New Book: 101 Questions Answered About Separating With Children

Ruth Hawkins (BH&O), Rachael Oakes (Freeths), Ursula Rice (Family First) and Gemma Kelsey (Brethertons) are delighted to have contributed to 101 Questions Answered About Separating with Children, a new book to help separating parents keep their children’s best interests first. BH&O, Freeths, Family First and Brethertons are long-term supporters of the social enterprise OnlyMums & OnlyDads and are a member of their Family Law Panel.

The book, published with support and collaboration of Bath Publishing, has been written by a number of expert family solicitors, barristers, mediators and other professionals. It covers the legal landscape, how to cope with the psychological impact of separation, what it means for children involved, and where parents can turn for further help and support.

Ruth Hawkins, Children Panel solicitor & Mediator from BH&O LLP, and Oxford Mail Columnist says “I am delighted to have contributed to this book. It is a comprehensive guide that will assist parents in dealing with any legal issue relating to their children that might arise upon separation, and I think it will be invaluable for those who choose, or are unable to obtain legal advice or representation. But it will also assist those who have solicitors, as it will answer so many questions and give a context to what they are going through, and help them focus on using their solicitors in a more proportionate and cost effective manner.”

Rachael Oakes, National head of the Family team at Freeths LLP and an accredited mediator says “It is really good to be part of such an important publication which is going to be able to provide a lot of support for individuals and families. We spend a lot of time helping people stay out of court. To be able to do this it’s really important that people have as much information as possible to help them craft agreements that work for them in the backdrop of having a better understanding of the issues that have to be considered in all sorts of different situations. This book with provide a lot of really useful information about how to help separating parents keep their children’s best interests first.”

Ursula Rice is a solicitor-advocate and set up Family First Solicitors. She says, “Splitting up really sucks. 101 Questions is a brilliant resource and really gets to the grit of how family law works and what you need to do. If I wasn’t a lawyer this is the book I would buy.”

101 Questions Answered develops three key themes which help parents resolve issues:

• Improving relationship and communication skills with their ex-partner
• Determining what is genuinely best for the children (often requiring external support)
• Understanding the processes and mechanics of the law, family courts and different pathways to resolving issues, such as mediation, collaborative law and other approaches.

Director of OnlyMums, Rebecca Giraud adds, “101 Questions Answered aims to clearly explain family law processes, answering the most common questions that separating parents with a degree of authority. Throughout the book, we also made sure to emphasise how parents can save money when using professional advisers. We are delighted to have had BH&O LLP, Freeths LLP, Family First and Brethertons share their expertise in this book.”

In his foreword to the book, President of the Family Division The Rt Hon Sir Andrew McFarlane said:

“Irrespective of the current pressing problem that may have caused a parent to pick this book up, any reader would be well advised to invest the time in reading it from cover to cover, thereby gaining a real ‘feel’ for the approach of family law professionals and the courts in general to these important and difficult problems.”

The book is available now directly from www.onlymums.org and www.onlydads.org, Amazon and all other online and high street booksellers.