explores and compares fathers' experiences of managing shared residence in Britain and in France. In France, the changes brought about in 2002 are now also supported through concrete policy measures aimed at facilitating the exercise in common of parental authority. In the United Kingdom (UK), policy measures concerning shared residence continue to move slowly through case law and precedent. The benefits system remains predicated upon the notion of one primary care-giver, resulting in a resident-non-resident parent dichotomy that can confer a profound disadvantage on the parent who is treated as non-resident.
