SfF has qualified family mediators who offer mediation or child arrangements, family finances or both. We can also recommend trusted partners if our services are oversubscribed. Mediation is a process by which two people agree voluntarily to meet with an impartial third-party who helps them negotiate in order to get from disagreement to agreement. In family mediation, parents meet to agree arrangements for their children. Typically, our mediator will help you decide where the children will live and how they will see the parent they don’t live with, and matters like schooling religious upbringing, health, extended family, holiday arrangements and so on. In financial mediation, our media will help you agree how to divide the assets of your marriage or relationship. It’s quite usual to use mediate to decide about children and finances.
The starting point of all mediation sessions is a ‘mediation information and assessment meeting’ – a MIAM. The parties meet individually with a mediator who explains about mediation? Answers your questions and assesses whether they think mediation is a suitable process for your situation. It is now required that everybody attend a MIAM before applying to court for a child arrangements order.
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Your McKenzie Friend will help you understand the court process, prepare your case with you, and help you to present it in court.
In more detail, we will help you think through what is most important to you and your children. And then and then advise how to begin court proceedings (or how to respond if it is your ex who has made the first application to court ). So this includes helping you complete the correct court forms, writing your statements to court, and then help you prepare for going to court. We will answer your questions about what to expect, what will be discussed and decided at each hearing, and how you can best explain your case to the judge or magistrates.
Your McKenzie Friend will accompany you into the hearings, take notes and give you quiet advice. If there are discussions with your ex and their legal representative if they have one, outside of the court hearing, your Mackenzie will help you remain child centred and negotiate in ways that reduce conflict as far as possible.
If there is to be a final hearing, your Mckenzie friend will help you prepare your questions and prepare for cross examination.
On the way there will be important interviews to prepare for, usually with the Cafcass officer (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) or sometimes local authority social workers-your Mckenzie will help you with these.
One day it will all be over! And your life with your newly reformed family can continue. We are preparing an unusual resource to help you enjoy future holiday time together.
Watch this space!
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