Parents must talk first before going to court - 13/10/2010

Warring parents in divorce cases appear to be using the courts as the first port of call instead of the last resort, costing the legal aid service an enormous £143 million last year. Going straight to court may not be an option for non-violent cases of child contact in the future unless the parents have first attempted to resolve their differences by mediation.

Jonathan Djanogly, the new Minister for Legal Aid, told the BBC that in his view it was unfair for parents to head straight to court simply because they weren't speaking to each other leaving the tax payer to pick up the legal aid bill of tens of millions of pounds a year.

Anthony Douglas, the Chief Executive of Cafcass, the body that advises the English courts in child related cases, commented in the Telegraph, "It really is not justifiable for warring parents to be using courts if they haven't tried everything to settle and communicate".

There are two separate reviews being carried out at the moment that may have a direct impact on this situation, one will look at the legal aid system and the other at the family justice system. There is a distinct possibility that parents will be refused legal aid for their cases unless they have been seen to have tried to resolve their issues by other methods.

Whilst the Ministry of Justice says that no decision has been made regarding legal aid pending the outcome of the reviews it is fair to say that the coalition government is unlikely to allow squabbling parents to use the resources of legal aid until they have demonstrated that all other avenues to resolution have been tried.

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