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Agreeing Finances on Divorce

Getting a Financial OrderFor the court to approve your proposals on your finances you will be required to disclosure to each other all your up-to-date financial information. The document you will need to complete is called Form E. This is to enable you to make an...

What is a Family Mediation Service?

Family mediators help you to turn your arguments into agreements to help you make decisions for the future, to enable you to move on with your lives. It helps you focus on the issues affecting both of you, for example, parenting, property, and money, and what to do...

Civil Mediation Complaints Process

MSUK Group complies with the requirements of Civil Mediation Council. MSUK Group will deal promptly and courteously with any complaint, formal or informal, made to the service.  The cause of any problem of which a client has complained will be investigated. If...

The future looks bright for mediation

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The Family Courts were already stretched pre-COVID19, and since lockdown, this has created further backlogs meaning that separated families are having to wait longer than usual, and, longer than necessary, for their applications to be heard.

A lot of these cases involve parents who are not seeing their children, and separated parties who are still living together, in stressful situations at home, and who need financial issues, such as their future living arrangements to be dealt with. Lockdown has exacerbated the delay families are having to endure, causing further stress to an already emotive and difficult situation. It is envisaged that this situation will only get worse once lockdown is over.

Sir Andrew McFarlane states in his report that,

‘In all Family cases, regard should always be had to alternative means of dispute resolution. At a time when it is clear that the court will struggle to cope with the volume of cases in a restricted working environment, it is all the more important that parties, legal advisers and the judiciary should have express regard to all forms of non-court dispute resolution (in accordance with rule 3.4 FPR 2010) including mediation, conciliation or arbitration.’
Further, ‘There will be many private law children cases or financial remedy cases that may be resolved by one or other of these alternative means. All Judges and practitioners are urged to familiarise themselves with these options and be prepared to identify those cases which may be suitable for one or other forms of ADR.’

The Family Mediation Council have also recently submitted proposals to the Ministry of Justice designed to assist separating families during the coronavirus pandemic, and, ease the extra burden that already falls on the overstretched Family Courts. These proposals have been shared with Sir Andrew McFarlane, his Private Law Working Group, CAFCASS and the National Association of Child Contact Centres. They include:

  • The MOJ paying for all MIAMS, irrespective of whether a party is eligible for Legal Aid or not;
  • Ways to ensure better enforcement of current rules regarding MIAMS attendance including encouragement by the Court for Respondents to attend a MIAM where they have not;
    Better Court awareness of the opportunities offered by mediation;
  • An online Duty Mediator Scheme.

To read the full proposals visit: familymediationcouncil.org.uk-proposals-family-mediation.