Conflicts about children are best solved when both parents can reach a decision themselves. Sometimes though, it’s not possible for parents to work together, so professional mediators can help bridge those communication issues.
Parental Responsibility Order
Residence Order
Specific Issue Order
Contact Order
PSO (Prohibited Steps Order)
Mediation can be better than family court on several counts. The first and most obvious reason is that family mediation is substantially cheaper than paying legal and/or court fees.
It doesn’t burn a hole in the pocket of the disputing parties and many clients can obtaining funding assistance. General litigation, on the other hand, is an expensive process, often running into £1,000’s.Â
Mediation also doesn’t involve as much time as going through court, usually lasing a matter of weeks rather than months. This is particularly beneficial where children are concerned, mainly because it prevents them from being exposed to such a formal and potentially damaging process.
Court takes a lot of time. Under mediation, the disputing parties have full control of the whole process. This means they make the final decision making. Under general litigation, disputing parties hand all the decisions to the court.
The use of family mediation in child arrangments is growing rapidly in the UK.
Its an effective way to help parents find ways to save access to their children, and work out accurate child maintenance obligations if necessary.
Family mediation has been used in divorce situations for years and is increasingly including the need to consider child arrangements. As divorces are no longer contested, the number of divorces increase, and so too the number of children born to divorced parents, with many merged families now the norm. This can create an additional layer of conflict, especially in regards to child visitation and child maintenance.
Divorce is a huge change that can deeply affect children, with many feeling rejected, and isolated. Many of our family mediators are specially trained in Child Inclusive mediation, meaning that children can be heard as part of the mediation process, ensuring that their needs are considered alongside that of both parents.
It is important to note that custody is no longer a term used in family mediation or the family court system, instead the term residency is used. Sometimes, it may be appropriate for children to change which parent they mainly reside with, and sometimes, it is necessary for them to stay in their familiar environment. Mediation can help explore the realistic and desired options of all parties, to fully ensure that the best interests of children are met.
In many cases, one or both parents may be able to get funding to help with the cost of mediation, either by using Legal Aid and/or a Government Family Mediation Voucher. Our mediators will always immediately recommend any funding options that you may be eligible for to make mediation an even better choice for resolving your current child arrangement problems, so contact Capitol Family Mediation today!
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