January 2023

• Published date: 01 January 2023
• Author: Marsha Kline Pruett,Barbara A. Babb
• Date: 01 January 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12690

EDITORIAL NOTE

January 2023

We wish our Family Court Review readers a very happy and healthy 2023! We are hopeful that the world may

continue to emerge from the relentless pandemic.

This current issue of FCR shines a spotlight on the AFCC 2022 Guidelines for Parenting Plan Evaluations in

Family Law Cases, created by an AFCC task force responsible for a revision of the AFCC 2006 Model Standards of

Practice for Child Custody Evaluation. The task force has worked on these guidelines for three years, bringing

diverse perspectives and careful thought to the revisions needed. While the 2022 version retains many aspects of

the earlier standards, they draw on newer terminology and knowledge to offer “clear, specific, and detailed guidance

for the competent and responsible practice of conducting parenting plan evaluations”(Guidelines, p. 5). Clear guid-

ance is very necessary in order to bring a higher level of consistency and quality to a part of our field that continues

to operate a bit like the “wild west.”The 2022 guidelines, like those that preceded them, can provide an orderly way

forward that holds all of us accountable for this important and fraught work.

Six professionals active in this area of family law have submitted comments to the guidelines to draw attention

to specific issues. Arnold (Arnie) Shienvold and Kathleen McNamara, who have provided leadership to the task force,

offer an introduction to the guidelines, explaining their structure and purpose. Brian Burke focuses on revisions that

pertain specifically to the legal aspects of parenting plan evaluations. He explains why cross-examination is crucial in

these cases, but he also reminds lawyers about the importance of dealing with one another and mental healthpro-

fessionals in a constructive manner throughout the evaluation process. April Harris-Britt emphasizes updates per-

taining to diversity, equity, and inclusion issues, indicating how the guidelines embed principles and values, evaluator

education and training, and cultural and diversity considerations in many sections of the document. Andrea Jones,

representing the perspective of evaluations that take place in publicly funded legal arenas, has assisted the task force

so that the guidelines are highly relevant and applicable to public as well as private practice. David Martindale under-

scores a central purpose of the guidelines as the hope that if practitioners have a thorough understanding of the pro-

cess of evaluation, guided by knowledge and carefully reasoned perspectives, the quality of evaluations conducted

can reflect that enhanced understanding. Finally, Aaron Robb explores the costs of evaluations and how practitioners

can stay true to the guidelines while the evaluation process remains cost-effective for families.

In a second focus and special feature of this issue of FCR, legal scholars once again provide leadership on the

topic of non-marital relationships in family law. Naomi Cahn and four colleagues introduce a set of papers. Margaret

Ryznar then shares research showing that cohabitation agreements among non-married partners, though widely

used, are generally not desired by cohabitors, and she discusses implications of the research. Katharine Baker argues

that recognition of polyamory poses a substantial threat to a simultaneous call in family law for courts to enforce

more implied contract, partnership, and equitable claims by non-marital partners living together. She shows how reg-

istration of newer forms of relationships –namely polyamorous –may undermine the rights of those who share simi-

lar relationship structures but who do not wish to register them formally with the state. Cynthia Bowman argues for

legal recognition of cohabitants and couples who “live apart together,”or LATs, two ways of “doing family”in the

absence of marriage. All of the papers in this special feature explore inclusion and equity in the law, as well as how

new family forms pose dilemmas that society and the legal system must solve.

DOI: 10.1111/fcre.12690

© 2022 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.

Family Court Rev. 2023;61:5–6. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fcre 5