The 22 April 2014 marks a day of significant changes in family law as the Single Family Court comes into existence. This marks a significant reform of the Family Justice System. The Single Court will be a national Court for all family proceedings in England and Wales. Family cases will no longer be heard by the County Court or the Family Proceedings Court and cases will be allocated to a level of Judge according to their type and complexity.

One significant change is the requirement for anyone wishing to take disputes relating to finances or children to Court to attend a compulsory mediation awareness session.

There are also to be changes in the way in which children are dealt with in family cases, with the abolition of labels such as ‘residence’ and ‘contact’. Lawyers are now talking about ‘child arrangements’.

Strict timescales have been introduced for the resolution of child care cases.

For advice on any family law matters, please contact Liz Hebden on 01756 700200 or eah@walkerfoster.com or any member of the family team.