Family Law Cases

Family Public and Private Law Court Cases are resolving quicker

Recently the Ministry of Justice published the ‘Family Court Statistics Quarterly: January to March 2025’. These show the state of the family court in England & Wales for the first part of this year, and it makes for interesting reading.

Key Points are:

1) There were 28,890 divorce applications under the no fault divorce legislation during this quarter, and of these 73% were from sole applicants and 27% from joint applicants. The total figure was down 3% compared to the same period in 2024, including those for dissolution of civil partnerships.

2) In January to March 2025, 67,541 new cases started in the Family Court. This figure was down 1% on the equivalent quarter in 2024. This was due to decreases in matrimonial (3%), public law (3%) and private law (1%) cases. However, there was an increase in financial remedy (2%) and domestic violence (1%) case starts. Whilst this may only look like small percentages, in real terms it means that more disputes are being resolved without the need for court involvement.

3) In January to March 2025, over 43% of new cases within the Family court related to matrimonial matters, similar to the equivalent quarter of 2024. The mean average time for divorce cases (under the no fault divorce law) to reach first disposal was up 3 weeks compared to the equivalent quarter in 2024. Private law cases took less time, with the mean average time to first disposal in January to March 2025 taking 20 weeks, down around 2 weeks compared to the same period in 2024.

4) The number of private law children cases started decreased by 1% (to 13,311) in January to March 2025 compared to the equivalent quarter in 2024 with 20,575 individual children involved in these applications. The number of applications made decreased by 1% over the same period. The number of private law cases disposed of during January to March 2025 was up 12% on the equivalent quarter in 2024. The number of private law disposals was 29,125, down 7% on the equivalent quarter in 2024. In January to March 2025, it took on average 41 weeks for private law cases to reach a final order, i.e. case closure, down 2 weeks from the same period in 2024.

5) On average, care proceedings took less time than in the same quarter last year with more disposals within 26 weeks. The average time for a care or supervision case to reach first disposal was 40 weeks in January to March 2025, down 2 weeks compared to the same quarter in 2024. There were 58,270 case disposals in January to March 2025, down 3% on the equivalent quarter of 2024. This was due to decreases in matrimonial (14%), adoption (10%) and public law (5%) cases. However, there was an increase in domestic violence (18%), private law (12%) and financial remedy (1%) case disposals. 35% of cases were disposed of within 26 weeks – up 4 percentage points compared to the same period in 2024.

The fall in divorce applications is understandable as more people are choosing to live together rather than marry. The fact that private and public family law cases are resolving quicker in the courts is welcomed by all professionals involved in such cases and the hope is this trend will continue. More emphasis is also being put onto parties to try and resolve family disputes outside of the court arena through other forms of dispute resolution, such as mediation or arbitration. If you are experiencing any difficulties in a personal relationship, whether spouse, partner or parental, our experienced family solicitors are here to advise and help resolve any dispute. Contact our family law team today to find out more about our initial consultation process.

Kerseys Solicitors in Ipswich at [email protected] or telephone 01473 213311

Kerseys Solicitors in Felixstowe at [email protected] or telephone 01394 834557 

Kerseys Solicitors in Woodbridge at [email protected] or telephone 01394 813732 

Kerseys Solicitors in Colchester at [email protected] or telephone 01206 584584