For most of us Christmas is all about time off work, catching up with family and enjoying the festivities. For children it is all about the presents, Father Christmas, reindeers, having fun and if we are lucky enough to have a white Christmas all about the magic of Christmas.
Often when there is an acrimonious separation, the parents’ sole focus is what arrangements should be put in place for the child to spend time with either parent, leaving those who previously played a key role in the child’s life forgotten. With childcare proving costly and with the ever increasing demands of working to support your family, grandparents are increasingly relied upon to provide much needed childcare. In addition, there are now more multi-generational households than ever, with many children accustomed to seeing their grandparents on a daily basis.
In March 2018 Tini Owens applied to the Court of Appeal to over turn the ruling in the Family Court that her marriage to Hugh, her 78 year old husband, had not irretrievably broken down.
“Divorce”-the word alone for many suggest acrimony, disputes, stress and costs. It does not have to be this way. With the right legal advice and guidance the pain and emotions associated with making the difficult decision to end a marriage can be eased to ensure that parties are able to salvage a working relationship going forward especially where children are involved.
The Office of National Statistics has now published marriage figures for the year 2015, showing marriage rates for opposite-sex couples were the lowest on record.
