picture of upset child sat in front of arguing parents

It’s ‘too late’ to go to Court over Christmas custody plans, Charity warns

Families urged to take advantage of Government mediation voucher scheme worth £500 to help resolve matters 

  A national charity that provides mediation for families in conflict has today urged families in conflict to take advantage of a government voucher scheme worth up to £500 to sort our Christmas child arrangements. 

The call to action comes after National Family Mediation (NFM), a charity which helps families to sort arrangements for children, property, finance and other important matters, warned parents that it was likely ‘too late’ to go to court over their children’s Christmas rota. 

Instead, families are being urged to embrace mediation as a way of agreeing plans for the holiday period, using a government scheme which provides separating couples with a £500 voucher for mediation services with the aim of finding amicable solutions to their disagreements and freeing up space in the family courts.  

It is intended to spare families from the trauma of going through often lengthy and costly courtroom battles, which can have a damaging impact on children. Normally each mediation session is charged for unless one of the parties has access to legal aid. 

The move comes as the family courts continue to face a significant backlog of cases, a problem which has been made worse by the pandemic. 

The charity says the decision regarding who will have the children and on what days is likely to be a particularly ‘hot topic’ this year, as extended families come back to celebrate the holiday season together for the first time since 2019. 

Jane Robey, CEO of National Family Mediation, said: “Christmas arrangements are usually made separate to other contact arrangements, and typically speaking the Courts try to order alternate xmas days.  

“However, year after year we see the same disputes amongst parents and a real sticking point is who gets to have the kids on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. It’s a very emotive topic.  

“This year is going to be harder as many haven’t seen their families because of lockdown last year so parents need to make a supreme effort to make sure the kids don’t miss out again, and so the sooner families come together to put a plan in place that works for everyone, the better. 

“While the court may have capacity to hear a handful of the more extreme cases, the reality is that it is too late for most people. Mediation is a great alternative and the funding means it is really accessible to everyone too. 

“The voucher scheme means that everyone can access the support they need, but time is running out and so we would really encourage anyone who wants to engage with mediation to put plans in place for Christmas act now.” 

 

Cover By Prostock-Studio on Canva

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