Ethics and law are pivotal inventions for managing stress throughout the life cycle, especially at critical junctures of key life event and stage-of-life transi- tions. Perhaps this proposition seems improbable, if not patently preposterous, in part, because stress is mostly regarded as a medical event and a psychological challenge rather than an ethicolegal problem. Or perhaps the logic appears ironic, as ethical quandary and the entire edifice of law, litigation, and admin- istration of justice is perceived by many of us as a stressor in life, exacerbating anguish at occurrences that beg for resolution and relief. Nevertheless, in this chapter, in Part One, we will briefly examine the evolutionary origins of law and ethics as a social institution for stress regulation. In Part Two, we will survey and highlight the scope and content of modern law and ethics for life transition stress, because what these institutions regulate will vary at different developmental stages of societal organization. As we will show in Part Three, twenty-first century modernist notions of rights and entitlements for protection, and for access to the advantages of civilization, make imperative that we regularly revisit and refine this institution upon which our stress regula- tion, if not survival, continues to depend. Finally, we will examine the issue of formidable iatrogenic stress contributed by moral quandary and navigating legal systems, and conclude with the prospects for a better future approach. Part One: Evolution of Law and Ethics for Stress Management What Is Ethical Rule and The Rule of Law? Ethics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the right conduct and good life, or the worthiness and striving for the life worth living. Although some equate ethics and morality, morality may also be distinguished as pertaining to the more internal conscience, or may refer to the extent to which the actual conduct is considered in comparison with right conduct. Law is a system of rules regulating rights and obligations among the members of a society, including ownership of property and contractual agreements, expectations to Chapter 14 Ethical and Legal Issues in Transitioning the Lifespan Steven Nisenbaum, Madelaine Claire Weiss, and Daniel Shapiro 271 From: Handbook of Stressful Transitions Across the Lifespan, Edited by: T.W. Miller, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-0748-6_14, © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010