Rosemarie Boll

Societies the world-over tell people what they can and cannot do by creating laws. These laws touch virtually every part of our lives. Most of the time, they operate quietly in the background and help society function in an orderly way – imagine the chaos in a big city without traffic laws. People don’t often think about the laws that govern them until something goes wrong.

A complex tangle of laws regulates family life. This website is intended to help families understand how those laws affect them, particularly when they find themselves in court.

Snowflake Families, LawNow, May/June 2010

Like snowflakes, no two families are alike. The only family you can really know is your own. If you are headed to court, people who don’t know your family will make decisions you may have to live with for years.
Judges want to do their best, but custody and access can baffle them. To help them, many judges turn to professionals including psychologists, social workers,
or counsellors. But how do those ‘experts’ reach their conclusions? A recent study identified these five factors (in generally-agreed order) as the most influential when psychologists recommend a parent lose custody.
1. The parent is an alcoholic.
2. The parent tries to alienate the child from the other parent.
3. The other parent has better parenting skills.
4. The child has a stronger emotional bond with the other parent.
5. The parent is less psychologically stable than the other parent.
This analysis helps the expert decide what is in the child’s best interests – in theory. (read the entire article)