Family Court Counsel-led Mediations
30/08/2011 by Admin
When parenting disputes result in a court application there is clearly a problem that parents cannot resolve themselves and the Family Court is asked to settle the dispute. Often these cases can take months or years to resolve mostly due to the shortage of court hearing times. There is now another way, however, and Family Court lawyers are seeing good results for families from counsel-led mediations.
The recent introduction of counsel-led mediations is aimed at helping the parties (usually both parents) solve the dispute, or at least reduce the number and complexity of the issues, as soon as possible.
Counsel-led mediation is a new development in the Family Court arena. As the name suggests, it is a mediation led by a lawyer, who is independent from both parties involved. The parties attend the mediation to discuss their dispute in a structured environment in order to reach a solution.
Mediation also avoids the more unpleasant aspects of full court proceedings - huge stress, often a lot of expense and time delay.
When mediation happens
Mediation is available to parties after a Family Court application is made. The judge reviews the application and it will be referred to mediation unless there is a reason why this method is not appropriate. The mediation can even occur as quickly as three
weeks from filing the application.
The process
Each parties lawyer may attend the mediation with them, so there is no worry about being pressured into something without the help of your lawyer. Another lawyer will also attend to represent the children.
The mediation is confidential which enables free and frank discussion, with the lawyers and the mediator ensuring the process is fair. If a solution is reached it can be made into a binding court order by a judge.
The mediation gives scope to address matters that may not be relevant in the court room. It can also examine with each party what is really driving them in their actions. This may mean the nature of the dispute is quite different to what everyone involved first believed. This in turn means that a solution reached through the mediation process is more likely to satisfy the parties real or underlying concerns.
When people come to a decision themselves they will be happier with that decision even if it requires some compromise. If a court has to impose a decision on parties, one or both of them may be unhappy with the result and be less inclined to comply, which may lead to more problems in the future.
For people who are worried about the confrontational nature of a court hearing, and the cost and likely delay in getting a result, counsel-led mediation provides encouragement that a solution is possible without arguing in front of a judge.
Using mediation for an early and quick solution to a parenting dispute is well worth the effort and commitment. More importantly, the outcomes will provide much needed security and stability for the children.
Gerard DeCourcy and Jim Guest are both often appointed by the Family Court to mediate disputes.
The recent introduction of counsel-led mediations is aimed at helping the parties (usually both parents) solve the dispute, or at least reduce the number and complexity of the issues, as soon as possible.
Counsel-led mediation is a new development in the Family Court arena. As the name suggests, it is a mediation led by a lawyer, who is independent from both parties involved. The parties attend the mediation to discuss their dispute in a structured environment in order to reach a solution.
Mediation also avoids the more unpleasant aspects of full court proceedings - huge stress, often a lot of expense and time delay.
When mediation happens
Mediation is available to parties after a Family Court application is made. The judge reviews the application and it will be referred to mediation unless there is a reason why this method is not appropriate. The mediation can even occur as quickly as three
weeks from filing the application.
The process
Each parties lawyer may attend the mediation with them, so there is no worry about being pressured into something without the help of your lawyer. Another lawyer will also attend to represent the children.
The mediation is confidential which enables free and frank discussion, with the lawyers and the mediator ensuring the process is fair. If a solution is reached it can be made into a binding court order by a judge.
The mediation gives scope to address matters that may not be relevant in the court room. It can also examine with each party what is really driving them in their actions. This may mean the nature of the dispute is quite different to what everyone involved first believed. This in turn means that a solution reached through the mediation process is more likely to satisfy the parties real or underlying concerns.
When people come to a decision themselves they will be happier with that decision even if it requires some compromise. If a court has to impose a decision on parties, one or both of them may be unhappy with the result and be less inclined to comply, which may lead to more problems in the future.
For people who are worried about the confrontational nature of a court hearing, and the cost and likely delay in getting a result, counsel-led mediation provides encouragement that a solution is possible without arguing in front of a judge.
Using mediation for an early and quick solution to a parenting dispute is well worth the effort and commitment. More importantly, the outcomes will provide much needed security and stability for the children.
Gerard DeCourcy and Jim Guest are both often appointed by the Family Court to mediate disputes.
