Family law textbook to buy?

[Slowcooker123]

Hi all.

In addition to all our own issues with ex's, children etc... A friend of ours is about to embark on a court "battle" with her ex partner over residency of their children and other things child related. She is hoping to be able to represent herself and save legal costs as much as possible.

Can anyone recommend a book or series of books relating to family law that she could use to reference from? The laws themselves and perhaps something to help her through the court proceedings etc

thank you.

The problem with text books, is that by the time they have been printed they are usually out of date. What she needs to look at is the Children's Act.

I used Cretney & Mason's Principles of Family Law during my degree though. It was a very good book, but she'll need to find an up to date copy, and back it up with current cases.

With private children cases there isn't a great deal of law involved and rather than a law text book a might find Lucy Reeds "Family Courts Without a Lawyer" for litigants in person more useful.

Thank you! Will pass the info on...

I really, really advise she gets Lucy Reed's book instead of Cretney. Cretney is wonderful for law students - used it myself - but it's a very general book that covers all aspects of family law as it stood when the book was written. Not only does the law move incredibly fast in that area but it's also very personal to every family. There's a real risk she may cite cases that aren't actually applicable, because the bare outline principles are all such a book has time for. A law degree doesn't make you a lawyer; all it does is knock a year off the professional training process, and that book is for one of four or so subjects that are taken in one year of a three year degree. It's very basic and very theoretical, and is not specialised in private children's law, never mind in that family's particular, unique circumstances. It isn't enough, and the old saying that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing will kick in, IMO.

A good family solicitor doesn't earn their fee by the kind of knowledge you can buy in Cretney. They earn it through expertise in practice and in years of experience.