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Poles apart: Midlands Non-Molestation and Residence Order data

Posted on by MichaelRobinson
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Last week we announced national statistics for non-molestation orders. Ministry of Justice (MoJ) supplied data indicates an explosion in applications in Birmingham’s County Court and Family Proceedings Court and it’s been the focus of a great deal of conversation. A reasonable question posed was “Would an increase in applications for family cases explain the increase in non-molestation orders being made?”

The simple answer is no. If anything, comparing applications for these two types of order makes the numbers look even more extraordinary.

Continue reading Poles apart: Midlands Non-Molestation and Residence Order data

Useful articles on Parental Alienation – Psychology Today

Posted on by MichaelRobinson
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With parental alienation being once again in the media, the 2013 article by Edward Kruk Ph.D is worth re-reading The Impact of Parental Alienation on Children: Undermining Loving Parent-Child Relationships as Child Maltreatment is worth revisiting.

The second article mentioned in the first, is available via the following link The Impact of Parental Alienation on Parents: Post-traumatic Stress in the Rupture of Parent-child Relationships.

Edward Kruk is Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of British Columbia, specialising in child and family policy, and previously worked as a social worker in both Canada and the United Kingdom.

(Thanks to FamilyBlawg for sharing)

National Family Mediation – Minnock and Mediation

Posted on by MichaelRobinson
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The National Family Mediation (NFM) charity made an announcement last Friday that “Courts considering the case of Rebecca Minnock should halt legal proceedings surrounding the future of her son so mediation can be undertaken to help shape a brighter future for the three year-old, says a leading family charity.” [1] The same announcement has been repeatedly promoted by them on social media with claims:

nfm Continue reading National Family Mediation – Minnock and Mediation

Added to our Indirect and Suspension of Contact Case Law Library – the fourth Minnock judgment

Posted on by MichaelRobinson
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While the judge accepts that as a circuit judge, his decision and opinions in this case do not set precedent above that of senior courts, HHJ Wildblood QC sets out his view regarding the importance of both parents being involved in a child’s life, and that this should only be interfered with in exceptional circumstances and for cogent reasons.

His message to the mother, still missing with the child, is that the court will do everything it can to ensure the child has a continued relationship with both parents. Continue reading Added to our Indirect and Suspension of Contact Case Law Library – the fourth Minnock judgment

Have you tried our guides? 1.5million words of content… free

Posted on by MichaelRobinson
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The primary purpose of The Custody Minefield is to make family law accessible to separating parents in England and Wales. We’ve been doing this since 2006 when our first book The Custody Minefield was published. The Magistrates Magazine recommended it to ‘any separating parent’ and the Divisional Chair of the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy described it as a ‘gem of information’. Continue reading Have you tried our guides? 1.5million words of content… free

The Minnock Case – Crime, Punishment and Compassion

Posted on by MichaelRobinson
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The papers and social media are full of discussions on the mother who has abducted her child following residence having been awarded to the father. A number of questions have arisen which we want to comment on.

Before we do, it’s worth noting that we support how the court has acted throughout from what has been said in the press. Matters appear transferred from magistrates to the higher court when contact broke down. Social workers and a psychiatrist involved to carry out an indepth assessment, with the court taking robust action. The expert involved was Dr Mark Berelowitz MB, BCh, MPhil, FRCPsych. Dr Berelowitz is one of the most highly regarded experts in his field. We recommend him. So we don’t believe any additional scrutiny of the court’s decision as to residence is required when the judge followed the recommendations of a man known for his impartiality, ability, fairness and expertise. Continue reading The Minnock Case – Crime, Punishment and Compassion

The Growth in Applications for Non-Molestation Orders: Spotlight on the South of England

Posted on by MichaelRobinson
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Last week we published data for the Midlands and North West, received from a Freedom of Information Act request to the Ministry of Justice concerning non-molestation orders and applications made under civil legal aid. We suspected that applications might have increased since the introduction of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). Such was the opinion of others we have spoken to.

The Act limited legal aid in private family law cases to ones where domestic violence was alleged. To provide a meaningful analysis, we’ve compared data between the first half of 2012 (before LASPO) and the first half of 2014 (after LASPO came into force in 2013).

Numbers for the Midlands and North West show a dramatic increase in applications in certain regions. Today we look at the South of England, and national statistics are provided below as a reminder of the national position. Continue reading The Growth in Applications for Non-Molestation Orders: Spotlight on the South of England

A warning: false allegations can backfire

Posted on by MichaelRobinson
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There was a worrying case in yesterday’s Mail Online. A mother has disappeared with her child after the court awarded residence to the father. The Mail article can be viewed via the link below:

Mother goes on the run with son, three, after losing bitter custody battle – and judge accuses her family of helping her hide

Why had residence been granted to the father? The mother had made false allegations intended to frustrate contact. In essence, she’d put her own desires before her child’s best interests. The brief details in the Mail article would suggest this underpinned the court’s judgment. Continue reading A warning: false allegations can backfire

New Blog Categories and Hairy Owls

Posted on by MichaelRobinson
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blogsearchWe launched our new blog on 19th April 2015, incorporating it into our main site. Old articles and announcements can still be viewed on the blogspot site.

As the number of articles increase, we want content to be easily accessible for you, so in addition to:

  • The front page of our site highlighting the three most recent articles;
  • Our blog page showing you the ten most recent articles;
  • Our newsletter highlighting recent articles by email (you can subscribe via any of our new blog pages);
  • A dedicated search tool within our blog (found in the right hand column on our main blog page);

…we’ve now added a facility where you can search our blog by Category. You’ll find this option in the right hand column on any of our new blog pages. Give it a try!

Why the hairy owl with the pen? It’s our graphic artist’s attempt at humour. My eyebrows really aren’t that bushy!

Re H-B [2015] EWCA Civ 389 – Disagreeing with Black LJ and Munby

Posted on by MichaelRobinson
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It’s rare that I disagree with a judgment from the President of the Family Court or Lady Justice Black. This however is one such occasion where I feel their judgment is wide of the mark. There are some fundamental failures in the management of this parental alienation case. Continue reading Re H-B [2015] EWCA Civ 389 – Disagreeing with Black LJ and Munby