advice: the importance of shared parenting on children’s wellbeing S
eparation can be a time of great uncertainty for children, who worry when they will see each of their parents, which can sadly have a detrimental effect on their sense of belonging and wellbeing. Vivienne Middleton, senior associate solicitor and experienced family law specialist, explains the importance of reaching an agreement to maintain contact between children and separated parents, during a pandemic and beyond. For children whose parents have separated or divorced, it’s important they spend time with both of their parents for their own wellbeing, happiness and emotional security.
When it comes to separation, parents are strongly urged to work together to reach an agreement, between themselves.
Formal and informal agreements An informal agreement between both parents is bespoke, allows flexibility, and caters for the children’s and the parents’ needs, but is not legally binding. They require commitment from both parents to ensure consistency and stability for the children. When parents can set aside their own differences and focus on the children’s wellbeing, the arrangements are more likely to work, so they see enough of each parent to maintain a sense of belonging with both of them. Parents may also opt for a formal agreement. This could be drafted by solicitors, through voluntary mediation, arbitration, or a court order. The court will only intervene when one parent makes an application to the court. Litigation should be regarded as a last resort, generally after other forms of dispute resolution have been considered, but without success.
Impacts of COVID-19 For some families, maintaining contact between children and both parents has been significantly impacted by the pandemic. The lack of social interaction for children throughout the long periods of restrictions has heightened the need for them to spend time with the parent they no longer live with, to maintain their identity and vital sense of belonging. Nowadays, parents need to be creative with new ways of maintaining contact, for example, making frequent use of technology including video calls. For children to maintain relationships with both parents, there is a need for co-operative co-parenting, which supports the child’s emotional wellbeing, even during extraordinary circumstances, such as the pandemic. Contact Vivienne Middleton T: 0121 200 0890 E: vivienne.middleton@lodders.co.uk
valuing assets in an uncertain market C
oronavirus has changed the world economy – the FTSE 100 dropped 14.3% in 2020, the worst performance since 2008. Shifts in stock markets have a direct impact on the value of pensions, savings, and the assumptions people make as to when they can afford to retire. Leading family law expert, and partner at Lodders, Beverley Morris, gives her guidance on how best to deal with this uncertainty.
“The pandemic has created greater uncertainty for clients deciding how to distribute their wealth on divorce”
20
Lodders Life Issue 7
The asset base of a client may be diverse – from property, equities, shareholdings in private limited companies, to interests in assets held in a trust structure, and crypto assets, to name just a few. Each and every case is fact-specific, and clients are always advised that what assets may be worth on day one of the divorce will almost certainly not be representative of their value on the final day of the process.
FIRM NEWS: LEGAL UPDATE
Should risk be shared and if so, how? There is potential for discriminatory arguments to creep into the decisionmaking process. It is sometimes said that the ‘bread winner’ has the greater financial acumen and therefore it is more acceptable for him or her to be left with assets that contain an element of risk. This is an unfair marker to lay down and has the potential to result in an unfair division of risk.
