Legal Director
Greene & Greene Solicitors
Resolution Together is a new way for separating couples, and for parents who are in dispute about the care of their child, to obtain advice from a single legal professional.
This new way of working follows the implementation of the Divorce Dissolution and Separation Act which allowed couples, for the first time, to make joint applications to end a marriage collectively. As a result, Resolution has developed a new approach to help separating couples. Resolution is a community of family justice professionals who work with families and individuals to resolve issues in a constructive way.
The service is suitable for those whose joint aim is to reach an outcome that meets their needs and, if they are parents, the needs of their children. A key feature is that individuals must give their informed consent to disclosing all the relevant factual and financial information required in order to reach their decisions together, to one another and the legal professional who will be advising and guiding them towards their final outcome. The legal professional who works with the couple will not be acting for either party individually, and also the legal professional may not represent either or both in communications with the Court, other than where it has been agreed that the Legal Professional will file any draft Order with the Court on their behalf.
Some of the principles relating to Resolution Together are closely aligned to other dispute resolution approaches, such as Mediation. However, the difference is that Resolution Together provides an advice based service where both clients are able to receive advice, including legal advice on a jointly beneficial basis.
Generally, couples that choose Resolution Together will not be in a dispute, or have a “conflict”. Couples do not have to be in agreement about everything, but need to be willing to consider options and not have entrenched positions. A willingness to work hard towards finding an agreed outcome is key.
The ultimate aim is that the parties taking part in Resolution Together will reach a decision that will be recorded in a draft Order, and a legal professional will assist them to obtain an approved Order.
Read more articles by Emma Alfieri.
About Emma Alfieri
Emma Alfieri is a Legal Director at Suffolk firm Greene & Greene Solicitors.
Emma advises on all aspects of family law, including divorce and associated financial matters, disputes between cohabitants and child related disputes.
A member of Resolution, Emma is committed to resolving disputes as positively and agreeably as possible whilst also being motivated to obtain the best possible outcome for her clients.
Since 2012 Emma has been consistently recommended by the Legal 500 on an annual basis and in the most recent 2024 edition Emma is ranked as a “rising star”.
As an advocate of fault free divorce, Emma lobbied at Parliament with other members of Resolution in 2016 to bring about the recent changes to divorce law.