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Separating parents and couples will be helped to avoid stressful court battles under a new law being introduced by the government.

Figures released recently by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and charity Reunite have revealed that the number of parental child abduction and custody cases has more than doubled over the past ten years, with almost two children being abducted abroad each day.

The government has recently announced that it will be supporting ten new projects to help separated couples resolve grievances and agree financial and parenting arrangements in their children's best interests.

A recent analysis of Office for National Statistics data has led pro-marriage think tank the Marriage Foundation to conclude that unmarried couples are set to overtake married couples as the main source of family breakdown by the end of 2013. This is despite the fact that unmarried couples only account for only one in five parents.

There is “patchy understanding” and “ill-founded scepticism” about alternatives to going to court during break-ups according to a new poll commissioned by family law body Resolution.

New research has revealed the welcome news that 87% of fathers who don’t live with their children continue to have regular contact with them.

The Government has announced that vulnerable children will receive additional help through the introduction of new national standards, which will raise the quality of expert evidence in family courts and end unnecessary delays.

The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) is to transfer to the Ministry of Justice in April 2014. According to Family Justice Minister Lord McNally, the move will allow the welfare of children and families to be brought to the heart of the court system.

Women’s Aid has welcomed the news that domestic violence will be considered ‘one of the most serious crimes’ under the newly released Victims’ Code, but warns that police responses to domestic violence are still failing women in many areas.

The impact on courts and families of legal aid reforms implemented in April 2013 are already becoming evident, says umbrella body National Family Mediation (NFM), with an increased number of court applications and a drop in the number of referrals to mediation.

Forty charities, other organisations and academics have joined together to call on the House of Lords to support a once-a-generation chance to change the law so that fostered young people in England can stay with their foster carers until the age of 21.

The first steps have been taken to implement the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, Justice Minister Lord McNally has announced.

A study from Lancaster University has found evidence of a link between England’s World Cup football matches and incidences of domestic violence.

The important role played by independent social workers (ISWs) in care proceedings should be safeguarded, according to a new report which is based on the views of senior judges.

Adoptive parents will benefit from new funding worth £19.3 million to access the best possible care for children who have often been victims of abuse and neglect.

Women’s Aid is calling for a joined-up response to domestic violence from police, schools, and Government in response to the Home Secretary’s demand that police forces improve the way they deal with abuse.

A recent court case has highlighted the importance of full disclosure of assets in a divorce hearing, reports the London Evening Standard.

The Office for National Statistics has released a bulletin giving annual statistics on adoptions which took place following court orders in England and Wales in 2012. Figures on adoption orders apply to adoptions by relatives and step-parents as well as adoptions from care.

The latest figures from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) have revealed that it received a total of 870 applications in July 2013. This is a 13% decrease compared to those received in July 2012, which was the second highest number of applications in a single month ever.

Celebrity divorces are giving ordinary couples an unrealistic view on what to expect when separating, the Law Society has warned.