Family Mediation is most commonly provided to couples who are separating or divorcing or who have already separated and can include their children and other family members where appropriate.
All issues (children, property and finance) are normally addressed during mediation.
Child Issues
Mediators work with parents to assist them to make decisions about their future role as parents, which continues after the ending of the adult relationship. Mediators work to help parents focus on the ‘welfare needs’ of the children rather than their own personal preferences. Such decisions may include:-
- Where and with whom the children shall live.
- Arrangements for the children to see/stay with the non resident parent – and perhaps with other family members (e.g. grandparents).
- Parenting agreements which set out how a whole variety of arrangements for education, holidays, medical issues, religious matters and many others can be agreed – before they happen. The Government has sponsored a Parenting Plan booklet and also guides for children and young people whose parents are separating (see the Department for Constitutional Affairs web site).
- Parental Responsibility. Married parents automatically have ‘PR’ as do all mothers. Fathers who have not been married to the mother of their child can acquire PR by agreement or application to court.
Finance & Property Issues
The purpose is to assist former partners to make a full disclosure of their finances, valued and set out in a manner acceptable to a court, then to agree their distribution.
The mediation sessions:-
- Guide you through the maze which starts from being together through to separation and, if you are married to each other, divorce.
- Assist in the identification of assets, liabilities, income and expenditure.
- Using this information help to examine what options might be available and the likely consequences.
- Help you to negotiate and agree proposals for the re-distribution of your finances in what you can regard as being fair – whilst remembering that it costs more to run two homes than one!
These proposals will include your family home and the mortgage, any other properties, endowments and other assurances, bank and savings accounts, vehicles, shares, valuable items, businesses and pensions.
Mediation will include an explanation of the role of the CSA and the mediator will assist your negotiations about payment of child support and maintenance.
The proposals will be written up in a detailed document known as a Memorandum of Understanding. Commonly this document is used by a family lawyer to draw up a ‘consent order’ for the court. Such an order finalises matters and makes them legally binding.
Remember, mediation is not legally binding so either person may change their mind; a court order is legally binding.
All Issues Mediation
AIM is a combination of the Child Issues and Finance & Property Issues mediation detailed above.