In 32 of the United States, joint custody is enshrined in the law as the preferred child custody arrangement. In Canada it is mentioned as only one alternative in Ontario's Family Law Reform Act and not at all in the new divorce law.

Family mediators won't be cutting into divorce lawyers' trade. They, and accountants, are busier now than before because of Ontario's new Family Law Reform Act, the statute dealing with the division of property, child custody and child and spousal support in marriage breakdowns.

divorce lawyers and accountants will be even busier, she says, untangling the family's finances and fighting litigation under the new law. Lawyers will also be drafting the carefully worded legal marriage contracts recommended as a safeguard for divorce for every blushing bride.