A report published at the end of 2020 once again highlighted a need for families to avoid taking their disputes to court if they can. The court system is overburdened; cases are taking too long to come before judges. And there is wide recognition that alternative dispute resolution methods can get families not just a […]
It’s Family Mediation Week. This is an annual awareness-raising event that shines a spotlight on alternative ways of resolving issues within families. By ‘alternative’ I mean ‘a way other than through the courts’. Most people who come to me for advice about divorce or about a dispute with their former partner over child contact arrangements, […]
Family lawyers in the Tunbridge Wells office of specialist law firm Thomas Mansfield are showing their support for the Good Divorce Week 2020 by offering free 30-minute advice sessions to families in Kent between 30 November and 4 December. Those participating this year are Head of the Family law department Susi Gillespie and Partner Alice […]
Everyone knows that divorce is a huge step to take. It usually follows an intensely difficult period in two people’s lives. They haven’t been getting along. Perhaps there’s been infidelity. They may simply have fallen out of love. Whatever the reason for beginning the divorce process, it’s always entered into with a view to drawing […]
Everyone’s experience of divorce is different but what is certain is that no one sets out to get a bad divorce. Most people have been through a lot by the time they instruct a solicitor. Divorce is often the culmination of months or years of disharmony. Divorce is a process, it involves conversations, negotiations, and […]
The current pandemic has left many parents wondering how a change in circumstances will affect their child maintenance payments, whether they are the parent paying or receiving it. Either parent can apply for a variation of child maintenance, but the outcome depends on certain circumstances and these differ depending on whether you are paying or […]
With the school holidays upon us, families are grabbing the opportunity to travel. This comes of course after months of restricted movement and separation from friends and relatives. For many, the urge to get away is irresistible. Not everyone is enthusiastic, though. Holiday plans can cause problems for separated parents in normal times, but COVID-19 […]
Guildford, 6 July 2020 – Specialist law firm Thomas Mansfield Solicitors expands its family law department with the appointment of non-confrontational divorce and separation lawyer Kate Newton. Kate qualified in 2016 and joins from Burgess Mee Family Law. She will be based in the Guildford office of the firm. Kate advises on a range of […]
A new law that should make divorce less acrimonious has cleared its latest hurdle. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill was backed by MPs during its second reading in the House of Commons last week. There are a few stages to go before it will become law, but its progress is being welcomed by those […]
This is an extraordinary time for all of us, but separated families have an additional hurdle to tackle and it is throwing up a lot of worries and questions. In this article, Alice Scambler, partner in the Family Law team looks at some of the most frequently asked questions: I’m worried about the health risks […]
As lives everywhere are on hold and, tragically, far too many are still being lost, the ‘old normal’ is fast becoming a distant memory. But COVID-19 hasn’t changed everything. Families are experiencing tensions, disagreements, difficult relationships just as they did pre-pandemic. Some couples will put this down to the pressures of lockdown. Others may be […]
With COVID-19 dominating the news and everyone’s thoughts in recent weeks, some may have missed the story of Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed and the publication of a damning judgment about his treatment of family members. Allegations against him, which included abduction, intimidation and torture, emerged during Family Law proceedings. Given the potential influence that that type […]
Child Arrangements How do you arrange the children’s time now that the schools are shut (for non key worker families) and what child arrangements apply – term time arrangements or holiday arrangements? These are unchartered waters. Common sense and communication will have to prevail. As is often the case in family law, there is no […]
Originally published at https://www.judiciary.uk/announcements/coronavirus-crisis-guidance-on-compliance-with-family-court-child-arrangement-orders/. During the current Coronavirus Crisis some parents whose children are the subject of Child Arrangements Orders made by the Family Court have been understandably concerned about their ability to meet the requirements of these court orders safely in the wholly unforeseen circumstances that now apply. This short statement is intended to […]
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