Family Law Essay

Submitted By diannafinianos
Words: 2046
Pages: 9
Open Document
FAMILY DISPUTE RESOLUTION

FDR refers to the various non-judicial methods used to resolve family law disputes by reaching an agreement acceptable for all parties to a marriage which has irretrievably broken down.

It is a requirement that parties in dispute are to attend mediation (or the like) and provide a certificate pursuant to section 60I(7) upon application evidencing same. The government has established family relationship centres which provide support services to parents. There are however, exceptions to attending alternative/family dispute resolutions that being abuse of a child, family violence and urgency per Section 90I of the FLA.

Section 10 of the Family Law Act defines FDR

Pros & Cons of FDR

Pros
Cons
Minimises costs of litigation

Formal adversary proceedings are avoided

Children benefit when parents agree on custodial arrangements because they know their children more than a judge will.

Parties avoid the risk of uncertainties of litigation.

Can save time and allow each party to proceed with their lives.

More likely to be consistent with the preferences of each spouse (and the children).

Parents are given considerable freedom with deciding on custodial matters.

Child’s social and psychological relationships with both parents ordinarily continue.

Different forms of dispute resolution

Advisory process

Negotiations take place “in the shadow of the law” and the mediator’s views of the range of likely Court outcomes create the “boundaries for resolution”.
Facilitated by both the Family Court and the Federal Magistrates Court.
Chaired by a registrar in financial disputes and with the assistance of family consultants where there are financial and parenting issues.

Facilitative Process

a mediator which merely manages the communication between the parties to proceedings.
The mediator assists parties to participate in interest-based negotiations, generate their own options and come to a resolution without giving views about appropriate settlement outcomes.
Lawyers can provide clients with advice before and after attending mediation however, lawyers cannot represent their client in mediation.
Relies on the active participation of both parties.

Family Relationship Centres

Federal Government major reforms in 2004 made available 65 Family Relationship Centres. This is a facility provided to parties in dispute to attend for assistance in settling matters in dispute without judicial proceedings.

Vision of the Family Relationship Centres

Helps parents work out post-separation parenting arrangements in the aftermath of separation, managing the very difficult transition from parenting together to parenting apart.

The core aim was to fulfil this need for a readily available and easily accessible source of advice and assistance.

Government ensured Centres are highly visible for public to make effective use of.

Their role is to be an initial point of information, advice and assistance, from which referrals can be made to the range of existing community-based services as appropriate.

Five major roles:
1. information, advice and referral to services which can strengthen relationships.
2. The provision of seminars, individual advice and free mediation when parents separate.
3. Assistance in resolving ongoing disputes about post-separation parenting arrangements.
4. Assistance to grandparents.
5. Help in resolving child support issues.

A role in supporting intact relationships

It assists individuals entering into relationships and not just couples separating.
A role in supporting parents following separation

Centres have a major role in educating, supporting and counselling parents going through separation. The goals are:

to help identify parents’ needs; to provide relevant information on post-separation parenting; to help parents access relevant services;
To help to negotiate workable agreements about parenting
Show More

Related Documents: Family Law Essay

Families of Law Essay

Law and Society Families of Law Unit 3- Written Assignment Tami Daniels 03/28/2011 Unit 3 Essay- Part Two Name of Country: Great Britain Family of law followed: Common law How disputes are settled: Litigation, Arbitration, and Mediation How cases are handled: Adversary system; case law takes precedence In this section, discuss the following: • How would your friend’s theft be dealt with under the law in this country? In Great Britain, the Theft…

Words 2659 - Pages 11

Family Law Essay

2-27-13 Family Law Family law is one of the most important topics in the United States today. Many people have very different beliefs when it comes to this topic. There are many different definitions of what a family is. There are religious definitions and cultural definitions. Wherever there are questions about what a family is, there is always controversy. Family is defined many different ways. There are two different types of a family. The structural definition of a family is when people…

Words 578 - Pages 3

Family Law In The 1800s

People confronted with family arranging addresses frequently depend on good or religious convictions to achieve a choice. Since good and religious convictions change generally in the Assembled States, family arranging laws are regularly disputable. The following is a brief history of conception prevention in the Unified States. Amid the nineteenth century in the Assembled States, birth rates started to decay, partially because of an expansion in investigative data about origination and contraception…

Words 2120 - Pages 9

Family Law Essay

Family and Child Law 2012/13 The Protection of the Family under International Law Introduction The purpose of these lectures is to outline and consider how International Law promotes and protects the right to family life and, in particular, the rights of children. The UK is a party to numerous human rights instruments and many of these are relevant to the rights of children and families. The UK is bound by these instruments which therefore form part of the legal framework regulating families…

Words 2447 - Pages 10

family law Essay

As in many western countries, marriage in England is a weakening institute. The modern law of marriage dates from Lord Hardwicke's Act of 1753. The modern law of divorce came a century later. There was no civil law of divorce in England and Wales until 1858. Prior to that, divorce was a bulky and expensive set of processes, one of which involved conducting through a private Act. Initially, divorce laws was for men, only in 1923 were women given the same theoretical rights to divorce as men.…

Words 3036 - Pages 13

Essay on Family law

Judgment of Divorce PA250: Family Law Professor Nnena Odim – Kaplan University Unit 8 Assignment Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Division Probate and Family Court Department Docket No. Judgment of Divorce Patty Bean, Plaintiff v. David Bean, Defendant 1.) This action was submitted to this court for consideration this date June 9, 2014. 2.) The Plaintiff’s address is 123 W. Golf Road, Boston, Massachusetts…

Words 290 - Pages 2

Family Law Essay

Couple's should be required to live to together for six months before getting married. This should be made a law for the reasons that I am going to explain. Couples who live together for 6 months can learn about each other and start to form a unit working as a team. They can learn how to balance their relationship, career's, personal lives, and even finances together. Through time, the other person's priorities and values will become clear, and couples can see if these really align before putting…

Words 420 - Pages 2

Family Law Presentation Essay

Q6) Consider the extract from Judith Wallerstein’s research: ‘The Long Term Impact of Divorce on Children: A First Report from a 25 Year Study’. How would you respond to the statement: ‘This research is a damning indictment on the way in which family law has regard to the needs of children when their parents separate.’ How is this so? The child is the one most influenced by the decisions in which they have no say and where they are represented by parents who rarely inquire into the child’s preferences…

Words 1061 - Pages 5

Family Law and Berkman Bottger Newman Essay

Berkman Bottger Newman & Rodd, LLP, a widely respected boutique matrimonial law firm located in midtown Manhattan, concentrates solely on divorce, prenuptial agreements and other family law matters. Berkman Bottger Newman & Rodd is one of the only matrimonial law firms in New York City that offers a full range of divorce process choices — from litigation and effective negotiation to mediation and collaborative law. BBNR caters mostly to high net worth individuals that live in New York City,…

Words 904 - Pages 4

Sociological Views Of The Impact Of Government Policies And Laws On Family Life

Family and household 10. Using material from item 2b and elsewhere, assess sociological views of the impact of government policies and laws on family life. In this question we will be discussing the different sociological views of the impact of government policies and laws on family life. The government is the mechanism by which they put the policy into place. As England have a democratic system there is a choice of distinctive political parties we vote in and they represent a range of opinions…

Words 596 - Pages 3