The Ministry of Justice has published its latest quarterly statistics for the Family Court, for July to September 2019. The statistics show an increase in the number of cases started in the family courts.
In July to September 2019, 67,431 new cases started in family courts. This was up 1% on the equivalent quarter in 2018, and was due to a 23% rise in domestic violence cases started, along with increases in cases involving children.
The increase adds further to the pressure of work that the courts are under, and is obviously likely to result in cases taking longer. Indeed, the statistics show that children cases of all types are, on average, taking longer to be dealt with.
All of this of course makes it even more important that family disputes are resolved out out court if possible, avoiding lengthy and costly court proceedings.
And the good news is that there are a number of ways to avoid going to court. You can agree matters with the other party, either directly or through lawyers; you can go to mediation, where a trained mediator will help you try to reach agreement; you can try a collaborative approach, whereby the two sides and their lawyers work together to resolve matters; or you can go to arbitration, whereby a trained arbitrator will decide the case for you. For more details of these ways of resolving disputes, see this post.
If you would like any further information about resolving your family dispute out of court, Family Law Cafe can help. To book a free initial consultation with us click the green button at the top of this page and fill in the form, or call us on 020 3904 0506.
You can find the Family Court statistics here.
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Family Law Cafe offers a modern, agile and compassionate approach to family law, giving you a helping hand when you need it and guiding you through the complexities of this difficult and stressful area.
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