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New legislation requires ex-couples to seek alternatives to court
Couples going through separation disputes will, from today (April 6, 2011) be required by law to prove they have been given information about alternatives to court proceedings before their case can be taken to court.
The legislation, which falls under Family Procedure Rules 2010, requires a certificate to be obtained to say that the parties have considered these alternatives and they are not appropriate for them.
Couples will be legally required to attend an information and assessment meeting to obtain information about alternatives to court and if these are not appropriate obtain a certificate to say so.
Commenting on the legislation, Stephen Moss, Partner at family law firm Lemon&Co said: “The aim of the new legislation is to encourage individuals who are going through a break-up to attempt some form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) before taking their issue to court.
“We have more than a decade of experience in alternative dispute resolution, including mediation, collaborative practice or simply round the table meetings, we fully welcome the government’s decision to encourage non court processes as a first port of call.
“A family break-up is a traumatic time, so everything needs to be done to ensure the procedure is as simple and efficient as possible and that court is always the final option.”
He added: “This new law should make things simpler for people trying to resolve serious problems and there are a number of ways of doing this such as round the table meetings, mediation as well as collaborative meetings which already require parties agreeing not to go to court.”
These options particularly collaborative practice, take the pressure off the disputing parties from the very beginning and provide individuals with the assistance of trained family and collaborative lawyers who will work closely with them to find alternatives to their issues.
Stephen Moss said: “We feel it necessary for ex-partners to understand that court is not always the option to choose and there are other ways available to them. This point is particularly poignant when children are involved in the break-up.”
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