Family Mediation
Whether you’ve recently separated, are getting a divorce, dissolving a civil partnership, or have been separated for some time, you might need to sort out arrangements with your ex or other family members.
Family mediation is an effective way to address these issues, helping everyone involved to communicate openly and reach mutually agreeable solutions. This process is guided by a qualified expert known as a mediator, who ensures that all parties have a chance to share their views and ideas.
By facilitating constructive dialogue, family mediation often leads to better outcomes than going to court.
What is Family Mediation?
Family mediation, also known as Family Dispute Resolution (FDR), is a process where an independent, professionally trained mediator helps you and your ex-partner work out agreements on various issues. This might include arrangements for children after separation, child maintenance payments, and the division of finances such as your home, savings, other assets, and debts.
Family mediation can also address other important issues, like maintaining relationships with grandparents, stepfamilies, or in-laws, and adjusting existing arrangements as children grow and family dynamics change.
For your convenience, family mediation is available in various formats. In addition to ‘face-to-face’ family mediation for Perth-based clients, we also offer telephone and online mediation for those in rural and remote areas.
Our primary family mediator, Lisanne Iriks, brings a comprehensive approach to her clients, combining her background in law, counselling, and mediation to provide well-rounded support throughout the family mediation process.
How Family Mediation Works
Family mediation helps families resolve disputes by encouraging open communication. The mediator’s role is to ensure that everyone gets an opportunity to speak and that the discussion remains focused on finding a solution that works for all parties involved. One of the key benefits of family mediation is that it allows the people involved to maintain control over the decisions being made, rather than leaving these important matters in the hands of a judge.
If you choose to go to court, the judge will ultimately make decisions for you, and you will need to adhere to these decisions even if they don’t fully satisfy either party. In contrast, family mediation empowers you to find solutions that are tailored to your unique situation. No one can force you to agree to something against your wishes; the mediator’s role is to guide the conversation and help you and your ex-partner reach an agreement that feels fair and balanced.
If an agreement is reached during family mediation, it can be made legally binding, providing a sense of security and closure for all parties involved.
Why Do You Need Family Mediation?
Family mediation offers several benefits compared to other methods of dispute resolution. Here are some of the key reasons why you might consider family mediation:
- More Control: Family mediation gives you more say in what happens, as you are directly involved in negotiating the terms of your agreement.
- Reduced Stress: The process is generally less stressful than going to court, with less conflict between you and your ex-partner.
- Flexibility: The agreements made during family mediation can be adjusted if your circumstances change, allowing for a more adaptable solution over time.
- Child-Focused: Family mediation is often less upsetting for children, helping them maintain important family relationships and reducing the emotional impact of the separation.
- Cost-Effective: Family mediation can be quicker and less expensive than prolonged court battles, saving you both time and money.
Family Mediation and Children
One of the most critical aspects of family mediation is how it addresses the needs of children involved in the separation. Family mediation focuses on creating arrangements that prioritise the well-being of children, ensuring that they continue to have strong relationships with both parents and other important family members. By reducing conflict and fostering cooperation, family mediation helps children adjust more smoothly to the changes in their family dynamics.
The family mediation process allows parents to work together to develop parenting plans that suit the needs of their children. Whether it’s deciding on living arrangements, schooling, or extracurricular activities, family mediation helps ensure that these decisions are made in the best interest of the children. The mediator helps facilitate these discussions, keeping the focus on what is most important: the health and happiness of the children.
Online and Telephone Family Mediation
At Life Mediation, we understand that not everyone can attend in-person sessions. That’s why we offer online and telephone family mediation options. These services are particularly useful for clients based in rural or remote areas who still want access to professional family mediation. Online and telephone mediation provide the same level of support and guidance as face-to-face sessions, ensuring that all clients receive the help they need, regardless of their location.
Property and Financial Issues in Family Mediation
Family mediation can also be highly effective in resolving property and financial disputes that arise during separation. Whether you’re dealing with the division of the family home, savings, debts, or other assets, family mediation provides a space where you can discuss these matters calmly and work toward a fair resolution. The mediator helps both parties understand their options and encourages them to explore different solutions that might not have been considered otherwise.
There are specific ways to approach property mediation and at Life Mediation we are experts at bringing solutions that work for everyone
The Benefits of Family Mediation Services
The benefits of family mediation services extend beyond just resolving the immediate issues at hand. By participating in family mediation, you can build better communication skills, reduce ongoing conflict, and establish a foundation for future cooperation.
This is particularly important when children are involved, as it sets a positive example for them and helps maintain a stable environment even after the separation.
Separation Mediation and Family Dispute Resolution
Separation mediation is a specific type of family mediation that focuses on helping couples who are going through a separation or divorce. It is part of the broader family dispute resolutions framework, which aims to resolve conflicts in a way that is amicable and beneficial for all involved, especially children. By engaging in separation mediation, you can avoid the adversarial nature of court proceedings and work towards a solution that works for your entire family.
Family mediation allows you to stay in control of the decisions that will affect your family’s future, reduces stress, and provides a more flexible and child-friendly approach than going to court. Whether you need to resolve issues related to children, finances, or property, family mediation offers a path to a peaceful and cooperative resolution.
If you’re interested in learning more about family mediation services or wish to book a session, please contact us. We’re here to help you navigate this challenging time with the support and guidance you need.
What Our Clients Say About Family Mediation
Discover how families who have worked with Lisanne have found a way to move forward, been provided the support they needed, and were able to find a solution that works for everyone involved.
Please note that the names of our clients have been changed to protect their privacy.
Family Mediation Terms and Conditions
Life Mediation payment terms:
Payment must be in advance for every session. The session will only be confirmed after payment has been received.
Life Mediation cancellation policy:
Cancellations must be made more than 24 hours before the appointment or the full session fee will be forfeited.
When a practitioner that works for Life Mediation has to reschedule or cancel the appointment the client will be fully refunded for the cancelled appointment and Life Mediation will make an effort to schedule a new appointment as soon as possible to minimize the inconvenience on the client or will provide the client with details of another practitioner if the client prefers this.
The pricing schedule is current as of 3rd November 2021. Pricing is subject to change and we will endeavour to update our website and cost agreement if this occurs.
Life Mediation and the Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners’ that work for Life Mediation are not in a position to provide any reports or information for any legal proceedings or court of law, as designated by Section 10D of the shared Parental Responsibility Act 2006.
Any information obtained by the staff of Life Mediation in the course of contact with a client is confidential within professional, legal and ethical limits. However whilst the client’s right to confidentiality is upheld and respected there may also be circumstances when a Life Mediation staff member is required to breach confidentiality, such as:
- Where there is some evidence of a clear or implied threat to life or safety, or there is a serious intent to harm self or others.
- Where there is known or suspected child abuse.
There will be times that the Relationships or Marital Mediation Practitioner will share client information in a confidential setting for the purpose of supervision to make the appropriate decisions regarding that particular relationship and/or family.
Any session entered is for the purpose of support, in relation to the client’s current situation. Should there be any disclosures of abuse, threat of abuse, direct evidence of violence or threats of harm to self or others, the Relationships or Marital Mediation Practitioner may act, out of duty of care, to report this to the appropriate authorities.
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Conflict in the workplace is a common occurrence. In fact, statistics tell us that managers spend approximately 20% of their time dealing with conflict. On a 40 hour work week, that is 8 hours – a full day per week!
