[...]... clients about the availability of independent legal advice 10 GUIDE TO THE FAMILY LAW ACT 1996 Mediation is to be offered at an early stage in the new process, ie immediately on receipt by the court of the statement of marital breakdown.This will be done by invitation to the party filing the Statement to attend a meeting with a mediator to explore whether advantage can be taken of the facility .The court... implementation around the turn of the century 12 GUIDE TO THE FAMILY LAW ACT 1996 Transitional arrangements When Parts I-III of the Act come into force there are to be transitional arrangements which will permit those who have already been living apart to proceed more quickly than would otherwise be the case, counting their existing separation towards the new timetable Evidence of separation will have to be produced,... able to adjourn proceedings for mediation to be tried Initially, there will be a report back to the court after the date offered for the meeting with the mediator so that the court may be informed whether the appointment was kept and whether mediation will be used It remains to be seen whether the introduction of mediation will be a success story.While debate in the House of Commons rumbled on to the. .. A further swipe at lawyers appears in the rules to be made to require family practitioners to inform their clients about marriage support services and mediation, and to certify that they have done so! A more useful requirement is that practitioners are to be obliged to point out that the parties should consider the child’s welfare, wishes and feelings, although members of the Solicitors’ Family Law. .. Homes Act 1983) are wholly repealed Broadly, the statutes containing previous law where there are other major repeals are the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, (ss 1-7, ie the existing law of divorce and some affecting judicial separation) and the Domestic 4 GUIDE TO THE FAMILY LAW ACT 1996 Proceedings and Magistrates’ Courts Act 1978 (ss 16-18, ie the domestic violence provisions and part of s 1, the section... anomaly whereby the child had to be removed from the home and the suspected abuser could stay there Implementation of the Family Law Act 1966 The newly codified law of domestic violence is expected to come into force in the autumn of 1997 The new law of divorce and separation is not expected to be in force until 1999 .The reason for this is that there is still a good deal of infrastructure to be developed,... ‘respondent’ adds to the impression that there must be a guilty and an innocent party They 22 GUIDE TO THE FAMILY LAW ACT 1996 therefore considered that change to a more neutral terminology would reflect and reinforce the fundamental change from a concept of fault based divorce to one truly based on irretrievable breakdown (para 5.2) In fact the Booth Committee had nothing to say about the use of the word ‘decree’,... expected to be made to bypass the requirement to have attended the information meeting three months previously where injunctions or other emergency relief is necessary Ancillary relief The Act has taken the opportunity afforded to make some changes to the existing law found in the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 by amending the existing law to permit and require ancillary relief now normally to be settled... an early 20 GUIDE TO THE FAMILY LAW ACT 1996 alternative to entering into the divorce or separation process at all: Part II, ss 22 and 23 The basic idea is that the institution of marriage should be supported, but where marriages cannot be saved and therefore should be dissolved, this should be achieved with the minimum distress to both the parties and their children, so as to encourage the best possible... Discussion Paper on the ground for divorce ‘Facing the Future’ (Law Comm No 170) which critically examined the current law and practice and the options for reform They also referred to the responses they had received to Law Comm 170 and to the views of the general public which they had attempted to obtain through commissioning a public opinion survey from Public Attitudes Surveys Ltd Mandatory effect of . v Introduction to the Family Law Act 1996 1 Family Law Act 1996 15