Ask Attorney Jennifer B.: What are the 2025 Family Law Trends?
Unbelievably, 2024 has come to a close. After concluding some end-of-the-year matters and spending some quality time with family, we’ve been thinking ahead about what the new year will bring. There are three major developing trends in family law that we’re going to focus more on in the near future:
- Alternate Dispute Resolution
Over the past several years, we have seen a larger focus on keeping matters out of court. This trend was accelerated during the Covid years because many court systems were shut down, forcing people to negotiate their differences, often with the assistance of a third party, such as a mediator or arbitrator. This trend has continued post-Covid, causing some states to go so far to enact laws implementing some structure and requirements for alternate dispute resolution and requiring parties to participate in the process before litigation. Undoubtedly, we will see more focus on this in 2025 and the years ahead.
Read more: What’s an alternate dispute resolution? - Mental Health
In the not so distant past, it was taboo for a party in a divorce or custody battle to admit that they were under the care of a therapist or were taking anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medications. The mental health of minor children was also overlooked or ignored. As our society has become more focused on the importance of good mental health, it is understood that parties going through divorce should be encouraged to seek out therapy to help them through this difficult time. It is now also common for children to be under the care of a therapist as well. The trend of focusing on mental health is not going anywhere and in the realm of family law, we are likely to see further emphasis on encouraging parties and their children to work on improving their mental health and mental outlook, especially in light of the difficulties of divorce.
Read more: Children & Mental Health During Divorce - Technology
Without a doubt, technology has changed the scope of our lives. From a negative perspective, the advent of text messaging and social media, likely increased the rate of divorce. After all, social media is an excellent vehicle to connect people and has also been the catalyst to cause some to stray from their current relationships. As to texting, it seems there is no better way to get caught in an adulterous relationship, than by reckless text messaging. The advent of AI will likely bring new challenges and opportunities to those who are dealing with family law issues. Time will tell, but there is every reason to believe that more technology will mean more of an impact on family law.
Read more: How to Help Clients Through a Divorce
These are only a few areas where we can expect greater focus in 2025. However, as society and our relationships continue to evolve and change, we can expect that additional issues affecting the practice of family law will follow suit.
With more than 25 years of experience in the industry, Jennifer Brandt’s practice includes all aspects of family law including divorce, custody, support, alimony, adoption, and guardianship matters in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In addition to family law litigation, she also negotiates prenuptial, post-nuptial and cohabitation agreements on behalf of clients. In addition to her busy practice, she’s a well-known legal commentator on national news networks including CNN, CNN Headline News, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, ABC News, Court TV and local and regional television and radio.
If you have a family law issue or would like her to speak about legal issues, you can connect with Ms. Brandt at www.cozen.com.
