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Books, Articles, Videos, and Speeches by Dr. Richard A. Warshak

These links go to pages with information about each item: CR01 | CR03 | CR04 | CR05 | CR07 | CR08 | CR09 | CR12 | CR13 | CR14 | CR15 | CR16 | CR17 | CR18 | CR19 | CR20 | CR21 | CR22 | CR23 | CR24 | CR25 | CR27 | CR28 | CR30 | CR31 | CR32 | CR37| CR41 | CR43 | CR44 | CR45 | CR48 | CR52 | CR53 | CR54 | CR55 | CR56 | CR57 | CR61 | CR62 | CR63 | CR64 | CR66 | CR68 | CR71 | WBP01-02 | WBP-DL | WPQ | DP 

CR22 - Social Science and Children's Best Interests In Relocation Cases: Burgess Revisited

This law journal article, published in 2000, reviews and analyzes psychological research and considerations that relate to relocation decisions. It can assist attorneys in dealing with expert testimony in relocation litigation. Expert witnesses will find it valuable in preparing for testimony and anticipating cross-examination. Parents facing decisions regarding relocation of their children will also find it helpful.

The Burgess decision provides the context for this discussion with special attention to the arguments and research discussed in Wallerstein's amica curiae brief. Dr. Warshak identifies and explains crucial errors and oversights in the brief that detract from its value as a guide to children's best interests in relocation decisions. He shows that the brief is inconsistent with a large volume of empirical research and with Wallerstein's own earlier published findings and opinions.

The article covers the importance of the custodial mother-child relationship, the significance of frequent father-child contact, the relationship between quantity and quality of contact, direct studies of relocation, the impact of the relocation decision on the custodial parent, the financial impact of relocation, joint custody and relocation, hardships of travel and access schedules following relocation, motives and reasonableness of plans, the role of children's preferences in relocation decisions, relocation and parental alienation syndrome, custody evaluations, and limitations of social science studies which courts should be aware of before applying research findings to relocation dispositions. Includes citations to 82 social science references. Due to space limitations, the published article is half as long as the original manuscript. The complete version is available as item CR16.