| Unit name | Family Law 1: Adult Relationships |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWD20047 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Short |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
Family Law 1: Adult Relationships is a dynamic and fascinating subject. It focuses on social issues and the changing nature of families in our society. It is important because it examines how the law affects adults in relation to the formation and dissolution of informal and formal relationships. If you want to study issues as diverse as who can marry, how can the law protect victims of domestic abuse, how couples can get divorced and how money and property is divided on a couple’s separation, then this unit is for you. This optional unit is available to both second and final year students. The focus is on real life family situations and how the law can be used to resolve disputes within families.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
It fits into your programme of study by developing key Programme-Level Learning Outcomes, including demonstrating an understanding of legal principles, demonstrating an awareness of the wider socio-economic and theoretical contexts in which the law operates, developing legal skills in terms of addressing family law problem questions, and through formative group work, engaging with the views of others and working collaboratively in groups of your peers. If you wish to study Child Law, the unit acts as a foundation and pre-requisite to the H/6 unit Family Law 2: Child Law, by providing knowledge on the theoretical underpinnings of Family Law and understanding of the Family Justice System.
An overview of content
The content will include the creation and dissolution of family relationships (e.g. marriage, civil partnership and divorce), the extent to which individuals are able to make their own financial arrangements for themselves or their children when entering or leaving formal or informal relationships (e.g. marriage/civil partnership/cohabitation) and the protection of family members from abuse. The unit will address issues relating to the role of solicitors, mediators and the courts in assisting the resolution of these family disputes.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
The unit will develop your skills in analysing and evaluating legal developments and policy initiatives relating to adult family relationships and the legal, financial and emotional challenges families face when separating or divorcing. You will increase your awareness of Family Law and the foundational elements of the Family Justice System in relation to adult relationships i.e. how the law regulates adult family relationships and the use of law to resolve disputes between adult family members within families.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
The unit will be taught by a mixture of lectures, large group sessions, seminars and guided independent activities. The lectures and some of the large group sessions will enable delivery of content to help you understand the legal provisions relevant to adult relationship issues in Family Law (ILO1). In all seminars and appropriate large groups sessions, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate comprehension of an issue as well as apply the law to problem question scenarios by selecting and employing relevant statutory provisions and case law to provide advice on legal problems. You will also discuss and critique the way in which the law responds to particular issues in relation to the creation and dissolution of adult family relationships and the disputes that arise within those relationships (ILOs 2, 3 and 4).
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative)
Formative work is built into each topic of this unit. In seminars and appropriate large group sessions, you will be provided with problem and essay questions. By working through these problem scenarios and essay questions in a seminar environment, you will be provided with instant oral feedback from the tutor. In addition, the group formative problem question (submitted for marking halfway through the unit) will enable you to prepare for the summative by focusing in particular on Intended Learning Outcomes 2 and 3.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
You will be assessed by one 3,000 word piece of coursework (including one 1,500 word problem question and one 1,500 word essay). You will submit this towards the end of teaching on the unit. The assessment will assess all of the learning outcomes for this unit. The problem question element will focus more on learning outcomes 2 and 3 and the essay element will focus more on learning outcomes 1 and 4.
When assessment does not go to plan:
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, the unit will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessment required for credit in the usual way.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LAWD20047).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
