The family court system in Australia is in crisis and people with family court disputes are suffering badly as a result. There are non-litigious alternatives to getting pushed into the court system. These alternatives can help people resolve their disputes quickly, cost effectively and without being subjected the stresses of litigation. Almost every day there is more news about the problems happening for litigants in the family court system. Recently the President of the Law Council of Australia said in a published article that the family court system is under unprecedented stress. He pointed to chronic underfunding by the Federal Government that has been going on for more than a decade. He said “Australians, and in particular families, enter the court system during some of the worst times of their lives. The reality is that a family’s pain is now further compounded by a system that is –

• unable to keep up with the demands placed upon it;
• Causing families can spend up to 3 years, sometimes more, waiting for a legal conclusion to their misery.”

From time to time the Law Society and Bar Association join together with the Federal Circuit Court to offer mediator services to help clear the backlog of cases in the court system. However,  even this initiative has been criticised by trying to push people into a fast track to settle their disputes where they feel put under unfair pressure simply to end their litigation and get out of the Court backlog. What is not widely known is that there are alternative private dispute management services provided by firms like Whitelaw Legal Group Pty Ltd and TasDisputesCentre Pty Ltd (www.tasdisputescentre.com.au) that are helping couples achieve out of court property settlements –

• at a fraction of the cost of going to court; and
• in a fraction of the time and
• without anyone being subjected to undue stress or pressure.

A great many disputes only end up being litigated in the overburdened, stressful and expensive court system because the parties to the disputes have no idea of the alternatives that are open to them.