Tacking the Family Court crisis with family arbitration and mediation
There are a number of different ways families can resolve their disputes away from family Court, when safe and appropriate to do so.
Kent and Surrey Family Resolution are supporting Good Divorce Week 2022, focused on raising awareness about the benefits of early family legal advice and information all this week.
As Resolution members, we can guide families through that process, sharing the benefits and how it may look to you and your family. Resolution members commit to a Code of Practice that promotes a constructive approach to family issues and considers the needs of the whole family, in particular the best interests of children.
We want couples to know that achieving constructive resolutions does NOT always have to involve going to the costly, stressful and delayed family court system.
We are accredited Resolution mediators, collaborative practitioners and accredited specialists. You can read more about the services Kent and Surrey Family Resolution can provide at the Resolution website.
The Family Court Statistics speak for themselves. On average, it now takes 52 weeks to conclude divorce proceedings. Divorces are on the increase again with the most recent statistics showing 113,000 divorces in 2021 (this was up nearly 10% on the previous year.). This has had a massive impact on waiting times in already overstretched and delayed courts.
Family Court may be the correct option for you and your family, but we are aiming to spread awareness that for many couples and families, it is not. There is an alternative to the adversarial court system. Yes, it is based on compromise, negotiating what ‘feels fair’ to both of you can be challenging, but the benefits for you in terms of cost, parenting, impact on any children, can be enormous.
Juliet Harvey, national chair of Resolution, said: “Under resourcing the family courts system is a false economy inflicting unnecessary pressure on the public purse and unconscionable stress on families at an already stressful time in their lives. A study of the impact of funding legal advice in Scotland found that, every £1 spent by government on legal aid in family cases saw a return of around £5 elsewhere.
“If the government were to focus more on encouraging early advice for separating couples and including information about all out of court options it could ease the pressure on family courts. Resolution members (like Kent and Surrey Family Resolution) are doing their best to help families achieve better outcomes and find long-lasting resolutions.”