Family Mediation Service

What is family mediation?

Family mediation is designed to assist people who are separated, or in the process of separation, to reach the agreements which are necessary for them to move forward in their changed lives. It is a far cheaper route to take than the traditional recourse to a court, and because decisions are reached through discussion of everybody's needs and wishes, any agreement becomes one that can be owned by all rather than an order imposed by a court which may give no one complete satisfaction. Research shows that it is therefore more likely to be successful in the long term.

No family is the same as another and its problems seldom fall into prefigured categories. Mediation is flexible and is tailored to take account of the views of each individual and their circumstances. It is an entirely voluntary exercise, but does require the participation of both parties. The mediator is completely impartial; his/her role is to enable agreement to be reached, not to take any side nor promote any particular course of action.

How can family mediation help?

Mediation can be particularly useful when you are faced with dilemmas concerning:

• Issues about your children - Where and with whom they will live; how, when and where they will see/stay with others, including wider family members; parental responsibility if it has not already been decided; education; religion; medical issues; holidays. In short, all the decisions that you would jointly make for your children if you were still together.
• Finance - It is always frightening when you have to work out how a single income is going to replace a joint one. Mediation helps you to discuss possibilities in a constructive manner and to explore the options available to each of you.
• Property - After separation, all the family's assets and liabilities have to be rearranged, including decisions about the family home, shared possessions and even pets. Mediation helps in the painful decisions about who gets what by guiding parties through the tangle, identifying those assets and liabilities, exploring the options available and helping negotiations towards fair and reasonable proposals for the future.

Redferns Family Mediation is committed to helping clients find a way through their difficulties. We are available to all and will try to tailor our service to suit your needs.

When you contact us or on receipt of your referral form, we will write to you and your ex-partner inviting you attend an assessment meeting (separately) at which we will discuss the suitability of your situation for mediation, and explain the process from beginning to end. Thereafter, providing both of you agree to mediation, joint meetings will be arranged to discuss the issues you each have raised. You should expect that mediation will take between two and five meetings, depending on the complexity of your situation.

At the conclusion of mediation the proposed agreement, or part agreement, between you will be written up by the mediator in a formal document known as a Memorandum of Understanding. This is not a legally binding document but it is generally used by your solicitor as the basis for an order to be put before a court. The subsequent court order is a legally binding document.

How much does family mediation cost?

Use of our mediation service is much cheaper than battling your family situation through the court process and it generally results in a lower stress and emotional cost too. Our fee basis is simple and is as follows, per person, to be paid in advance of each meeting :

• Assessment meeting - £50.00
• Mediation sessions - £100.00 per session
• Preparation of the Memorandum of Understanding - £100.00

All our fees include VAT @ 20% and all administration charges. There are no hidden extras. We accept cash, cheques and most credit/debit cards.

Where will the family mediation happen?

We cover North, South and West Dorset and currently have facilities in Weymouth and Portland as well as bases at the 'Relate' office in Dorchester and the Surestart Children's Centre in Bridport.