Tia Harrison, Family Law Solicitor and Resolution Trained Mediator
We are proud to be supporting Resolution’s Good Divorce week (29 November – 2 December), highlighting the difficulties separating families currently face as a result of the court backlog, and why it is even more important to consider Alternative Dispute Resolution as an alternative to making an application to the Court.
Mediation is a completely voluntary and confidential form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). As a mediator Tia Harrison is offering free telephone calls this week to discuss the option of mediation and how it might be of benefit.
Divorces are on the increase again with the most recent statistics showing 113,000 divorces in 2021 – up nearly 10% on the previous year – and the impact on wait times is stark. On average it now takes 52 weeks to conclude divorce proceedings.
In addition, official figures show that while private children cases were down by 7% during the last year, they are taking on average six weeks longer to reach a conclusion. And estimates suggest it takes nearly two years to resolve financial matters.
That leaves many families in limbo for over a year. That has a knock-on effect on children’s schooling and family finances.
Resolution surveyed its members on the current court backlogs and found:
- 20% said court delays caused clients to rely on benefits
- 34% said they’d referred a client to a counsellor or therapist to help them cope with the stress of ongoing court delays
- 90% said court backlogs were causing additional and unnecessary stress and pressure for clients
Contact us on 01424 434192 or email Tia at tia.harrison@heringtons.com to book your *free initial telephone call. (*Offer between 28/11 - 2/12/22)