CHILD SUPPORT IN AMERICA: Practical Advice on Negotiating--and Collecting--a Fair Settlement

by Joseph I. Lieberman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1986

An indispensable guide for government officials, lawyers, judges and for all who work with divorcing couples. It is even more indispensable for the parent, usually female, who Will have the responsibility of the children. Lieberman, the attorney general of Connecticut, is not only well-informed, but indigant at the failure of the absent parent to pay support. He provides a brief but trenchant history of the subject stretching back to early common law. Besides giving divorced couples a good idea of the legal imbroglios they may face, he describes the current system of child support and analyzes the reasons for, such things as rampant paternal delinquency: more than 2-million mothers are owed $4-billion in support. In the case of welfare mothers, only 10 percent of the fathers support their children. This annually costs the state $5 billion. However, all is not gloom and doom. Since the advent of legislation enacted in 1976, improvements have been made, but clearly much more has to be done. The need is for a national family plan in which child support would be included as would child-care services and a sane approach to the exploding problem of ilillegitimacy. This book is a step in the right direction and the passion and intelligence of the writer make it a must for those concerned about the children of divorce.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Yale Univ. Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION