What You Leave With
Resolution
At Stowe Family Law Settlements, Alternative Dispute Resolution brings family mediation services and family law services together. This forward-thinking approach has been designed to resolve your family law dispute in private and with dignity, saving time, saving money and avoiding conflict.
When you contact Stowe Family Law Settlements for the first time you will speak to Morna Rose, our Practice Manager. Morna will discuss family mediation with you and ascertain if your case is suitable for mediation. If it is suitable and if you wish to proceed, we will contact your former partner (or the other person involved in your family law dispute) to confirm that they too are willing to participate in the mediation process.
An initial meeting at our offices in Yorkshire, Cheshire or London will be arranged, at which one or more of our lawyer mediators will establish the details of the dispute and discuss the likely outcome of your case if it goes to court.
Our lawyer mediators facilitate negotiations and are specially trained to help you and your family find the most suitable solution. Any agreement reached in mediation will not be binding for either of you until it has been ratified by a court.
For this form of family mediation to prove effective, financial information must be provided by the couplein connection with financial issues on divorce or separation. Please note that this information is provided on an open basis: it will be available to the couple’slegal advisers and at a later date may be referred to in court either in connection with an application by mutual consent or in contested proceedings. Any factual disclosure made with a view to resolving any issue related to property or finances may be disclosed in future legal proceedings.
Before family mediation can proceed, however, the couplemust agree that the discussions about possible settlement terms are without prejudice and understood to be legally privileged. This means that the discussions and proposals cannot be referred to in court unless the couple agrees.
As another prerequisite of family mediation, you and your former partner must agree not to call the mediator(s) to give evidence in court. For further information about the Alternative Dispute Resolution process, see the 10 Good Reasons and the FAQ pages of our website.
As a Stowe Family Law Settlements client, you will leave with the following:
- A formal agreement, drafted by our lawyer mediators and signed by the couple, which can be incorporated into a court order.
- Clear, comprehensive instructions so that if it is required, you can file the necessary paperwork with the court.
- A fresh beginning! When a family law dispute is resolved in this civil and dignified way, bypassing the stress and the confrontational nature of court proceedings, it can be easier for you and your loved ones to move on with your lives.
