The family mediation government voucher scheme continues to help separated families stay out of court and resolve their family dispute within mediation. This month the Ministry of Justice has reported that more than 27,000 separating families have benefitted from the government family mediation voucher with a total financial contribution from the government of £23.6 million since the scheme began. The Family Mediation Voucher scheme is aimed at helping separating families deal with the complexities of separation with less conflict and where children are involved by taking a more child focused ..read more

Child Mediation  Mediation is a process that can help parents to come to an agreement setting out what time the child(ren) will spend with each parent.  This will include decisions about schools, GP’s, holidays, and special occasions. It also provides an opportunity for parents to raise any issues or concerns they may have whilst the child(ren) is in the other parent’s care.   Mediation can help parents to discuss proposed arrangements and think about whether those arrangements are feasible for the foreseeable future.  Parents can discuss matters which may impact on th ..read more

What is Child Inclusive Mediation  Child Inclusive Mediation (CIM) is an opportunity for the children to have their voices heard when parents are going through relationship breakdown. The process helps children feel that they have been valued and heard.  It provides the children with the opportunity to speak to an independent trained child inclusive mediator about their feelings.  In most cases children tend to be open and are willing to express their wishes and feelings. The process is informal and confidential without undue pressure on the child(ren). What is discussed with th ..read more

What is a MIAM? A MIAM is a mediation information and assessment meeting. Both parties will have individual meetings with the mediator.  This provides an opportunity for them to explain their current situation and allows them to express what they are hoping to achieve through the mediation process.  The mediator can discuss options with the parties on children and /or financial matters so they can make decisions about what is best for them and their family. Some parties may have experienced domestic abuse within a relationship.  The mediator will use the MIAM to ask detailed que ..read more

Family Finances Mediation  Family finances are one of the most stressful matters for parties to resolve when relationships come to an end. Finance mediation offers a safe space to discuss financial matters which maybe worrying them in the short term and discuss financial proposals for the long term.  Discussions take place on a confidential and without Prejudice basis thus allowing parties to make their own decisions about what works best for them and their family. To enable the process to be effective, open and honest financial disclosure is required from both parties.  If the ..read more

What is Family Mediation? Family Mediation is an accessible and cost-effective form of Alternative Dispute Resolution in situations where communication has broken down and parties cannot agree a way forward. It provides the opportunity for an impartial third party to hear from both sides and navigate them through roadblocks in disputes in respect of the breakdown of their relationship, children and finances. Mediation is a route that allows you to have more say in the problems affecting your family and future. The end goal is to reach a fair sustainable agreement between the parties to minimis ..read more

Workplace Mediation – How can we use this more effectively? Justine Mooney and I have been workplace mediators for a few years now and we receive a large number of enquiries for this service. Many of these enquiries do not proceed or are not suitable for employment mediation because of the stage of the employer’s internal processes or the employee’s allegations or stance. For those that do, the outcomes vary but in most cases, some progress is made towards resolution and participants feel better having had a neutral space to openly discuss their concerns guided by independent workplace mediato ..read more

The importance of co-parenting in the current crisis As a mediator and solicitor, I cannot stress to separated parents enough, how important co-parenting is especially at a time like this. We all need to work together, and it is important that separated parents put their differences aside and help each other where they can. It may be that one parent is a ‘key worker’ i.e. a nurse or teacher and the other parent is required to step up and help with childcare where they may have not been a primary carer previously. In order for everyone to get through this current crisis, everyone needs to consi ..read more

Virtual Mediation – 8 Weeks on! How are we coping? We are now on week 8 of lock down and for me it has flown by and it now feels like the new norm. In week 1 the thought of carrying out mediations virtually filled me with dread. I had used Zoom with a couple of clients in the past but never attempted a joint mediation session virtually and only conducted assessment meetings online. Issues I have faced as a mediator in lockdown. This raised many questions, for instance how can a mediation session take place talking about child arrangements when the child is present in the home during lock down ..read more

Consilia Mediation are hosting this year’s annual DR Conference on Wednesday 27th November 2019 at the Novotel, Leeds. For full details of the conference including the event program and our line-up of speakers, click here. 10% of all ticket sales will be donated to our chosen charity, the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund. This year’s sponsor for the event is the co-parenting app, Our Family Wizard. If you would like to join us for what is set to be a highly engaging and interactive day, with great food and even better company, please RSVP to Zara Rafiq at z.rafiq@consilialegal.co.uk The post Disp ..read more