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30 March 2022
Issue: 7973 / Categories: Legal News , Family
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For children, not just parents

Family lawyers are calling for an overhaul of the process for separating parents, which affects 280,000 children each year

The Family Solutions Group (FSG), comprising senior lawyers, judges, academics, charities and family welfare professionals, proposes creating a ‘family solutions system’.

It advocates a less combative system, built on the Children Act and the legal principles of child welfare and co-operative parenting, as outlined in its report, ‘What About Me? Reframing Support for Families following Parental Separation’.

Parents and children would be offered early information and support at the start of the separation process, so needs could be assessed, and the right route chosen.

‘We can no longer ignore the mental health risks for children and parents by framing all family separations as legal disputes,’ said FSG chair Helen Adam. ‘If the only provision on offer is one which pits parents against each other during a time of already heightened emotions, then we are simply adding fuel to the fire.’

Issue: 7973 / Categories: Legal News , Family
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42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

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42BR Barristers to be joined by leading family law set, 4 Brick Court, this summer

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Real estate and construction energy offering boosted by partner hire

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

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NEWS
A wave of housing and procedural reforms is set to test the limits of tribunal capacity. In his latest Civil Way column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold charts sweeping change as the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 begins biting
Plans to reduce jury trials risk missing the real problem in the criminal justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, David Wolchover of Ridgeway Chambers argues the crown court backlog is fuelled not by juries but weak cases slipping through a flawed ‘50%’ prosecution test
Emerging technologies may soon transform how courts determine truth in deeply personal disputes. In this week's NLJ, Madhavi Kabra of 1 Hare Court and Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers explore how neurotechnology could reshape family law
A controversial protest case has reignited debate over the limits of free expression. In NLJ this week, Nicholas Dobson examines a Quran-burning incident testing public order law
The courts have drawn a firm line under attempts to extend arbitration appeals. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed of the University of Leicester highlights that if the High Court refuses permission under s 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, that is the end
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