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Resolving child arrangement disputes

Parents seeking redress through the courts in respect of children disputes have decreased by 37% since this time last year.

In June 2014, Cafcass received a total of 2,651 new private law cases. This is a 37% decrease on June 2013 levels. The number of cases in the last three months totalled 8,095. This compares with 13,455 for the same period in 2013 and represents a fall of 39%.

The main reason for this is surely down to parents no longer being entitled to legal aid to apply to the courts for child arrangements orders.

So what is the alternative to Court if you have a child arrangements dispute?

In our opinion it’s hugely beneficial for all parties involved if matters can stay amicable and be sorted out without the need for Court and Solicitor involvement. If Parents can deal with child arrangements disputes over a cup of coffee around a table, perhaps with the grandparents present for moral support, then that is certainly the most cost effective and pragmatic way of initially addressing any issues.

Sadly, that isn’t always a practical solution and in many cases communication between the parents has broken down to such an extent that talking directly to one another just results in further arguments and doesn’t achieve anything other than further friction, stress and confusion about how to redress issues.

If communication has broken to this extent and neither party are prepared to have an emergency family meeting then the parties should consider mediation and at the very least attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting with a qualified Mediator. This is a requirement now before any child arrangements application can be issued at a County Court.

We deal with a wide range of children matters and we are extremely sensitive to these issues and have many years of experience in helping parents to resolve their disputes in the best possible interests of the children.

If you and your partner have issues about where the children should live, how often each of you should see the children, what maintenance payments should be made for the children, what school the children should go to, what the children should be called, what/if any religion should the children be part of, whether the children can be taken out of the country, or any issues relating to other matters of parental responsibility then please contact us for assistance.

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