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Justice Minister, Simon Hughes, has announced that children aged 10 and older will have an opportunity for their views and feelings to be heard by a judge in proceedings that concern them.

No detail of how this will work in practise has been announced except that this initiative is to be implemented as soon as practically possible.

At the same time arrangements will be made in appropriate cases for children to be heard by a mediator.

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On 30 June 2014, a new system aimed at ending the Child Support Agency over the next 3 years, comes into force.

Applicants for child maintenance will have to pay a £20 fee to the Child Maintenance Service and there will be financial penalties of up to £300 for payers who try to avoid payments.

The government’s intention is to encourage couples to make their own arrangements and to make for financial costs if the state system has to be used.

There will be a Direct Pay system under which the state will calculate how much should be paid and the payments will then be made direct but the state will help if payment is not made.

Otherwise there will be Collect and Pay system under which the state will also organise payment. However, to discourage use of the latter there will be huge costs:

20 % of the sum assessed for the paying parent and 4% of receipts for the receiving parent.

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At present pre nuptial agreements can be taken into account by courts but are not legally binding. Should married couples be able to agree, in advance of problems, how their property and other assets should be divided when they divorce ? If so, should there be any limitations ? For example, how should the future birth of children come into account ?

The House of Lords gave the Divorce ( Financial Provisions) Bill its second reading on 27.06.14. This Bill will make such agreements made before and after marriage binding, so amending the present law which is contained in the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. The Bill also seeks to make other changes, for example limiting maintenance payments to 3 years.

The content of pre nuptial agreements is a matter that can be discussed in mediation. To then make it legally binding the process is to  take the proposals to a lawyer who will deal with the legal formalities.

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Following the government abolishing legal aid for most family court applications about children, finances and property, there have been many more people going to court unrepresented.

They are called Litigants in Person (LIPs). As they have no legal training they often do not know the court procedures and what facts are relevant in law. This has slowed down court proceedings as they often take longer where no lawyers are involved.

To help these folk a mediator/barrister has produced 3 practical videos to help them understand the court process. They can be found on YouTube (click on the link below to open the video) :

1. Preparing for your first court hearing.

2. The Hearing Itself.

3. Giving evidence and challenging evidence.

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After a long passage through parliament, today, 13 March 2014, the Children and Families Bill received the Royal Assent, hence becoming law.

Amongst it’s many provisions, it provides that parties wanting to go to court over disagreements concerning arrangements for their children and finances, MUST first obtain information about family mediation. This will usually involve attending a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAMS) with a qualified family mediator. In some limited cases, such as certain types of domestic violence, there will be an exemption from this requirement otherwise it will now be compulsory. The start date is to be 22 April 2014.

If the matter does go to court the court must have regard to the principle that both parents should be involved in their children’s lives, where it is safe to do so.

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A recent YouGov poll disclosed that 58% of separated parents they surveyed do not believe in the idea of a ‘good separation’. 52% said that their separation had had a negative impact on their children.

In family mediation, where the separating couple have children, the needs of the children are at the centre of the process. How you deal with your separation has an important effect on your children. So, if you want good outcomes for your children, do your best to have a good separation.

Do not be afraid to ask for help and look for information. Relate have launched a service, Being Parents Apart where you can find lots of information and signposting to places that can help.

Another good source for information and signposting is the government’s site called Help On Breaking Up. This gives information to help you support your children and deals with most other areas where help is needed including housing, welfare and legal issues.

Communication is central . Family Mediation helps separating couples improve their communication leading to better outcomes for all concerned.

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Mediation clients often say that they have come to mediation to avoid having to use lawyers, who they fear will make relations with the other party worse and will involve high fees.

A sensible use of lawyers in the mediation process can in fact help the mediation to succeed. This usually involves consulting lawyers on particular questions rather than employing them to do everything. That way the mediation client retains control and is able to clarify matters that need to be discussed in the mediation meetings. Lawyers can give useful general advice on how courts approach matters such as issues concerning finances and arrangements for children. They can also provide advice on complicated matters such as options when discussing pensions.

Lawyers are useful at the final stage of the mediation process , when a set of draft proposals have been agreed, to give advice on those terms. Until there is a court order any proposals reached in mediation are not legally binding. This encourages mediation clients to be more relaxed about discussing and disclosing matters which gives both parties more options and a better chance of finding solutions acceptable to both of them.

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Sometimes mediation is either unsuitable or one party is unwilling to consider even attending a mediation information and assessment of suitability meeting with a trained mediator.

In these circumstances the willing parent usually wants guidance on what to do next. That parent will often want to take the matter to court for a decision on the arrangements for seeing their children. In that case these links are often helpful for them:

Application form for a contact order: http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/c100-eng.pdf

Court form CB1: Making an application – children and the family courts: http://www.familylaw.co.uk/system/uploads/attachments/0000/2078/CB1_1108.pdf

Form Ex50 for court fees and Ex160A for fee remission : http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/fees

The applying parent will also need a form FM1 from the mediator to produce to the court.

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If you like to get your information from videos, the Ministry of Justice has launched a family mediation video on how mediation can help separating or divorcing couples sort out their finances and arrangements for their children ( family mediation video ).

Lots more information in video and other forms, with lots of useful links to where you can find help, can be found on Sorting out Separation including children and parenting,health,housing,legal,money and finances,relationships and conflict and work and benefits. When you reach the page, use the slider to the right of the page to scroll down to find all these sub-categories at the foot of the page.

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In England and Wales there is only one ground for divorce: that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. Unfortunately the system is based on fault, that is, having to make an allegation against the other party to the marriage.

This one ground for divorce can only be proved in one of 5 ways: for an immediate divorce either that the other party has committed adultery or has behaved unreasonably. The other facts that can be used are desertion for 2 years (not often used), 2 years separation and the other party’s consent or 5 years separation.

The divorce procedure is started by filing out a form called a divorce petition which is sent to the court with the court fee, marriage certificate and, if there are children, a form called a statement of arrangements for the children. A copy is then posted to the other party who has to fill in and return to the court a short questionnaire called an acknowledgement of service which the court then copies to the petitioning party. The latter then has to swear an affidavit saying that the petition is true and then asks the court to progress matters. If happy with the paperwork the court arranges a date for pronouncement of the decree nisi and at the earliest, 6 weeks later, the petitioner can apply for the decree absolute which is the document which formally ends the marriage in law.