Guide Update – Legal Parents and Parental Responsibility

lgbt-tcm

We’ve just published a new update to our guide on legal parents and parental responsibility.

Within the new guide, we include information relevant to LGBT parents and step-parents, as well as discussing the different legal statuses related to being a parent, how these statuses are acquired, and important considerations.

To read the guide, click on the link below:

Legal Parents and Parental Responsibility

 

CAFCASS guidance on dealing with buggers

bugger

Drawn to our attention today in a tweet by Sarah Phillimore of www.childprotectionresource.org.uk is CAFCASS’s guidance on covert recording by parents. While the guidance isn’t new, it’s something worth reminding people of.

The guidance is included in the CAFCASS Operating Framework (click to download).

The guidance is set out between sections 2.26 to 2.31 of the Framework.

 

Freepacks and Downloadable Content

freepacks

Four ‘freepacks’ are back up on our site, and with content available to download now:

  • Mediation – Including our guide, the National Mediation Council’s leaflet on mediation and form FM1
  • Dyslexia and Family Court – Including our guide and checklist of reasonable adjustments
  • Paternity Testing – Including our guide on paternity testing and court forms
  • Stress and Wellbeing – Including our guides on Managing Stress and Helping Children Cope

We offer 100 free online guides as well as court forms, draft court orders and case law which form part of our family law app. This content runs to over 1.5million words. Over 100 court judgments are included, and formatted as pdf files for download and printing.

We’ve 7 online family law quizzes currently available, and three can be downloaded for training purposes (including both questions and answers):

 

Learning Difficulties, Disadvantage and Family Law

dyslexia

A new study looks at the experience of solicitors representing adults with learning difficulties in care proceedings. The study relates to UK proceedings (in case there’s any confusion about the author of the article being based in Australia).

Read the article: Parents with learning disabilities: Solicitors critical of assumptions and prejudice in the system

We won’t repeat the article but recommend you read it and we’ll move on to matters relating to litigants-in-person with specific learning difficulties in private family law proceedings. Continue reading Learning Difficulties, Disadvantage and Family Law

 

Leave to Remove Guidance for the non-relocating parent

world

On the weekend I was asked what goes through my head (not the first time in the last week) when working on arguments in leave to remove cases. The question “are they very difficult to stop” raises the response “no, but you can’t hope to just walk into court without detailed preparation and get a good result”. You need to have facts pertinent to the individual case to work with and build the arguments around those facts. You need to prepare thoroughly. There are pitfalls too to be avoided and these are discussed further on. Continue reading Leave to Remove Guidance for the non-relocating parent

 

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

phone redone

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

 

Social Media: How to wreck your case

fbban

It’s sadly too common to see people posting information about their cases online. Why is it sad? It carries an unnecessary risk, can damage their chances in court, and can later cause them considerable problems. There are other reasons but if these don’t hit home, others are probably unlikely to be heeded. Continue reading Social Media: How to wreck your case

 

Frustrated Skype/Facetime Contact – Gathering Evidence

skypehype

This morning I recorded an interview with the BBC World Service on ‘virtual’ or internet based contact. A parent who had spoken earlier in the programme had given examples of how his ex-partner frustrates Skype contact. It is not uncommon. It is however possible to gather evidence of the problems experienced if you intend heading to court for enforcement. The interview wasn’t long enough to raise the following suggestions in relation to gathering evidence, so I have included this here. I’ll post links to the World Service interview when I have the airing date confirmed. Continue reading Frustrated Skype/Facetime Contact – Gathering Evidence

 

Gatekeeping and Allocation: Repairing Safety Nets before the Final Hearing Falls

net

Today I’ve learned of another case where matters are being heard by the wrong level of judiciary, with those hearing the case making questionable case management decisions. This article is provided to remind people (or make them aware of) the Allocation and Gatekeeping Guidance that governs which level of court should hear family law cases involving complexity. That guidance is a safety net to ensure cases are heard properly. Continue reading Gatekeeping and Allocation: Repairing Safety Nets before the Final Hearing Falls