
Happy New Year - our first newsletter of 2021! Throughout this year we will continue to bring you news and developments relating to the charities sector.
My favourite sketch (no, not the dead parrot) is the one about the menu of conversation – the middle-aged, bad-accented American couple deciding what they should talk about over dinner. Practising in family law over the past 30 years, I often wonder if a couple about to separate would benefit from this menu. Rather than talk about the Super Bowl or philosophy, they could do no better than talk about their children.
Parenting is tough at the best of times but add in a relationship breakdown, and all rationale can go out the window. Shared parenting after divorce is the new normal. No more Saturday afternoon Dad time at the park. Fathers are working flexibly to be full-on parents sharing the care of their children, often full time or maybe on alternate weeks if employers will allow it. When the geography permits, and parents work well together around arrangements, this can be of enormous benefit to children following divorce or separation.
Before things become too difficult, what better than a conversation about the CAFCASS Parenting Plan? The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service has produced such a document for parents to discuss, which is available on their web site. It prompts all manner of issues that parents may well fall out about in the future, ranging from third parties babysitting to new partners and pocket money – all the things you would discuss if you stayed together but when trust is breaking down you need to be a bit more formal about. Rather than descending into litigation in the years to come, why not confront these topics ahead of time and head them off in advance? If it’s too hard to do this around the kitchen table, mediation or child-focussed lawyers can help.
Sometimes talking together is impossible – at least for a while when emotions are raw, and a bit of distance could be helpful. But what about the children? To the rescue comes OurFamilyWizard.
OurFamilyWizard apps help parents maintain an amicable path forward post-separation. Tools on OurFamilyWizard let parents manage child arrangements, send secure messages, share files and more. Legal and mental health practitioners may even review activity to help resolve conflicts if necessary.
Jaw – jaw is definitely preferable to war – war, according to Churchill, and we have seen the benefits of communication in advance of and during the court process.
Liz Wyatt, Partner Anthony Collins Solicitors and Sara Kemp, OurFamilyWizard.
First published on 20 February 2020 in the Birmingham Post Family and Divorce Law supplement.
Happy New Year - our first newsletter of 2021! Throughout this year we will continue to bring you news and developments relating to the charities sector.
Local authorities should be wary of reserving contracts for local suppliers, as recommended by Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 11/20. Other contracting authorities may want to maximise their use of this
Most housing practitioners have perhaps been waiting for this news since the latest lockdown was announced by the Prime Minister on 4 January 2021.
Climate change and biodiversity is an area where significantly faster changes are needed on a global and local basis.
Chris Lloyd Smith, Adrian Leonard and Lisa Whitehouse discuss the planning opportunities available to owners of businesses and how to prepare for unforeseen events.
In their 3rd podcast of the series, Chris Lloyd-Smith and Maria Ramon discuss a number of problems with and difficulties that can arise in mediation and the mechanisms they use to overcome them.
Our previous round-up began by sharing the news that two vaccines had shown very promising test results. Here we are, not even a month later, and the first vaccines have already been administered!
The Covid-19 crisis has demonstrated that there is great resilience and innovation in the housing sector across Greater Manchester, it has also brought shortfalls and other priorities sharply into foc
For part 5 in this series of short podcasts, Chris Lloyd-Smith interviews associate Kadie Bennett on how she has been coping during these unprecedented times.
The first report of Donna Ockenden and her team into the review of maternity services at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust has been published today.
To receive invitations to our events, as well as information and articles on legal issues and sector developments that are of interest to you, please sign up to Newsroom.