Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T20:53:43.119Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Relocation Following Parental Separation: International Research, Policy and Practice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2013

Nicola Taylor
Nicola Taylor*
Affiliation:
Director, Centre for Research on Children and Families, University of Otago, New Zealand
*
address for correspondence: Associate Professor Nicola Taylor, Centre for Research on Children and Families, University of Otago, PO Box 5543, Auckland 1141, New Zealand, Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Relocation disputes are widely regarded internationally as one of the most difficult and controversial issues in family law. This article outlines the legal context governing relocation disputes in New Zealand and briefly reviews the research literature on the impact of parental separation and relocation. The key findings are then set out from a three-year study (2007 to 2009) with 100 New Zealand families where one parent had sought to relocate with their child(ren), either within New Zealand or internationally. Interviews were conducted with 114 parents and 44 children and young people from these families about their experiences. The article concludes by traversing the efforts being made in the international legal policy context to adopt a more consistent approach to relocation disputes in common law jurisdictions.

Keywords

Relocationparental separationfamily law
Type
Articles
Information
Children Australia , Volume 38 , Special Issue 4: A SPECIAL ISSUE ON INTERNATIONAL FAMILY MOBILITY (AND THE BROADER FAMILY LAW CONTEXT) , December 2013 , pp. 134 - 142
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amato, P. R. (2000). The consequences of divorce for adults and children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62, 1269.Google Scholar
Amato, P. R. (2004). Parenting through family transitions. Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, 23, 31.Google Scholar
Amato, P. R., & Keith, B. (1991). Consequences of parental divorce for children's well-being: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 26.Google Scholar
Austin, W. G. (2008). Relocation, research, and forensic evaluation, Part 1: Effects of residential mobility on children of divorce. Family Court Review, 46, 137.Google Scholar
Bala, N., & Wheeler, A. (2012). Canadian relocation cases: Heading towards guidelines. Canadian Family Law Quarterly, 271, 316.Google Scholar
Behrens, J., Smyth, B., & Kaspiew, R. (2009). Australian family law court decisions on relocation: Dynamics in parents’ relationships across time. Australian Journal of Family Law, 23 (3), 222–246.Google Scholar
Boshier, P. (2009, May 29). The child's voice in process: Which way is forward? Presentation by the Principal Family Court Judge to the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Annual Conference, New Orleans, USA.Google Scholar
Boshier, P., Taylor, N. J., & Seymour, F. (2011). Early intervention in New Zealand Family Court cases. Family Court Review, 49 (4), 818–830.Google Scholar
Duggan, W. D. (2007). Rock-paper-scissors: Playing the odds with the law of child relocation. Family Court Review, 45, 193.Google Scholar
Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill, 2012 (NZ).Google Scholar
Freeman, M. (2009). Relocation: The reunite research. Research Report. London: Research Unit of the reunite International Child Abduction Centre. Google Scholar
Freeman, M., & Taylor, N. J. (2011). The reign of Payne. Journal of Family Law and Practice, 2 (2), 20–27.Google Scholar
George, R. (2010). Reassessing relocation: A comparative analysis of legal approaches to disputes over family migration after parental separation in England and New Zealand, DPhil Thesis, University of Oxford.Google Scholar
Gindes, M. (1998). The psychological effects of relocation for children of divorce. Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 15, 119.Google Scholar
Goldson, J., & Taylor, N. J. (2009). Child-inclusion in dispute resolution in the New Zealand Family Court. New Zealand Family Law Journal, 6 (7), 201–209.Google Scholar
Gollop, M., & Taylor, N. J. (2012). New Zealand children and young people's perspectives on relocation following parental separation. In Freeman, M. (ed.), Law and Childhood Studies (Current Legal Issues, vol. 14, pp. 219–242). London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Henaghan, R. M. (2011). Relocation cases: The rhetoric and reality of a child's best interests: A view from the bottom of the world. Child and Family Law Quarterly, 226.Google Scholar
Horsfall, B., & Kaspiew, R. (2010). Relocation in separated and non-separated families: Equivocal research evidence from social science literature. Australian Journal of Family Law, 24, 34.Google Scholar
Humke, C., & Schaefer, C. (1995). Relocation: A review of the effects of residential mobility on children and adolescents. Psychology, A Journal of Human Behaviour, 32, 16.Google Scholar
Kacem v Bashir [2010] NZSC 112.Google Scholar
Kelly, J. (2009). Relocation of children following separation and divorce: Challenges for children and considerations for judicial decision-making. Paper presented at the 5th World Congress on Family Law and Children's Rights, 23–26 August, Halifax, Canada.Google Scholar
Kelly, J. B., & Emery, R. E. (2003). Children's adjustment following divorce: Risk and resilience perspective. Family Relations, 52, 352.Google Scholar
Ministry of Justice. (2011, September 20). Reviewing the Family Court: A public consultation paper. Wellington: Ministry of Justice.Google Scholar
Office of the Minister of Justice. (2012). Family Court Review Cabinet Paper – Proposals for reform. Wellington: Minister of Justice and Cabinet Social Policy Committee.Google Scholar
Parkinson, P., Cashmore, J., & Single, J. (2010). The need for reality testing in relocation cases. Family Law Quarterly, 44, 1.Google Scholar
Payne v Payne [2001] 1 WLR 1826; [2001] EWCA 166.Google Scholar
Rodgers, B., & Pryor, J. (1998). Divorce and Separation: The outcomes for children. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Smyth, B., Temple, J., Behrens, J., Kaspiew, R., & Richardson, N. (2008). Post-separation mobility in Australia: Some preliminary data on behaviour, disputes and attitudes. In Behrens, J., Smyth, B. & Kaspiew, R. (eds.) Symposium Proceedings: Relocation Disputes in Australia: What Do We Know, What are the Implications for Family Law and Policy? Canberra: The Australian National University.Google Scholar
Taylor, N. J. (2006a). Establishment of the New Zealand Family Court. New Zealand Family Law Journal, 5 (7), 169–180.Google Scholar
Taylor, N. J. (2006b). What do we know about involving children and young people in family law decision making? A research update. Australian Journal of Family Law, 20 (2), 154–178.Google Scholar
Taylor, N. J., & Freeman, M. (2010). International research evidence on relocation: Past, present and future. Family Law Quarterly, 44 (3), 317–339.Google Scholar
Taylor, N. J., Gollop, M., & Henaghan, R. M. (2010a). Relocation following parental separation: The welfare and best interests of children, Dunedin: University of Otago, New Zealand.Google Scholar
Taylor, N. J., Gollop, M., & Henaghan, R. M. (2010b). Relocation following parental separation in New Zealand: Complexity and diversity. International Family Law, March, 97–105.Google Scholar
Thorpe, L. J. (2010). Relocation – The search for common principles. Journal of Family Law and Practice, 1 (1), 35–39.Google Scholar
Waldron, K. (2005). A review of social science research on post divorce relocation. Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 19, 337.Google Scholar