Mediation For Dog Owners Helping Dog Owners Resolve Disagreements Dogs are an important part of our families, and when disagreements arise between dog owners, emotions can quickly become difficult to manage. Disputes can happen for many different reasons. Perhaps two...
OTHER INSIGHTS
Family Mediation Voucher
Scheme
This UK Government scheme helps separated parents use family mediation to sort out disputes without going to the family courts. 1) What the scheme is The Family Mediation Voucher Scheme provides up to £500 to help pay for family mediation. Family mediation is a...
Are mediation agreements legally
binding?
An agreement reached in family mediation is not automatically legally binding. It is an agreement between the parents, and the mediator can record what has been agreed. To make the arrangements legally binding, you usually need a court order. Key legal distinction (at...
Parents to face cost orders for failing to engage in Mediation
The Justice secretary Dominic Raab speaking to the justice committee of the House of Commons last week stated that over 50% of cases in the court system did not need to be heard by a judge. In November the Justice secretary outlined his plans that parents who are unnecessarily clogging up the court should face financial penalties. These plans are currently under review by the lord chancellor.
The court system is currently overwhelmed. On average it is taking over 48 weeks for cases to get to a final hearing from the time proceeding are issued, over 17 to 28 weeks for CAFCASS to complete their section 7 report. These delays have forced the government to look at options to enforce engagement in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and mediation as a mandatory requirement for most cases and to make it easier to award substantial legal costs against the parent thought to be abusing the court system. Any cases involving safeguarding and domestic abuse should continue to be heard by a judge.