Good Divorce Week 2022 – Ending the Family Court Crisis

• Posted onNovember 28, 2022

This year the campaign for good divorce week run by Resolution is putting an end to the Family Court Crisis. This week is to highlight all the other ways that families can handle their disputes without having to take them to court.

The Family Court is under immense pressure. September records show that they have a backlog of 110,425 cases with a 2% month-on-month increase according to the blog by Today’s Family Lawyer. This leads to families waiting for a long time to figure out finances and most importantly child arrangements.

 

There are 4 main areas when getting a divorce;

The divorce application

With no-fault divorce the opportunity to defend is limited so in general, this is not an issue.

Children

What will happen to them how will they be cared for?  If an agreement between the mother and father can be reached amicably then there is no need to go to court and get an order. We have suggested 5 ways to protect your child’s well-being during a divorce here.

Sorting out the finances

This can either be done by reaching an agreement and asking the court to approve it or by contesting the matter at court.

Child Maintenance

The best way to resolve this is using the CMS calculator otherwise you will need to apply to the CMS

 

Ways to resolve without court are:

Negotiations

Parties talk to each other try and negotiate an agreement, if you don’t feel comfortable doing this yourself instruct a solicitor to help you.  Remember to get any agreement approved by the court.

Mediation

Parties instruct a mediator and attend the sessions.  Parties discuss the issues and the mediator facilitates the sessions with the aim that the parties reach an agreement between themselves.  Remember to get any agreement approved by the court.

Arbitration

This is essentially a private hearing.  The parties appoint an arbitrator and agree to the arbitration terms and scope, including to be bound by the decision.  This process can often be quicker and cheaper than proceeding to court.  Remember to get any agreement approved by the court.

Neutral evaluation

This is essentially arbitration but the decision is non-binding.  The person making the decision (usually an independent barrister) will give their opinion or evaluation on the matter.  Remember if you decide to accept this decision you need the agreement approved by the court.

Collaborative Law

A type of roundtable meeting where the parties and their legal representatives will sit down and attempt to negotiate an agreement.  Prior to starting both parties will sign up to the terms and commit to using this approach to reach an amicable agreement.  Remember to get any agreement approved by the court.

It is important to note that if using one of the ADR methods above any financial agreement is then drafted into a consent order and approved by the court.

 

For expert family law advice, please contact our local offices in Gloucester, or Stroud today. If you have a quick question or would like to request a call back, you can also use our quick online enquiry form. Alternatively, you can call us on 01453847200.