New Zealand Universities Law Review, 2010, 24(1) : 136 - 166

Twenty-one women who had disputes over care arrangements with the fathers of their children and were involved in New Zealand family law processes related to those disputes were interviewed about their experiences. On some of these women's accounts individual family law professionals appear to he adopting an idealistic approach to 50:50 shared day-to-day care, viewing it as the presumptively right arrangement for all children and, on this basis, one the New Zealand Family Court is likely to award. This article contrasts such an approach with the research literature emerging from Australia and elsewhere which suggests that post-separation care arrangements for
children must be crafted in response to the unique circumstances of each case, and, in particular, the practical resources available to both parents, the parenting skills of the respective parents, the nature of the co-parenting relationship, and the age and temperament of the child in question. The literature raises serious questiorts about the
advisability of 50:50 care arrange ments in situations where the parents are in conflict and are unable to prevent children from witnessing or becoming involved in that conflict, or where the children are very young. (Author's abstract). Record #3588