Member Article

Keeping kids first helps minimise fallout from family breakdown

A local family lawyer is campaigning for a change in the law to reduce the fallout from divorce on children, after figures released today revealed the impact of conflict between separating parents.

In a new poll, 79% of the population agreed conflict from divorce or separation can negatively affect children’s mental health, a figure rising to 87% among those who experienced their parents’ divorce as children. 77% said conflict could affect children’s academic performance and a further two-thirds felt social interactions and the ability to form healthy romantic relationships were also jeopardised.

Lucy Mead, Head of the Family team at David Gray Solicitors LLP made the calls as part of a national Good Divorce Week that is being led by Resolution, who campaign for a fairer family justice system and commissioned the new YouGov poll. All family solicitors at David Gray are members of Resolution and campaign for a better way forward for separating couples.

Good Divorce Week aims to provide practical help, highlighting ways for separating parents to put their children’s needs first, as well as calling on government to urgently remove blame from the divorce process.

As 200,000 people divorce each year in England and Wales, an overwhelming 79% of the public support measures that would remove blame from the divorce process, with 71% believing change is urgently needed to reduce the negative impact on children.

Lucy explained that while most parents she works with want to keep a child’s best interest at the forefront, the current fault-based divorce system can make this a challenge.

Lucy said: Last year we worked with over 1,500 separating couples to help them resolve their issues in a way that provides a fair outcome to everyone in the family especially if children are involved. But often, even with the most amicable break up, the requirement to apportion blame for the breakdown of the marriage can create unnecessarily conflict that can threaten the entire process.

Currently, unless a couple can prove they’ve been separated for 2 years with consent or 5 years without, the only way to get a divorce is to attribute blame. Around 60% of divorces in England and Wales are based on fault, compared with only 6-7% in Scotland where the law is different.

Many couples are surprised that they cannot just cite irreconcilable differences or say they’ve grown apart. With 90% of professionals saying current law makes it harder to reduce conflict between exes, Resolution has been campaigning for decades to remove blame from the divorce process. Evidence shows the impact of conflict stemming from the requirement to blame can have a detrimental effect on the couple and any children they may have.

Lucy added that Resolution has made resources available, both to the public but also local practitioners, to help them campaign to change the system and raise awareness of the long-term impact this conflict can have on children.

David Gray Solicitors LLP is a law firm with offices in Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shields employing over 70 people. The firm has supported local people and businesses for almost 40 years and specialises in Family law, Family Mediation, Property, Crime, Wills & Probate, Motoring, Immigration and Mental Health Law.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by David Gray Solicitors LLP .