Why use mediation?
If you and your partner are facing separation or divorce, you will want arrangements
to be both fair and workable. Going through a divorce or separation can be very
stressful for you and your family. In all cases, but particularly if children
are involved, you will no doubt want to reach an agreement with the minimum of
conflict and distress.
Family mediation helps you take control of your situation and work
things out together to reach a solution that takes account of all your (and your
children's) particular circumstances. Solutions reached through family
mediation are invariably arrived at more quickly and less expensively than solutions reached
through solicitors or by way of court proceedings.
How does it work?
Mediators do not take sides or tell you what to do. During mediation, the
mediator will make sure that certain ground rules are respected, thus allowing
discussions to be as balanced and productive as possible. Mediators help you gather
all the relevant information and then identify and discuss the available options
in an open and co-operative atmosphere. Instead of fighting over problems,
couples are helped to solve them. This increases the chances for a fair
and long lasting settlement.