Children cases on the rise

When clients instruct a lawyer to assist with a dispute regarding arrangements for their children, they often assume they need to go to court. This misunderstanding is not always the case. Unfortunately, children cases in the courts are on the rise and this, in part, is due to the lack of information available to separated parents on how they can resolve their dispute.

The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS), who are appointed to undertake background checks for all new children court cases and are often instructed to prepare advisory reports, have reported a 7.5% increase in cases this April compared to April 2018. They have also reported that the number of cases have increased year on year in the past ten out of twelve months. This means the court service is struggling to deal with the number of cases and cases are delayed or drawn out far longer than is necessary and prevents the court dealing efficiently with cases that really do require the court’s intervention.

When you instruct a lawyer to assist you with your dispute they will be able to advise you of all of the options available to you. The court process should always be the last resort. A lawyer can try and discuss matters with your ex-partner or their lawyer, they can advise you of alternative dispute resolution options such a mediation, collaborative law or arbitration or they can give you the advice and tools to enable you to discuss the dispute directly with the other parent.

We can offer a one hour meeting fixed at £150 plus VAT to discuss with you any child related dispute you may have and we can take you through the options available to you to deal with your issue as swiftly and amicably as possible.

Contact a member of our family team for more information.

This content is correct at time of publication