What is Family Arbitration?

Family arbitration is just one of several ways you can resolve a family law dispute without making a court application to get a family law judge to decide the disputed issue.

At Evolve Family Law we are receiving more inquiries about family arbitration. That’s because of a change in court rules that places more emphasis on spouses or separating partners using a non-court dispute resolution option before starting a court application for a financial settlement or child arrangement order.

For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

The best way to describe family arbitration is that it is like using a private judge as the arbitrator is paid by you to resolve your family law dispute. The funding is normally joint but it does not have to be if one of you does not have the funds to pay.

The arbitrator is chosen by your family law solicitors from a list of qualified arbitrators. The choice of arbitrator will depend on their specialism and location. For example, if you have a complex asset base and family business and require an arbitrator who not only is an expert in divorce financial settlements but also understands how companies work.

Once your family arbitrator is chosen and agrees to act as arbitrator you will be asked to sign an arbitration agreement so you and your spouse or partner understand the rules of arbitration.

The arbitration then goes ahead with preliminary matters resolved, such as the evidence and reports the arbitrator requires. An arbitration date for the final decision is then arranged and after reading the evidence and hearing from you and your ex-partner the arbitrator will make a binding decision.

In a financial claim, the arbitration decision is called an award. In a child-related dispute, the arbitrator’s decision is called a determination. One arbitrator can make both types of decisions if you are not able to reach an agreement on residence or contact or on how your assets are split.

Is family arbitration more expensive than making an application to court?

Family arbitration can be cheaper than making an application to court even though you are paying an arbitrator and you do not have to pay a family law judge for their time (although you do have to pay court fees if you make an application to the family court).

Why is it cheaper if you are paying for the arbitrator? There are 2 reasons:

The arbitration process – the family arbitration process can be adapted to your circumstances so it can be more flexible than court applications. This means you may need fewer arbitration hearings than if you made an application to court so you spend less on legal fees

Speed – in the family court system there are significant family court backlogs meaning you have to wait longer for a decision. The delay can cost you if you are waiting for a financial settlement decision on whether the family home should be sold or a pension sharing order made

Why you need to consider family arbitration

You need to consider family arbitration and the other non-court based dispute resolution options because of a change in the Family Procedure Rules.

In April 2024 the rules changed to move the emphasis on just using family mediation to resolve your family law dispute before making an application to the court to consider all potential dispute resolution options.

In most family court applications, the new Family Procedure Rules require you to sign a statement of truth to explain what non-court dispute resolution options you have tried before applying to court and to explain why if you have not done so.

Our family law solicitors will advise you if your first option should be court because there are situations where an urgent court application is the only advisable route. For example, if you need a child arrangement order and prohibited steps order as you fear child abduction by your ex-spouse or if you need an injunction to stop your spouse from selling assets to defeat your financial settlement claims.

The new rules allow a family law judge to adjourn your family law application to try non-court dispute resolution even if you do not ask for the adjournment.

In NA V LA [2024] EWFC 113, a family judge ordered an adjournment of a financial application for the couple to use non-court dispute resolution. The judge concluded it would be of emotional and financial benefit to the couple as well as to their children to reach an agreement outside of court. The judge stayed the proceedings for dispute resolution to go ahead.

Talk to Evolve Family Law about family arbitration

Our family law solicitors can help you work out whether family arbitration is a good route for your family to resolve your family law dispute so you can move on with your life. We will discuss your alternative options, such as: