Four great habits to get the most out of your FLA Specialist

Steven Wadehttps://familylawassistance.co.uk/our-founders/

A bad workman blames his tools…

The great thing about the help from Family Law Assistance is the flexibility, effectiveness and the cost.

For over a decade and half we have helped thousands of men and women deal with their family law matters – divorce, child contact, money (and a few other areas of law…just ask!) and we’ve noticed the things they do – and don’t do – that can hugely affect their chances in the ultimate outcome.

If you’re paying for our help – use it! We are spectacularly good value (did I mention we’re less than half the cost of a solicitor?) but we’re only as effective as you use our services.

So without further ado, here are 4 things you can do to max out your chances of a great result!

#1 – Stay in touch!

If you have a hearing coming up, tell us as soon as you have the date so we can advise you what needs doing before it happens, so we can schedule you in and make arrangements if we’re travelling to it. Don’t leave it until the last moment. If you do, you risk us saying we can’t make it…or that you should have done certain things before it happens.

The same is true if you have a deadline for a statement to be submitted – you’d be shocked how many people email us saying `I have to submit a witness statement by 4pm tomorrow…can you help?

#2 – Don’t fight us!

We’re on your side (we should be…you’re paying us!). We’ll tell you what you need to hear – not what you want to hear. Of course, we’re going to be diplomatic about it if it’s needed and we understand it’s a massively stressful time for you so you may well not be at your best. We get that and we’ll take that into account.

You are free to take or leave any advice we give you…but we will always tell you what we think the best course of action is, as well as the consequences of whatever you may choose to do. As long as it’s child-focused/productive we’ll stand with you of course however. But you don’t need to convince us of anything…only the judge who makes the order.

#3 – Be clear about what you want to happen.

Part of what we do…is asking you this question. Because if you don’t know what you want…how can the court give it to you?

We’ll tell you what the court has the power to do so if you’re asking for something impossible like getting the ex to talk to you we’ll tell you it’s going nowhere and to come up with something else. Similarly, if it looks like what you want isn’t child focused, equitable, reasonable or you’re doing `on principal’ we will – after wincing inwardly – tell you we need to refocus and come up with something else.

#4 – Relying on ‘too many chefs’.

Having too many voices in your ear is going to confuse you. You may have your friends and family, people on that Facebook group you’re in, your solicitor mate and others who all have an opinion about your case and you’ll tell us they’ve advised you differently to how we have.

I’m not surprised. That may be because a) they approach things differently to us b) they (or we) don’t have the complete story…we’ll ask you to make sure we do though! c) they are giving incorrect information.

But the point here is simple: If you are using our advice, go with us. If you don’t like/believe/trust what we’re saying it may be worth considering that we’re not the right people to help you (but believe me…we are).

There are no guarantees in the family courts. If there were…we’d have a reputation of `winning’ every case we assist at. Run a mile from anyone who says they can do this too!

About the author…

Steven Wadehttps://familylawassistance.co.uk/our-founders/

Steven Wade is the founder of Family Law Assistance, a team of McKenzie Friends supporting litigants in person through the family court system in England and Wales. With nearly two decades of experience in family law starting in 2006., Steven has guided hundreds of clients through proceedings involving child arrangements, parental alienation, financial disputes, and non-molestation orders as well as finance and divorce matters. He's run branches of Fathers Need Fathers in England and Wales (now Both Parents Matter), hosted workshops for separated parents, trained McKenzie Friends to assist litigants in the family and travels around the country to assist men and women in and out of court. Steven regularly produces content to demystify legal processes both in blog posts on this site and also on Tiktok and is known for his empathetic, practical advice. He has delivered training and support to parents and support workers dealing with the route through the family court.