Samantha Lee, family mediator at Swain & Co Family Mediation Service, says that, “Media should not dictate how divorce is achieved.”
As a society, we are constantly bombarded with messages in the press about divorce being a court battle. TV story lines about ‘custody’ and celebrities consulting ‘lawyers’ lead people to think that going to court is the only way.
But, Samantha says it is not and is supporting Resolution’s Dispute Resolution Week (DR Week) this week to raise awareness of the alternatives to court for family disputes.
We never hear about people using mediation to solve family disputes, only court. This means people could be missing out on other options that could bring a better result for them and their family, as well as a better result on their finances.
The majority of people believe that putting their child’s interest first and avoiding conflict are the top factors to be considered when going through a divorce.
According to a Resolution survey, 78% of people surveyed said that their children’s interests first would be the first or second priority through divorce, and 53% would put making the divorce as conflict free as possible as a top priority.
But, despite this figure, 81% of people believe that children end up being the main casualties of divorce and 40% think divorce can never be conflict free.
Interestingly, only 1% said that being financially better off than their ex-partner would be their most important consideration in divorce.
Samantha explains, “The aim of DR Week is to highlight the non-confrontational methods of resolving family disputes, such as family mediation.”
“Not only is family mediation a less confrontational approach, it can also take less time than court based proceedings, plus the Ministry of Justice figures suggest it is often much less expensive too.”
Whilst time and money may not be the main motivation to consider using alternative to going to court to resolve family disputes, the fact that you are taking control of decisions for you and your family might be.
Samantha continues by saying, “At court, the Judge will impose a decision on you that affects you and your family, whereas in family mediation, you take control of those decisions so your family’s best interests remain at the core at all times.”
The message from Resolution and dispute resolution practitioners is clear: There is an alternative to court for divorce and family disputes – seek advice and know your options.