Resolving a family law dispute can happen in many different ways.
You may be able to come to an agreement with your ex-partner quite easily, you may be locked in a fierce battle that feels impossible to find a solution to, or you may be somewhere in the middle where you need some help in figuring the right arrangement for your situation.
If you find yourself in the latter situation, mediation may be the right option to resolve your matter. Mediation involves an impartial third-party facilitating discussions between the parties involved in the dispute with the aim of coming to an agreement.
During mediation you can discuss your situation, talk about your concerns and negotiate to find a solution.
To increase the likelihood of having a successful mediation that results in both parties coming to an agreement, it’s important to know how to prepare for mediation.
In the below video, we provide some information and tips to help you to prepare for family mediation.
If you’re unable to watch the video, we’ve also included a transcript below too.
Watch the video and the checklist below
Mediation Preparation with Samantha
Video Transcript
Hello Everybody
I get a lot of enquiries about mediation. It’s a great way of resolving a property or a parenting matter in the family law system as opposed to going through the courts.
Parties get to have a lot more input into the outcome and they feel heard. Which results in the parties feeling more inclined to follow the agreement and less likelihood that it will end up back in court.
So, I thought I’d put together a little bit of a checklist for mediation preparation and I’ve put that on my website and social media streams, so check it out.
You really need to think about what it is that you want as an outcome before you go into the mediation and think about what it is that the other side may be seeking and whether we can come together at some point.
What compromises are you prepared to make? What are the deal breakers? What are your major concerns? Especially with a parenting matter, is there anything really worrying that you want to discuss at mediation. Make sure that you’re on the same page with the other parent. Just set expectations really with the parenting matter. With a property matter, you need to think about what are the items of property and are there any that are particularly important to you? And are you prepared to compromise on other items to get what you want? Make a list of those things.
Obviously, at the end of the day in mediation, people are going to be faced with the prospect of they might have an agreement, should that agreement be drafted up into a form that can be filed to the court? I always advise that you should do that there and then because by nature, the mediation process is one where each party is going to have made some compromises and then neither party ever comes out having ticked every item on their wish list.
So, it’s best to try it get it sorted on the day, signed on the day, so that people don’t have in their mind, oh I can still change it. And we often find that if it is not formalised on the day, people go home and talk to their new partners, their parents, their friends and suddenly their friends are saying why haven’t you got this and why did that happen? And they haven’t been in the process, they haven’t understood the compromises that were necessary, to get the matter to finalise without the unnecessary emotional and financial expense of taking the matter through the courts.
I always say to parties that it’s not about winning in family law, it’s about reaching, finding a solution that both parties can live with.
I hope that’s been helpful.
[End of transcript]
Do you have questions about mediation?
If you’re involved in a family law matter and think mediation may help to resolve it, talk to us today here at Clarity Lawyers. Our family law firm can provide you with advice and guidance, as well as support and representation during mediation sessions.
Our services are available Australia-wide, as well as locally in the Newcastle and Maitland areas of New South Wales. Get in touch with us by calling us on 02 4023 5553 or booking a consultation online here.
