A quick look into the realms of family mediation.
Why you may seek mediation?
Many families and couples often struggle with relationships. It is nothing to be ashamed of. People argue, fall out and sometimes feelings change. The stresses of modern day life put many pressures on relationships and marriages and as much as we all desire a fairy tale ending, many of us may instead find ourselves worrying about a relationship that has sadly turned sour. It is often reported that 1 out of 3 marriages end in divorce. You may be keen to prove that statistic wrong and may want to avoid divorce at all cost. Mediation is a potential way to do this. It is a way to air feelings before things become too serious.
What exactly is mediation?
The process of mediation, such as the service provided by Countrywide Family Mediation UK, is a series of informal meetings with an external individual to give those involved in a dispute the opportunity to air their feelings and emotions in a neutral setting. Mediators often strive to serve as guides to those struggling in a relationship and encourage both parties to listen to and respect each others thoughts and opinions.
Mediation is most popular within romantic relationships and marriages but that is not the only way in which mediation can be beneficial. Mediation can involve a whole family including parents, grandparents and children. Alternatively, mediation can also occur between friends, business partners and neighbours. It can help to solve issues in the workplace and even between opposing commercial businesses.
What are the benefits from mediation?
Essentially, since mediation is a conciliatory process, it is designed to help individuals involved in a dispute to come to some sort of mutual agreement. This means that such arguments can be kept out of court. Since going to court can be extremely time consuming this can help those seeking a solution to their issues save time. Not only that, but it saves the time of the professionals involved in the court systems too.
Additionally, mediation is much cheaper than taking such issues to court and involving expensive lawyer and solicitor fees. Those seeking mediation will save a large amount of money and these matters (such as divorce settlements) can be kept away from the courtroom as much as possible.
Not only are the benefits financial and practical. Mediation can also help to restore a healthy relationship or at least positive feelings towards each other. For example, it can be an excellent way for children to express their concerns in family break ups and allow even the adults to deal with the process in a healthier manner.
The result
Often the mediation series will end with a written mutual agreement. This may be a document that is signed by all those involved and can take the form of a legally binding contract if desired, although this is not always necessary. Such an arrangement will help those involved take some closure from the situation and hopefully allow them to move on from it in a positive way. It also provides a building block from which individuals can themselves work from to improve their own future relationships.
