Family & children arbitration

At Moore Barlow, we understand that disputes involving children can be emotionally draining and complex. That’s why we offer child and family arbitration as a way to resolve issues outside of court.

Our experienced solicitors provide a confidential and impartial service, helping families to reach a fair and practical solution that prioritises the best interests of the child.

If the relationship between parents or those with parental responsibility breaks down and there need to be decisions made about things like where a child lives, who they spend time with and where they go to school, this can sometimes cause real disagreements that mean the family can’t start to move forward with their lives until there is resolution in these areas.

Using a mediation service can sometimes help families to work out these issues; but, if not, it might be the case that arbitration in family disputes can be the catalyst to resolving the problems.

What is child arbitration?

Child arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution where a neutral third-party is appointed to help resolve disputes between parents regarding child custody and access arrangements. Child arbitration is designed to be a faster, less expensive, and a less adversarial alternative to court proceedings.

About the child and family arbitration process

A main benefit of using arbitration for family disputes involving children is that this route is designed to obtain a prompt decision, in a cost-effective way, which can make a big difference to everyone involved.

Arbitration is a confidential process (judgements are not reported on) and can be carried out on a timescale and in a location that is suited to the parties involved, rather than being limited to the schedule and venues operated by the Courts. Arbitration gives all parties involved a level of autonomy with regard to the situation, as they are able to choose the arbitrator who will make the final decision. For these reasons, arbitration is seen as a worthwhile option for many families who want to get the child-related dispute settled as quickly and effectively as possible, without the need for a court case.

If the case is considered as suitable for child arbitration, this type of dispute resolution can be used to determine things such as child arrangements (or changing existing arrangements), outline the specifics of contact arrangements, holiday contact, where they go to school, whether they should undergo certain medical treatments and can also now (since being updated in April 2020) determine issues around children going on holidays abroad or permanently moving to specified countries and jurisdictions.

The arbitration itself can be carried out either by way of hearings or by paper determination (i.e. by letter rather than meeting in person) or a combination of the two. This has to be agreed by all parties before the process can begin and with everyone agreeing to abide by the final decision, there are very few grounds to appeal afterwards.

The arbitrator will usually suggest an initial meeting at the start of the process, to discuss the specific issues and scope that the arbitration will be required to cover. Once this has been determined and all parties agree to the terms and conditions of the arbitrator, the process can commence.

If appropriate, the arbitrator can ask the parties involved to instruct an independent social worker to find out the feelings and wishes of the child or children that is the subject of the dispute, to ensure that their voice is part of the arbitration process.

There may be several sessions if experts are required to provide statements or evidence as well as each party presenting their own evidence. Once all of the evidence has been heard, the arbitrator will make their decision on the case.

It’s generally the case that once the arbitration decision has been made, the parties involved will submit an order to the court that gives details of what has been agreed, so that this can be made into an enforceable court order.