Family Arbitration – An alternative to the Court process

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Resolving disputes through Court proceedings can cause delays and often gives rise to greater expense due to the extensive process.

Due to this, determining disputes outside of Court through alternative dispute resolution has become more prevalent. Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute

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process, which can be used to help separating couples to settle disputes. Arbitration can be used

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of a dispute or disputes relating to children. The arbitrator can resolve the whole dispute by

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or just one part of it. Both you and your ex-partner must agree to submit the dispute to arbitration.

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You have the say in how the proceedings run. Therefore, arbitration is less formal than Court proceedings. The arbitration can take place using just documents, zoom or face-toface in an environment of your choice. Unlike Court proceedings, there is no requirement to undertake mediation information and assessment meetings before starting arbitration.

Having the freedom of choosing where arbitration takes place makes the SURFHVV PRUH ࡽH[LEOH in comparison to Court proceedings.

$UELWUDWLRQ LV FRQࡼGHQWLDO It takes place between yourself and your expartner, and others whom you authorise.

If an application is made to Court, costs can increase. If you have to proceed to a

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be as much as £30,000 plus VAT or more depending on the complexity of the issues. Arbitration is more

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ex-partner and the family arbitrator will agree the level of the family arbitrator’s fees at the start of the process. These costs will usually be shared between you and your expartner.

Should Court proceedings become contested, they can take anything between 9 and 15 months to resolve. Arbitration is likely to be a lot quicker in that, once the arbitrator prepares a decision, called an “arbitral award”, it will be made into a Court order on an expedited basis.

Unlike Court proceedings, when parties go through arbitration they have the

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same person will deal with the dispute from start to ࡼQLVK $ IDPLO\ DUELWUDWRU

is an experienced family specialist lawyer.

This publication is a general summary of the law. It should not replace legal advice tailored to your VSHFLࡼF FLUFXPVWDQFHV