Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2024

Publisher

Wiley

Source Publication

Family Court Review

Source ISSN

1531-2445

Original Item ID

DOI: 10.1111/fcre.12815

Abstract

In the 1970s, the movie Kramer versus Kramer dramatized the destructiveness of child custody disputes. It helped inspire family law reform and careers. The central problem identified was an adversarial system and hostile litigation. The proposed solution was alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Over time, these alternatives became an integral part of the family law response to child custody cases, except in cases of vulnerable parties. Today's parents are under greater legal and social pressure to resolve disputes without resorting to court. This can be welcomed and resisted by parents. This article focuses on parental resistance to dispute resolution over litigation through a return to Hollywood. The movie Marriage Story is used to show how parents might feel alienated rather than relieved by opportunity to cooperatively problem-solve differences. Implications are explored in part through drawing from ethnographic research on parents who engaged in mediation through a U.S. family court program and through two Australian Family Relationship Centres (FRC).

Comments

Accepted version. Family Court Review, Vol. 62, No. 4 (October 2024): 962-984. DOI. © 2024 Wiley. Used with permission.

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