LEGAL & FINANCIAL First Stop: FAMILY MEDIATION
Sadly for many families, the first few months of the year is the time when they turn to the web to find out how they can separate from their partners.
Visits to the divorce pages of
GOV.UK have more than doubled this year from last (2014) (1,362,033 v – 615,599).
Raising awareness of Family Mediation The Government launched the campaign First Stop: Family Mediation providing people with information on the benefits of family mediation.
Why family mediation?
The law states that people who are thinking of asking the court to make an order about children or finance arrangements after separation or divorce must first of all consider mediation. If this does not take place, a judge can adjourn the case until this has happened.
If you and your partner decide to separate, family mediation is quicker, cheaper and less stressful, than going to court particularly where children are involved. It also has a good success rate with more than 60% of couples reaching a satisfactory agreement as a result of going through mediation.
Mediation is where a trained, independent mediator will take a couple through the process of resolving their issues to reach agreement about things like child
26 Envoy Spring 2015
arrangements, money including property, savings and pension funds. Family mediation helps people take charge of their own futures and works towards a better result for everyone involved.
Mediation can also be used to help agree on how your children keep in touch with their grandparents, step families, or in-laws. It can also be helpful when arrangements you’ve made in the past need to be revised due to changing circumstances – a new partner or a child starting school for example. It doesn’t matter if you separated a long time ago.
The Families Minister, The Rt Hon Simon Hughes MP says: “We want couples to work collaboratively to sort things out after they separate or divorce and particularly for parents to make arrangements that are best for their children.”
“We want them to do this in agreement with each other, with the help of mediation, and to see the commitment through and not see the court as an automatic fall-back.”
Help is available
If this is your situation there are several helpful routes available to support you. The Family Mediation Council (FMC) website can help you find out how a family mediator can provide support to a couple to come to an agreement on the practical arrangements after separation or divorce. <
familymediationcouncil.org.uk>
It is also useful to remember that legal aid remains available for family mediation for those who are eligible, and for legal help to support it. A legal aid calculator <
gov.uk/check-legal-aid> will help you gauge whether you qualify. For those eligible, the other party will also be covered for the Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting and the first mediation session afterwards. The mediator can also explain exactly what is and isn’t covered.
FMC:
familymediationcouncil.org.uk Legal Aid Calculator:
gov.uk/check- legal-aid.
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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