About Family Mediation
When a relationship breaks down, Family Mediation is an excellent way to resolve all of the issues that arise in a safe and neutral environment - and in a much more cost-effective way than an adversarial court process.
This is a robust and rigorous process. Where financial issues are discussed, in most cases the same financial information (“financial disclosure”) will be provided as in any other process, including the court process.
Very often, mediation will take place without lawyers needing to attend meetings with their clients (lawyers in these circumstances advise between sessions), however in more complex cases (or in situations of higher conflict), we offer "Hybrid Mediation". This process enables each person to attend the mediation sessions with their lawyers and is an excellent process for people facing more complex situations.
The mediator’s role
Each person in the mediation is advised to seek independent legal advice as the mediator is impartial and cannot give legal advice. He or she can assist in a number of ways, however, including the provision of legal information, and by managing the process of financial disclosure, exploring options for settlement, reality testing these options and providing final documentation upon which an agreement can be drawn up.
