A mischievous dog takes matters into his own paws when his beloved owners split up in this offbeat romantic comedy. The Man has custody Monday through Friday, The Woman has custody on the weekends. But that's not enough for Gatz, who will do anything to bring them back together—even if it kills him. And it almost did. Of course he knows chocolate is bad for him, especially two whole pounds of it, but it’s the risk he’s willing to take to get them back together. Gatz knows that The Man and The Woman are perfect for each other—how can they not see it too? She is an editor and he’s a writer. She’s a social butterfly and he’s as introverted as a guy can get. After the misguided death-by-chocolate attempt, Gatz thinks he still has time. But when New Man—so handsome, so nice, so perfect—enters The Woman's life, he realizes he’ll need to step up his game. And you know what they say: drastic times call for drastic doggy measures. A laugh-out-loud romance that will touch your heart and make you want a furry friend of your own.

Ethan loves both his mom and his dad, but going back and forth between two homes is hard! Joint custody allows children whose parents are divorced or separated lots of time with each parent, but the actual transitions back and forth can be tough. Children will relate to Ethan's changing feelings as he goes from his dad's house to his mom's house. Parents get nice modeling on how to help their children.

This open access book provides an overview of the ever-growing phenomenon of children in shared physical custody thereby providing legal, psychological, family sociological and demographical insights. It describes how, despite the long evolution of broken families, only the last decade has seen a radical shift in custody arrangements for children in divorced families and the gender revolution in parenting which is taking place. The chapters have a national or cross-national perspective and address topics like prevalence and types of shared physical custody, legal frames regulating custody arrangements, stability and changes in arrangements across the life course of children, socio‐economic, psychological, social well-being of various family members involved in different custody arrangements. With the book being an interdisciplinary collaboration, it is interesting read for social scientists in demography, sociology, psychology, law and policy makers with an interest family studies and custody arrangements.

From parenting expert Julie A. Ross and writer Judy Corcoran comes the fully revised Joint Custody with a Jerk, the highly praised guide to co-parenting with an uncooperative ex-spouse, now updated to provide real solutions to tough family issues. It's a fact that parenting is hard enough in a family where two parents love and respect each other... After divorce, when the respect has diminished and the love has often turned to intense dislike, co-parenting can be nearly impossible, driving one or both parents to the brink of insanity. Joint Custody with a Jerk offers many proven communication techniques that help you deal with your difficult ex-husband or ex-wife. By outlining common problems and teaching tools to examine your own role in these sticky situations, this book conveys strategies for effective mediation that are easy to apply, sensible, timely and innovative. This revised edition of a bestselling classic sheds light on how today's digital forms of communication can both hurt and help in custody conflicts, and offers updated information throughout that brings age-old issues into the present day.

A dog tries his best to keep his two co-parenting owners and their happiness afloat in this hilarious and touching sequel to Joint Custody by Lauren Baratz-Logsted and Jackie Logsted. The Man is happy. The Woman is happy. That means Gatz is happy. He'd like to forget about the trouble he made to get them back together—only slightly ashamed at his antics—and focus on the future. The Woman and New Man are about to get married, after all. But when The Woman loses her job because of some bad press about the two of them, her confidence is broken and she can't help but feel resentful towards New Man when his own career stays intact. Gatz has to give it to him; New Man remains as patient as a saint (of course he does). The Man is doing better, too, thanks to the New Woman in his life, who just so happens to be a writer as well. But two authors in the same relationship can sometimes be one too many, and they find themselves getting quite competitive with each other. But Gatz has faith in them—The Man did learn from his mistakes, didn't he? Gatz doesn't know what happened to these two perfectly happy couples, but he knows one thing is for sure: not all families are alike, and happiness can be found in the unlikeliest pockets—just like treats!

Twenty years ago, joint custody was considered a questionable parenting arrangement when a marriage dissolved. Now, with shared responsibility by both parents having become a widely accepted alternative, the debate has shifted toward examining what circumstances make it workable and the extent to which responsibility should be shared. The first edition of JOINT CUSTODY AND SHARED PARENTING, published in 1984, set the agenda for law reform and research on the effects of joint custody. The initial volume reported on preliminary data from the small research samples then available and surveyed existing law. Benefiting from the studies that have been conducted since then and from new legal developments, this second edition--completely revised and updated to encompass the wealth of new research, literature, and law--represents the collective knowledge of child developmental experts, therapists, mediators, researchers, economists, and lawyers. Part I provides an overview of the history of child custody and considerations for and against. Part II, focusing on the factors that influence the choice of joint custody, discusses when it is most likely to succeed, obstacles that can impede its acceptance, and how a workable parenting plan can be structured. Also examined are related concerns such as female dependency, inequality, and economic considerations. Part III reports the results of research on the effects of joint custody for both children and their parents. Chapters examine findings on co-parenting two years after divorce, compare joint custody with maternal and paternal sole custody arrangements, and discuss the effects of custody arrangements on preschool children, child support payments, and ongoing post-divorce conflict. In Part IV, chapters explore trends in the law, judicial preference for one type of child arrangement over another, and the effect of joint custody on Aid For Dependent Children eligibility. Also included is discussion of California's joint-custody statute and Canada's legal perspective. The book concludes with two helpful appendices: a state-by-state chart of all statutory enactments and key cases on joint custody and shared parenting; and a sample joint-custody agreement with alternative provisions to suit different circumstances. There is also an extensive bibliography. Shedding light in an accessible format on the myriad issues, questions, law, and research findings that surround the topic today, JOINT CUSTODY AND SHARED PARENTING is a timely, invaluable resource for professionals who help parents make decisions about child-care arrangements when a marriage ends.