Agata Osinska
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Agata Osińska is an Associate at the International Family Law Group LLP.
Agata advises families in all aspects of family law that come with a relationship breakdown. She is a specialist in financial and children cases.
Agata has a particular interest in the cross-border cases. She handles a wide variety of financial matters including pre- and post-marital agreements, cohabitation agreements, financial proceedings following a divorce, asset freezing and tracing, financial provisions for children and proceedings after a foreign divorce.
In respect of Agata’s experience in children cases, she advises parents, and other close family members, in all matters concerning children. She has a particular interest in the relocation of children both out of the jurisdiction of England and Wales and when a parent wants to move (or has moved) to another part of the county.
A particular interest Agata has is in respect of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets which will become increasingly prevalent in family proceedings.
Relevant experiences and positions
Agata trained at a national firm and qualified as a Solicitor in August 2016. She joined The International Family Law Group LLP as an Associate in July 2022. She has worked in family law her whole career with exposure to all types of matters involving children, both privately and publicly funded.
Agata’s language skills mean that she is often instructed by foreign clients and therefore the international element of both relocation and child abduction cases is very familiar to her.
She has strong connections with Polish community in England and works closely with Eastern European organisations understanding the challenges that immigrants might face.
Some personal questions
What is your advice to parents who are thinking about relocating with a child?
I believe that there are two key elements to children proceedings but especially relocation cases. These are: focus on the child and good planning. If a parent is considering relocation, this can’t be a hasty decision that simply happens because it would be more convenient to them or because they are originally from that country. It is very easy to get frustrated with the system when that attitude is taken. I try and explain to the parents that they need to look at the big picture and focus on that instead.
What should parents know before starting a court procedure about child relocation?
They need to be prewarned that it is not a quick process. Most parents tend to think that because the matter is urgent to them, the court will treat it as such. Unfortunately, in the grand scheme of things, you might be looking at months of court proceedings. Therefore, it is important to start these proceedings in advance and not last minute, if possible, as the court will not be sympathetic simply because there is a tight schedule to the proposed move.
What is your (practical) advice to parents, to make relocation easier for a child?
Once the decision is made that a relocation should happen, it is very helpful for both parents to agree how and when that should be communicated to the child. The way to ‘make it easier’ for them will very much depend on their age and character. There is no one way fits all, nor there should be. I believe this should be very much child focused and child led process.
When did you first handle a child abduction case?
I handled my first child abduction case was when I was a trainee. I can still remember how different it felt from all other cases. The pace was different. Everything needed to happen quickly, and rightly so.
What is your advice to parents dealing with international child abduction?
Get advice as quickly as possible and from a specialist. I can recall a few occasions when parents would contact me after months of trying to come up with a solution themselves or hoping that the other parent would just return the child eventually. Time is of the essence. And unfortunately, the more time passes, the more difficult it gets. Damage has been done, the child might have settled, they might have moved to a different location or even country where we are unable to trace them. Fast intervention is crucial.
