Director Elizabeth Fletcher in The Times: “How to Protect Children in Divorce”

Today’s Times (31 March 2022) features an article by Family Law in Partnership director Elizabeth Fletcher and Charlotte Bradley of Kingsley Napley.

In the article “How to Protect Children in Divorce” Elizabeth explains that the introduction of No Fault Divorce on 6^th April 2022 is only the start of essential reform for separating families, and social and structural change must follow.

This call for radical change was discussed at the Family Solutions Group event on 23rd March 2022 “Taking the Fight out of Family Separation: Finding Safe and Supportive Solutions for All” which was sponsored by Family Law in Partnership and Kingsley Napley. Guests at this landmark event included Suella Braverman, the Attorney General, with speakers including Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, and the MP Siobhan Baillie.

Today’s article in The Times refers to the three obvious steps that will improve the harmful impact that adversarial battles over children on divorce or separation can have. These are:

• Government must provide dedicated oversight and coordination for separating families with child welfare at its heart, putting in place a family solutions system to sit alongside the family justice system.
• Providing early information and support for separating families to enable parents and children to get the right help at the start of the process.
• Reframing the language of family separation away from fighting talk to an emphasis on the language of cooperative parenting.

The financial cost to the taxpayer of poorly managed family separation is huge. No Fault Divorce is a step in the right direction but more radical change is needed to end the blame game and the resulting harm caused to the next generation.

FLiP Director Elizabeth Fletcher advises on all aspects of family law, but has a specific interest in managing arrangements for children both locally and internationally and in all forums – in negotiations as a solicitor, in court and as a mediator. She also focuses on resolving financial disputes arising from the breakdown of a marriage and has particular experience in dealing with assets including private companies following a divorce. Find out more about Elizabeth Fletcher by viewing her website profile here.