How Does my Neurodiversity Affect my Divorce?
If you or your child is neurodivergent you may have questions about how neurodiversity is taken into account in divorce, financial settlement or child arrangement order proceedings in the family court.
In this series of articles, our Family Law Solicitors answer your questions about neurodiversity when you are separating or getting divorced and when you are trying to reach an agreement on your financial settlement or parenting arrangements.
If you need help with a divorce, financial settlement or child arrangement order application our experts can guide and support you through the application process or help you reach an out of court agreement.
Online and London Family Law Solicitors
For family law legal advice call the expert London family lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or complete our online enquiry form.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi
What is neurodiversity in family law proceedings?
It is important to understand what is meant when professionals talk about neurodiversity and divorce. It covers all aspects of neurodiversity, including:
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Autism
- Dyspraxia
- Dyslexia
- Dyscalculia
- Hyperlexia
- Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
These are just a few examples of neurodiverse conditions.
Neurodiversity in divorce encompasses any type of neurodiversity that affects how a parent or child’s brain processes information.
In some court applications, a parent’s or child’s neurodiversity will have a significant impact on the outcome of the proceedings. In others, it will have a limited impact. However, in all situations how your neurodiversity is catered for by your Family Law Solicitor and others can have a tremendous impact on your experience of the divorce and family law process.
With one in seven people in the UK now classed as neurodiverse it is important to understand how neurodiversity in your family could affect your divorce and family law application and the court decision making.
Should you apply for a family law order if you are neurodiverse?
Of course, you can apply for a family law order, such as a child arrangement order for your child, if you are a neurodiverse parent. Whether you should do is another matter.
Our Family Law Solicitors would recommend that you carefully consider non-court options to resolve the custody or contact proceedings for your child before you apply for a child arrangement order or apply to the family court for a financial court order. We would give this advice to any separated person or parent but it is particularly important where one person in a family is neurodiverse to consider all your non-court resolution options and to weigh up which type of dispute resolution option would best suit you.
There are several different types of non-court dispute resolution methods including:
- Solicitor negotiations
- Solicitor roundtable meetings
- Family mediation
- Family arbitration
- Private judge
It is best to speak to a Family Law Solicitor about how these options could be made to work for you. For example, you may have ruled out family mediation because you do not think that you could cope with the length of a family mediation session or because you cannot contemplate being in the same room as your ex-partner.
Family mediation can be adapted to suit your needs. The length of the mediation session could be reduced or shuttle mediation could take place meaning you do not have to sit in the same room as your ex-partner. For some families with a neurodiverse parent, the use of solicitor negotiations by email or phone is the easiest option but no one should assume that you should or that you cannot engage in a particular type of dispute resolution because of your neurodiversity.
Should I tell my Family Law Solicitor that I am neurodiverse?
Yes. Solicitors are not always great at picking up on things and may not realise that you or your ex-partner is neurodiverse or they may not understand what that means for you and your family. For example, you might find appointments at a solicitor's office hard or you may find it best to communicate by email rather than over the phone. Alternatively, you may want a family member to come to meetings with you or you may find it helpful to have information presented to you in a certain way.
An early explanation about your neurodiversity helps your Family Law Solicitor do their best for you, both in terms of catering to your needs as a client and in securing the best family law outcome and parenting arrangement for you.
Likewise, if your former partner is neurodiverse, it helps us if we know that from the outset as that information enables us to work out the best way to negotiate parenting arrangements or to reach a financial settlement.
Remember that even a switched-on Family Law Solicitor will not know how your neurodiversity affects you or your family member as no two parents or children with a condition such as ADHD are affected in the same way. The more information you can give us the better able we are to support and guide you through the family law court process.
Should I tell the family court that I am neurodiverse?
The answer to that question is that it depends.
If you have instructed Family Law Solicitors to help you with your no-fault divorce then your neurodiversity is unlikely to crop up as you will not need to attend a court hearing during the divorce proceedings. However, if you are applying for a financial court order or a child arrangement order your neurodiversity may be an important factor. For example, you may need spousal maintenance because your earnings capacity is impacted by your neurodiversity or by your neurodiverse child’s needs. Your Family Law Solicitors can explain the best way to let the court know. For example, in a financial settlement application, you will need to complete a Form financial statement and your solicitor will complete the section on your health and other sections on your needs and the orders you would like the court to make after explaining how your neurodiversity affects you and your needs.
Online and London Family Law Solicitors
For family law legal advice call the expert London family lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or complete our online enquiry form.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi
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