Claire

Claire has over 20 years’ experience working as specialist family lawyer dealing with all aspects of family breakdown.

My Latest Blogs

Meet our Mediators- Gill Wright

Find out more about Gill Wright, consultant at Family Mediation and Mentoring

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Claire

Meet our mediators- Claire Colbert

Meet the team at Family Mediation and Mentoring- first up....Claire Colbert, accredited mediator and co-founder of FM&M

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Claire

How can you have a happier marriage?

How can you have a happy marriage? What are the top tips?

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Claire

Divorcing a Narcissist? How can you deal with their behaviour in mediation?

If you are divorcing a narcissist how can you deal with NPD in mediation?

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Claire

Divorcing a Narcissist? How to approach your spouse about their behaviour before mediation

If you are divorcing a narcissist and hope to work through the legal issues in mediation, how should you manage their behaviour?

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Claire

What is Shuttle Mediation and does it work?

What is shuttle mediation? How is it different from traditional mediation? Does it work?

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Claire

How can you manage your child’s special events as a co-parent? Guest blog by Marcie Shaoul of The Co-Parent Way

How can special events be managed for children when parents separate? A guest blog by Marcie Shaoul of the Co-parent Way

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Claire

Who has Parental Responsibility and what is it?

What is Parental Responsibility? Who has Parental Responsibility? What decisions need those with Parental Responsibility to agree?

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Claire

What options are there if there is an impasse in mediation? Guest blog by Fiona Hay, Arbitrator and Barrister

How can mediation use Early Neutral Evalution? How can it work with Arbitration?

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Claire

Are the details of your divorce private?

Are the details of your divorce private? What are the new transparency changes in family law?

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Claire

Claire Colbert, Family Mediator of the Year 2024 winner.

We are delighted to celebrate Claire Colbert's success at The British Family Law Awards 2024, as she receives the ‘Family Mediator of the Year’ award.

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Claire

Christmas Anxiety and Children

How can separated parents ease anxiety for children at Christmas? What are the triggers?

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Claire

How will assets I have inherited be treated when I divorce? 

What happens to inherited assets when a married couple divorce? Can they be protected? Will they be shared?

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Claire

How can separated parents manage Christmas Gifts?

The gifts separated parents buy for children can cause disputes. How can this be avoided? What tips are there to help?

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Claire

Are Pre-nuptial Agreements binding in England and Wales?

Is it worth having a pre-marital agreement and what impact will it have?

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Claire

Does common law marriage exist?

What legal protection is there for unmarried couples who separate?

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Claire

What is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)?

What is a Memorandum of Understanding? What is an MOU? What impact does it have and how can it be used after family mediation?

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Claire

Halloween trick or treating- can you bear to miss it?

Halloween is often a big event for children. When parent's separate, how can parents both be part of events like this?

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Claire

Will our children still be able to do their hobbies and afterschool clubs after our divorce? 

How do costs of children's hobbies and clubs get taken into account when parents divorce? What needs to be considered?

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Claire

School Applications and Child Inclusive Mediation

How can we resolve disputes about which school might be best for a child?

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Claire

Top Tips for dealing with a Narcissist

How can you manage ending a relationship with a narcissist?

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Claire

What happens when there is a request for a variation of spousal maintenance?

Spousal maintenance variation applications can feel complicated. What needs to be considered?

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Claire

Narcissism and the role of Hybrid Mediation (1)

Podcast with Dr Supriya Mckenna and Karin Walker discussing Narcissism and the role of Hybrid Mediation

By
Claire

Top tips on how to protect children from divorce

What can parents do to make divorce easier for children to cope with?

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Claire

How to deal with coercive control

Some top tips

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Claire

How to set boundaries for communication with your ex-spouse during a divorce

Some top tips

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Claire

How long does a divorce take?

How long does a divorce take?

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Claire

How do pets get shared when couples separate and divorce?

Pets are an important part of our lives. What happens to pets when a couple separates or gets divorced?

By
Claire

CGT changes ahead?

Proposed CGT changes will impact separated couples. What could these changes mean?

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Claire

How much child maintenance will I receive / pay?

When parents are no longer living together, the financial costs of their children are something that needs to be agreed. How is this calculated?

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Claire

How can family mediation help me sort out my divorce and financial settlement?

Mediation can be used to sort out the financial issues when a couple divorce or separate.

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Claire

I don’t trust my ex- how could mediation work?

Lack of trust is a common concern in mediation

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Claire

Christmas arrangements for children of separated parents

Christmas is meant to be a joyful time of year, but for many separated families the festive holidays can be very difficult. There can be several issues that need to be resolved to try and ensure the period is as enjoyable as possible for the adults, and most importantly the children.

By
Claire

Parenting through divorce: Helping children to safely navigate worry and anxiety.- Guest blog by Heather Rutherford

Divorce is stressful for kids, all kids. It’s a crisis in a family and it’s not at all surprising that it causes deep emotional reactions including anxiety.

By
Claire

The Navigator Service

What is the Navigator Service?

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Claire

What happens if a mediation “fails”?

When mediation breaks down, what next?

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Claire

What happens after a successful mediation process?

When solutions are found in mediation, what are the next steps?

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Claire

Do children get to decide how often they see each parent?

Is it a child's choice? Who decides?

By
Claire

What is a Parenting Plan? What can it cover?

Parenting plans can be a useful document for parents to draft to cover a range of issues and arrangements for children

By
Claire

Hybrid mediation – involving your lawyer in the mediation process

Hybrid mediation is a way to stay out of court and try to reach an amicable agreement, but your lawyer is involved too. This is useful if you feel nervous about attending mediation on your own.

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Claire

My ex and I can’t agree what school our child should go to. What should I do?

What happens when parents can't agree a primary school, secondary school or change of school for their children?

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Claire

Do children get to decide how often they see each parent?

Is it a child's choice? Who decides?

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Claire

What is the difference between a lawyer and a mediator?

What is mediator and what does a mediator do? How is this different to a lawyer?

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Claire

Advice for a friend who is separating or divorcing

If your friend is divorcing, what could you say that would be helpful?

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Claire

My ex won’t let me take our children on holiday! What should I do?

This time of year many of us are counting down to a well deserved summer holiday. Often these have been booked for many months, but sometimes are lastminute decisions. What should be an exciting trip to look forward to can become a very stressful issue if you are a separated parent.

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Claire

Top Tips from children of separated parents

The Family Justice Young People’s Board has collated top tips from children of separated parents

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Claire

Pension Vblog 3 of 3 in the series

More top tip to help understand pensions on divorce

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Claire

Book Review- The Suitcase Kid by Jacqueline Wilson

What is it like for a child when you have two homes after your parents split up? Jacqueline Wilson has covered this in her book “The Suitcase Kid”

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Claire

How do you decide what happens to pets if their owners split up?

Often the emotional attachment to our pets can be strong and an emotional part of the decisions made in divorce and separation.

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Claire

What is meant by a “birdnesting” arrangement for children?

You may have heard of parents who have a “birdnesting” arrangements when they separate. But what is this and how does it work?

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Claire

Book Review-Two Homes by Claire Masurel

If you are looking for a book to help a child think about how having two homes this is a great place to start- Two Homes by Claire Masurel. 

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Claire

MOJ Mediation Voucher Scheme extended

The £500 mediation voucher scheme introduced in March 2020 has been extended to March 2023

By
Claire

Book Review- Mum and Dad Glue by Kes Gray

A child's book exploring a boy's attempts to find a pot of glue to stick his parent's marriage back together

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Claire

Book Review- (Almost) Anything But Family Court by Jo O'Sullivan, Edited by Bob Greig and Rebecca Giraud

“(Almost) Anything But Family Court offers parents a detailed roadmap towards a positive goal. Oozing with common-sense and emotional insight, the available options and various routes are explained in non-legal language” Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Law Division.

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Claire

Who gets the house if we divorce?

How will a house be shared or dealt with if you separate or divorce?

By
Claire

£500 Mediation Voucher scheme extended

£500 Government Voucher Scheme

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Claire

What is Early Intervention? Guest Video Blog with Adele Ballantyne

Claire Colbert and Rachael Oakes talk about the importance of Early Intervention for separating couples with qualified Psychotherapist and Counsellor Adele Ballantyne

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Claire

Book Review- 'The Power of Showing Up' by Daniel Siegel MD and Tina Payne Bryson Phd

How can we make sure we are doing all we can for our children and do we need to be a perfect parent? Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson cover these issues in their book- "The Power of Showing Up"

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Claire

Book Review- Hey Warrior

Many children (and adults) suffer from anxiety. How can parents explain it their children and equip them with tools to deal with it?

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Claire

What is Early Intervention? Guest Video Blog with Adele Ballantyne

Claire Colbert and Rachael Oakes talk about the importance of Early Intervention for separating couples with qualified Psychotherapist and Counsellor Adele Ballantyne

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Claire

What happens if a mediation “fails”?

When mediation breaks down, what next?

By
Claire

What happens after a successful mediation process?

When solutions are found in mediation, what are the next steps?

By
Claire

Book Review- The Parenting Puzzle by Candida Hunt

The Parenting Puzzle- tips, ideas and solutions for parenting issues

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Claire

Book Review- Split Survival Kit by Dr Angharad Rudkin and Ruth Fitzgerald

The newly published "Split Survival kit" offers a guide through the journey of separation and divorce from a child's perspective.

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Claire

Guest blog- How to spot the signs of emotional abuse, Sara Davison

Sara Davison, best known as The Divorce Coach, made a name for herself when she launched the UK’s first ever Breakup Recovery Retreat, now dubbed as ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ which was also commissioned for a TV series with Sara starring as the expert. Sara has written a blog for us with tips on how to spot the signs of emotional abuse.

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Claire

Book Review- 101 Questions answered about separating with children

Edited by Rebecca Giraud and Bob Greig. Separating can be a minefield. When you don’t know where to start, this book will point you in the right direction.

By
Claire

Book Review - The Divorce Journal by Sue Atkins

A book to assist children deal with the emotions when parents separate and divorce

By
Claire

Book Review- “Blame by Brain - The amazing Teenage brain revealed” by Nicola Morgan

Why do teenagers behave like they do? A must read for parents of tweens and teens!

By
Claire

Experts that can help us in Family Mediation Meetings

Which professionals can be involved and help in Family Mediation?

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Claire

Guest Blog- Dealing with difficult emotions during a divorce by Dr Isabelle Hung

Dr Isabelle Hung is a Clinical Psychologist who specialises in working with adults who are struggling with mental health, and/or feel stuck in their lives. She is the co-founder of www.divorceclub.com and also works for UCLH and the Schoen clinic, as well as writing for a number of publications and websites and has prepared a guest blog for us on how to deal with difficult emotions during a divorce.

By
Claire

Video Blog- Child Inclusive Mediation

What is Child Inclusive Mediation and how does it work?

By
Claire

How can lawyers support the mediation process?

Rachael Oakes and Claire Colbert met with Zahra Pabini of Irwin Mitchell to discuss how lawyers can support mediation

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Claire

Your relationship has ended- what next?

A video blog with some tips and suggestions of what to do when a relationship ends

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Claire

Book Review- Jack by Helen Bishop and Simon Murray

"Jack" is a book written for children to help them deal with the issues that surround divorce and separation. One of the authors, Helen Bishop, explains more about the book in her guest blog below. ‍

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Claire

What is Spousal Maintenance?

Payments made from income after divorce are called spousal maintenace. What is this?

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Claire

Who gets the house if we divorce?

How will a house be shared or dealt with if you separate or divorce?

By
Claire

Book Review- The Elephant that blows Rainbows by Dimitra V. Mousioli

How can you explain mediation to children?

By
Claire

Book Review- Parenting Through Separation

A guide prepared by the Parenting After Parting Resolution Committee

By
Claire

Divorce: 5 Great ways to put children first

Video of how to put children first when you are divorcing.

By
Claire

Video Blog - What is Hybrid Mediation?

What is Hybrid Mediation? Find out in Claire Colbert's video blog

By
Claire

Are you divorcing a narcissist? Guest blog by Dr Supriya McKenna

‘Divorcing a Narcissist: the Lure, the Loss and the Law’ is a new book, which is a result of a collaboration between narcissism expert Dr Supriya McKenna and top UK family lawyer Karin Walker - and it could be exactly what you need. One of the authors, Dr McKenna, explains below. 

By
Claire

Top 10 tips for mediating online

Mediating by video technology has advantages- read our top tips!

By
Claire

Meet Claire and Rachael

Claire Colbert and Rachael Oakes of Family Mediation and Mentoring LLP

By
Claire

Christmas Co-Parenting

Christmas can be stressful for separated families. Mediation can help.

By
Claire

Book Review - The Deepest Well by Dr Nadine Burke Harris – Trauma in children

Adverse Childhood Experiences impact a child's physical and emotional health. This book explores the link and issues.

By
Claire

How do we tell the children we are getting divorced?

This issue is often a worry for parents who are separating. I outline some suggestions and tips to help.

By
Claire

What is a Parenting Plan and what can it cover?

Parenting plans can be a useful document for parents to draft to cover a range of issues and arrangements for children

By
Claire

Your relationship is over- what do you do now?

Steps and options to think about

By
Claire

Divorce and the impact on teenagers

How does separation and divorce impact teenage chidlren?

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Claire

What if I can’t bear my ex?

How can mediation work if the thought of speaking with your ex is too difficult?

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Claire

Children's COVID vaccinations: Can children consent without their parents' agreement?

Who needs to provide consent?

By
Claire

Top tips to protect children from divorce

Top tips to protect children from divorce

By
Claire

Child Inclusive Mediation

Child Inclusive Mediation

By
Claire

£500 Mediation Voucher

£500 Government Voucher Scheme

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Claire

10 reasons why you should use Family Mediation & Mentoring LLP

10 reasons why you should use Claire and Rachael at Family Mediation & Mentoring LLP

By
Claire

Our online and face-to-face mediation meetings

The different types of meetings we can offer

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Claire

Parenting After Parting

For the last few years I have been a member of the Resolution Parenting After Parting committee, this year I was proud to be appointed co-chair.

By
Claire

Hybrid mediation – involving your lawyer in the mediation process

Hybrid mediation is a way to stay out of court and try to reach an amicable agreement, but your lawyer is involved too. This is useful if you feel nervous about attending mediation on your own.

By
Claire