This year has seen positive movements and progression in the world of Family Law.
No Fault Divorce
The new “No Fault Divorce” procedure came into place in April 2022.
This was as a monumental shift within Family Law.
It has significantly reduced the amount of acrimony between divorcing spouses, which in our experience assists with resolving financial matters and arrangements for children in an amicable fashion.
20 Week Reflection Period
Although the new no fault divorce has taken away a lot of animosity, it has increased the overall timescale for divorce proceedings to reach a conclusion.
The new process has introduced a 20 week reflection period once the divorce application has been issued until parties can apply for a Conditional Order of divorce, which is the mid-way stage of proceedings and the first point at which a financial order can be submitted with the Court.
This reflection period provides an opportunity for the parties to reconsider their decision and begin to sort out the financial aspects.
Although the intention of this period is to ensure all parties are happy with their decision, we have found that by the time parties come to initiate divorce proceedings they are set with their decision and in some cases have already begun to discuss financial matters.
It is therefore important that you issue divorce proceedings as soon as possible if you would like matters dealing with as soon as possible, as the 20 week reflection period needs to be taken into consideration when looking at timescales to conclude divorce and financial matters.
Government Mediation Voucher Scheme
The Government invested in trying to assist families to deal with their child arrangement issues without the need for Court involvement, by offering vouchers of up to £500 towards mediation.
This process was designed to support parties to try and resolve their family issues outside of Court and encourage more people to consider mediation to resolve their disputes.
This was a great initiative which we have fully endorsed throughout 2022 and we have seen great success, helping many families resolve their issues with the assistance of mediation.
This scheme is still ongoing therefore please do contact us for more details, should you require our assistance.
If we can help you in the New Year, please do not hesitate to contact us for your free half an hour consultation. Our offices re-open at 9am on 3rd January 2023.