Family Mediation, to initiate family court proceedings it is sensible to approach mediation services. Mediation is a must in child contact.
Family Mediation:
It is a procedure in which parties meet in the presence of an independent third party – the mediator. The goal of family mediation is to assist parties in reaching an agreement while remaining amicable. Parties commonly go to family mediation to resolve issues in relation to:
-Divorce or civil partnership dissolution
-Financial and property issues
-Children, including contact arrangements and where the children should live, as well as more specific issues such as which school the children should attend.
A family mediator is a trained, impartial third party who helps parties reach an agreement. The family mediator is completely unbiased and will work hard to keep discussions from becoming one-sided, unbalanced, or protracted. It is critical to understand that, while the family mediator can provide information to the parties throughout the process, they are not there to provide legal advice.
During the mediation process, you can seek legal advice from your solicitor at any time. Solicitors do not usually attend it. Instead, parties will typically attend on their own and will take advice from their solicitor outside of the process. This may be during the process itself or at the end once an agreement has been reached.
Mediation can take place at any time before your case is heard or tried in court, and the best time will often depend on your specific case. In general, it is best to try mediation as soon as possible. This will help to reduce the amount of time and money spent on the dispute. Every case is unique, some Family Mediation cases last longer and thus cost more.
In most types of mediation, if you reach an agreement on a resolution, you will sign a written agreement, known as a “settlement agreement,” outlining the terms of your agreement.
Child Contact Application and Mediation:
To initiate a child contact order application you should contact mediation services otherwise the family court will not accept your application. The application form which you need to fill in is C100.