Legal aid for mediation 'could cut divorce and custody cases'
OFFERING legal aid funding for mediation might reduce the number of divorce and custody cases ending up in court, a family law advocate has said.
Browns Advocates partner Adrian Brown, pictured, has been practising in Guernsey for 13 years, and said he thought recent changes to the UK family law were interesting.
He said Guernsey could benefit if the island followed the UK and funded mediation.
'If there was legal aid available, I think there would be a lot more mediation and people would be more prepared to take that on as an option,' he said.
Mediation requires a neutral party to help both parties find a working solution, but Mr Brown said funding a mediator was not always easy.
Changes have been made to the UK family court system. One of the biggest has been that couples will have to consider mediation before they can make an application for a court hearing.
