I am not meaning to be glib with this title and am well aware that sometimes a client has no option but to get the Court involved, but where there is a choice, this title really says it all in a nutshell.
As I write this, a few hours ago I had to call a client and inform him that the final hearing of his case, set for 2 days ahead, had just been adjourned by the Court due to there being no Judge available on the day. He was distraught. In reality it is likely to be a further 4 or 5 months before that hearing will be re-listed; all the preparations in the last few weeks will have to be re-done at a cost of thousands of pounds.
It remains to be seen whether we can achieve any form of costs rebate from the Court for these losses, even then, it won’t be all of it and it won’t make up either for the ripple effect of this last-minute adjournment.
Life goes back on hold, debt will continue to be run up because money is being held pending the outcome and generally complete uncertainty once more.
In any case we deal with where the Court process is involved and for whatever reason no agreement is possible between the parties, it can easily take around 12 – 18 months for the case to get through to a final hearing. Adjournments at the last minute are getting more commonplace.
Needless to say, the emotional and financial toll are high and not just on the parties themselves, but also their children, family and friends who are supporting them.
Dispute Resolution Options
All of this leads me once again to highlight the benefits of dispute resolution (DR) options.
If your reality is that your relationship has broken down, I cannot stress enough how much better your outcome is likely to be if you and your Partner can reach agreement about your parenting and/or financial arrangements. At least one of those is going to be needed to be sorted out, so getting to an early conclusion helps everyone.
A number of different DR routes are available, some more supported and one (Arbitration) where a binding decision will be made for you if you can’t agree.
All of them are quicker than the Court process and less costly – the other common feature is that there must be agreement between you to enter into that DR process.
At JLS, we talk to every new client about the various DR options and which in particular may fit their circumstances. Even where Court has begun, it is in the Court rules that Judges must consider whether a DR route should be pursued by the parties and if so, to adjourn it to give them time to take it up.
If you would like any advice or assistance concerning parenting or financial arrangements as a result of relationship breakdown, please do get in touch with us.