ABSTRACT
The introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book includes recent family law changes that have seen gay marriage legalised and important modifications to the treatment of parents and children. Like most family law courses, the book focuses on relationships between adults, especially those founded on marriage, before going on to consider how the law defines parenthood, how the law regulates parenthood and the powers and duties of the parent. Each chapter of the book deals with a particular area of law. Each chapter contains a list of issues that the student should be able to understand and apply before then going on to set out practice questions and suggested answers where these issues and the relevant law are applied. Students frequently complain about the wealth of case law that they are exposed to. Since each family is different, cases should be regarded as providing guidance, rather than absolute rules.
