Family Law Manchester News

Families Need Fathers has welcomed the Government’s response to the Family Justice Review. Although there is much work to be done to ensure that the family justice system provides better outcomes for children and families in practice, the Government’s proposals mark a clear step forward for private family law in the UK.

Tags: Shared Parenting Arrangements, Child Custody Disputes, Separation, Divorce, Child Custody Disputes Advice Manchester, Child Custody Disputes Advice Lawyers Manchester

Gay rights organisation, Stonewall, has published a draft parliamentary bill outlining the legislative steps necessary to extend the legal form of marriage to gay people.

Tags: Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Partners, Civil Partnership, Civil Ceremonies, Civil Partnership Advice Manchester, Civil Partnership Advice Lawyers Manchester

The Law Society has expressed its disappointment at the Government’s refusal to stop charging fees to local authorities for care proceedings, despite the Family Justice Review’s recommendation to do so.

Tags: Family Courts Advice Manchester, Care Proceedings, Child Custody, Child Contact, Family Courts Advice Lawyers Manchester, Family Courts

Gingerbread and the Family and Parenting Institute (FPI) have welcomed the government’s reaffirmation that the welfare of the child should remain the paramount consideration in the family justice system.

Tags: Child Access Advice Solicitors Manchester, Child Access Advice Lawyers Manchester, Divorce, Child Contact, Child Custody Agreements, Parenting Arrangements

The government has published its response to the recommendations made by the independent family justice review panel, in which it outlines its plans to reform the system to help strengthen parenting, reduce the time it takes cases to progress through the courts, and simplify the family justice system.

Tags: Family Law Reform, Family Justice System, Shared Parenting, Child Custody, Family Courts, Shared Parenting Advice Manchester, Shared Parenting Advice Lawyers Manchester

The House of Commons has voted to overturn the Lords amendment to the Welfare Reform Bill which was intended to prevent single parents being charged for child maintenance services, where they have no alternative but to use the statutory system to get financial support from the other parent for their child.

Tags: Child Custody Arrangements Advice Lawyers Manchester, Child Custody Arrangements Advice Manchester, Child Support Agency, Child Custody Arrangements, Child Support Payments, Child Maintenance Payments

Fostering services in England and Wales are in need of radical reform, according to a report published by the think tank, Policy Exchange. The report shows that in some instances severely disadvantaged children are waiting for over a year for a foster placement and that the life chances for many children in the system are appalling.

Tags: Children In Care, Foster Care, Child Custody, Child Contact, Child Custody Advice Manchester, Child Custody Advice Lawyers Manchester

Members of the House of Lords have voted with a majority against government proposals to charge single parents to use the Child Support Agency.

Tags: Child Maintenance Charges, Child Maintenance Reforms, Child Support, Child Custody, Child Maintenance Advice Salford, Child Maintenance Advice Lawyers Salford

Separating couples have been encouraged by the Justice Secretary Ken Clarke to consider using mediation to reach agreement over their divorce or separation, rather than going to court.

Tags: Family Mediation, Separation, Divorce, Separating Couples, Mediation Advice Stockport, Mediation Advice Lawyers Stockport

Recent figures published by reunite International Child Abduction Centre have revealed a 47% increase in the number of child abduction cases reported to its advice line.

Tags: Child Abduction Advice Lawyers Manchester, Child Abduction Advice Manchester, Child Contact, Child Custody, Parental Abduction, Child Abduction

The U.S. Census Bureau has recently released information on the level of payment of child support. The figures show that in 2009 41.2% of custodial parents received the full amount of child support owed them, down from 46.8% in 2007. The number of these parents who were owed child support payments and who received any amount at all — either full or partial — declined from 76.3% to 70.8% over the period.

Tags: Child Maintenance Arrangements, Child Support Payments, Child Custody, Separation, Child Maintenance Arrangements Advice Manchester, Child Maintenance Advice Lawyers Salford

January has seen Relate, the relationship support charity, experience a 116% increase in calls to its helpline from people needing relationship support, compared to calls in December.

Tags: Separation, Divorce, Separating Couples, Relationship Breakdown, Separation Advice Manchester, Separation Advice Lawyers Manchester

Ahead of the House of Lords’ scrutiny of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Bill, Resolution, the association of 6,000 family lawyers and professionals, has warned of its potentially devastating consequences.

Tags: Legal Aid Reform, Family Courts, Child Custody, Child Contact, Family Justice System

The Government has launched a consultation on plans to deal with some of the £3.8 billion in unpaid child maintenance.

Tags: Child Support Payments, Child Maintenance Advice Lawyers Salford, Child Maintenance Advice Salford, Child Custody, Child Maintenance

The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) has said that local authorities and the family justice system must improve their procedures to speed up the adoption process. Such changes include allowing social workers increased discretion to make judgements about the suitability of potential adopters, reform to adoption panels, and of inspection and performance data.

Tags: Child Custody, Child Contact, Adoptive Parents, Family Law Advice Manchester, Family Justice System, Adoption

The public are to be asked their views on whether Forced Marriage should become a specific criminal offence the Home Secretary, Theresa May, has announced.

Tags: Family Law Advice Stockport, Harassment, Marriage, Forced Marriages

The Law Commission has made recommendations to bring inheritance law into line with the needs and expectations of modern families, and simplify the law to help the bereaved deal with the property of a deceased family member.

Tags: Cohabiting Couples, Married Couples, Inheritance Laws, Wills And Probate, Wills And Probate Advice Manchester, Wills And Probate Advice Lawyers Manchester

The Office for National Statistics has recently released annual statistics on divorces that took place in 2010 following court orders in England and Wales.

Tags: Divorce, Separation, Divorce Settlement, Marital Assets, Divorce Advice Manchester, Divorce Advice Lawyers Manchester

For many, an important marker of adulthood is forming a family, whether it’s having a child, getting married or cohabiting with a romantic partner. Researchers at Bowling Green State University’s National Center for Family and Marriage Research’s (NCFMR) say a majority (61%) of young adults have formed a family by age 25.

Tags: Marriage, Cohabitation, Living Together, Cohabitation Advice Manchester, Cohabitation Advice Lawyers Manchester

Single parents’ charity Gingerbread has warned that proposals to charge for use of the future new Child Support Agency (CSA) will penalise many thousands of families who have no alternative but to use the Agency.

Tags: Child Maintenance, Child Custody, Child Support Agency, Child Support Payments Advice Manchester, Child Support Payments Advice Lawyers Manchester