Family Law enables students to develop a clear understanding of the law and an insight into both the legal and social tensions that surround family life. The second edition has been updated and now incorporates an analysis of: the recognition of the House of Lords that, in the field of implied trusts and ancillary relief on divorce, non-financial contributions may be as important as financial ones in familial wealth creation; the 2007 recommendations of the Law Commission with respect to cohabitation; the lack of legal rights for biologically related relatives or good friends who live together; the Children and Adoption Act 2006, and the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill 2006; the role of medical experts in cases involving 'sudden infant death syndrome'; and the increasing effect of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950 on all aspects of family law.