Quick and Clean Divorce Settlements
Arbitration is now an established part of family law in England and Wales.Arbitration is now an established part of family law in England and Wales.
Family Law Arbitration offers all the advantages of the Court system and none of its many disadvantages.
Arbitration in family law can deal with:
- Resolving disagreements in relation to financial matters.
- Resolving disagreements in relation to children.
Insofar as financial matters are concerned Arbitration can deal with:
1. Property, pensions and maintenance following divorce.
2. Financial provision for children.
3. Disputes in relation to property following the breakdown of relationships where the couple are not married.
Insofar as children are concerned Arbitration can deal with the following:
1. Where and with whom children should live.
2. The time to be spent with each of their parents.
3. Arrangements concerning their upbringing.
4. Relocation of children within, but not outside, England and Wales.
The advantages of Arbitration compared with the Court system are:
Speed
Family Arbitration is a lot quicker in reaching a conclusion (the Award) than the Court system which is encountering enormous and increasing delays.
Flexibility
You can choose the venue, the dates and times of meetings, you can choose the Arbitrator and you can also decide what the Arbitrator does need to make a decision about and what he or she does not (for example, if there are only one or two issues that remain to be resolved and everything else has been agreed).
If the issue which is to be decided is clear then an Arbitrator can even make a decision by seeing all the relevant papers without the parties being present if that is agreed.
Versatility
Interim hearings, at least, can take place by telephone, Skype, video link at times convenient to the parties and their lawyers, are not dictated by the Court.
Confidentiality
While there are restrictions on what the press can report if hearings take place in Court, the media have no access to arbitration hearings at all.
Consistency
The same Arbitrator will deal with matters from beginning to end, rarely, if ever, does the same Judge deal with the cases in a similar way.
Finality
The Arbitration Award is binding on both parties in the same way as a Court Order. Once an Award has been made the Court will make an Order in the same terms of that Award.
Costs
Although the Arbitrator’s fees will need to be provided for, because the process is so much quicker than the Court system, invariably there are substantial overall savings.
Stowe Family Law are proud to have as a Partner, Graham Coy, who is a very experienced Family Lawyer and also a fully qualified Family Law Arbitrator and is able to deal with both children and financial issues. He was one of the very first family lawyers to qualify as a family law Arbitrator and one of the first to be able to deal both with disagreements in relation to children and disagreements in relation to finances.
For further information on Stowe Family Law’s Arbitration service, please contact us and ask for Graham Coy or you can do so by calling 020 7421 3300.
More information about Family Law Arbitration can be found at the website of the Institute of Family Law Arbitrators website.
