In what situations is family mediation useful?

Generally speaking, mediation can be used for all non-criminal disputes. This includes workplace conflict and disagreements between neighbours.

In terms of family mediation, these kinds of services are best suited if you are going through:

• Divorce and separation issues
• Child custody and parenting battles
• Disagreements over the rights of grandparents
• Family business disputes
• Inheritance battles
• Extended family conflict
• Disputes over elder care

How does mediation work?

When you attend your first mediation session, a specialist mediator will sit down with you and the other parties to fully understand the facts of your situation.

Once they have established what you want to get out of the sessions, they will put forward a range of proposals, questions, offers and counter-offers. They will never make decisions or suggest solutions on your behalf.

The benefits of family mediation

The most obvious benefit of family mediation services is that it keeps your case out of court, saving you time, money and hassle.

Mediation also offers more control over decisions that will be very personal to you. When disputes do go to court, especially over how to share assets after a divorce, a judge will make the final decision over who gets what. Those decisions may not be made in your favour.

The idea behind mediation is that you each bring your issues, concerns and opinions to light. This gives everyone a much better understanding of how each person feels, making the best outcome easier to reach.

The number of sessions needed to reach an agreement depends on the issues in question and your relationship with the other party.

If you reach a decision together a solicitor will draw up the agreement in a contract. This contract must be signed by both parties to confirm that you understand and agree to the terms.

If any of the terms are broken, the offending party can be taken to court for a breach of contract.

How separating couples can benefit from expert mediators

Mediators are trained to make you feel at ease and will be there to handle any conflict that may arise.

In some cases, you may find that mediation exposes you, or your ex-partner, to a completely new and unexpected perspective. This would be a great outcome for most couples as it could mean that no further legal action is required.

In the unfortunate event that mediation is proving unsuccessful you do not have to continue your sessions. However, courts are much more likely to handle your case favourably if you’ve attempted mediation first.

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Know when the time is right

In nearly all cases, we highly recommend that you attend mediation as soon as possible before things get worse.

However, you shouldn’t rush into sessions to try and get the problem sorted as soon as possible. You need to make the time to find a solution that benefits you both, and that you won’t regret.

Prepare yourself

You may need to find evidence that proves your side of the case, or simply write a list of things you would like to discuss so nothing is missed.

You should also prepare to compromise – without compromise mediation simply can’t work. By giving the other person some of what they want, you should both come out with a positive solution that you can feel happy about.

National family mediation services

Our solicitors can help you connect to the mediator that is right for you wherever you live. We understand the importance of these mediation sessions, and have seen the positive impact they can have.

We will stand by you throughout the process, to see that everything goes as smoothly as possible.

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