The Family Procedure Rules have been updated to improve the level of attendance by divorcing couples at mediator initial assessment meetings (MIAMs). The government has introduced the changes because the previous rules were not applied to the extent expected and did not divert couples away from court proceedings and towards mediation to the degree that
The government has announced a clampdown on parents who refuse to take financial responsibility for their children and fail to make maintenance payments. Ministers are consulting on proposed reforms of the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) to improve the system so more children get the financial support they are due. The reforms include ending the option
From 29th April 2024, there are significant changes to the Family Procedure Rules, promoting the court’s powers to encourage parties to attend non-court dispute resolution at every stage in proceedings, for matters involving children and/or a financial dispute. The court will require parties to file and serve Form FM5, setting out their views on
It has been widely reported this week in the mainstream media that a couple had their divorce finalised in error following a mistake by solicitors which a senior judge has refused to overturn. The couple were separated and had applied for a divorce which had reached conditional order stage of the divorce. It would appear
Termination of Parental Responsibility is rarely made by the Court and only ever in exceptional circumstances. Following a recent private family law case acting for a mother who successfully obtained a termination of Parental Responsibility order to end the father’s Parental Responsibility, we asked Laura Martin-Read, Senior Associate Solicitor to explain what Parental Responsibility is
The High Court has settled a dispute relating to how much of a couple’s assets should be considered matrimonial and how much should be excluded during divorce proceedings. The case involved a couple who ran a hotel business together. The husband was 49 and the wife was 56. They had been married for 17 years
Latest Government figures show that 42% of people now get divorced. Frequently, one or both of them will have an interest in a business. Divorce can have a disastrous impact. It is therefore important to take good legal advice. The law states that on separation, all the circumstances of the case must be taken into
Separating couples will get early legal advice as part of the Government’s family court reforms, but the idea of introducing mandatory mediation has been scrapped. A legal advice pilot will be launched to help families agree child arrangements quickly, addressing barriers to early resolution including a lack of understanding of the options available such as
The number of ‘No Fault’ divorce applications has fallen significantly following the initial surge when the new system came into effect in 2022. Government figures show that in July to September 2023, there were 27,290 divorce applications. That was down 12% compared with the same quarter in 2022, which was the second quarter following the
With Family Mediation Week due to take place between 22-26 January 2024, we explain some key points about family mediation and how the process works. Family Mediation – What is it? Family mediation is designed to assist divorcing or separating couples reach an agreement in relation to financial and/or children matters that arise as a