Mediate don’t litigate! Suffer the little children…
This is probably a repeat story. You may have come out of a fractious Christmas holiday period which has led to thoughts of separating from your partner and the co-parent of your children, or you may already be separated and have found managing the contact arrangements over the Christmas period stressful. Perhaps you are a parent who is being denied contact altogether which can be very upsetting, for however short a period.
Try and resist the temptation to launch a Court application. The President of the Family Division Lord McFarlane has recently bemoaned the terrible state of family courts nationwide who are drowning under a rising tide of Children Act applications, despite the provision for compulsory mediation that was introduced a few years ago.
Do try and use mediation proactively rather than just obtaining a rubber stamped certificate for filing with your court application forms. There are much better ways to sort out your children issues than the court room. For more information, contact a family law specialist.
Monday, December 30th, 2019 Children, Mediation