Because the divorce caseload is much higher than it was in the 1950s, the pressure on everyone who is part of the process is much greater than it was fifty years ago. When one is dealing with family law issues, however, it is often unclear how a legal resolution solves a family problem on a long-term basis. We are all familiar with bitter, contested divorce cases that go on for years, ensnaring children in the fallout. Mediation or counseling can sometimes teach people to deal with one another without destroying everyone else in the family. In some courts across the state, mediation is attempted before litigation can begin.
Family law is destined always to be a rapidly changing area of the law.
Fifty years ago presumptions we take for granted today did not exist, and many of the presumptions that were prevalent in the 1950s now appear quaint, to say the least. There are no crystal balls to tell what will happen in the next fifty years. Change is constant, however. The challenge for persons involved in family law will be to recognize changes and to fashion the law to respond to the reality of the families of 2050. N.Y. Laws ch.