Further Information about Family Law Mediations

Anyone involved in a dispute involving the breakdown of a relationship will probably say that, for any number of reasons, it is emotionally difficult.

Mediation will not prevent you from experiencing some emotional responses – worry, hurt, loneliness, anger, guilt or sadness. These types of responses inevitably occur when relationships change.  However, mediation is designed to allow parties to improve lines of communication, consider all the best available options, and reach an amicable agreement without the pain of proceeding through court.

If there are children involved, Astra Mediation applies a child-focused approach. That is, in all stages of the mediation, the best interests of the children are pursued. The children of the relationship, and their best interests, will always be kept upper most in mind. Nothing will be done without them.

The mediation of relationship disputes is a four-stage process. Here are the details of that four-stage process, to provide you with as much information as possible so that you can make fully informed decisions.

Stage 1 Referral

Upon receiving a referral or enquiry from you, Astra Mediation will provide further information, including our costs, to you. We will provide you with a proposed agreement and we will answer any of your questions.

We will need to know if you and your partner are legally represented and if it is proposed that lawyers will attend the mediation. If lawyers do attend (this is encouraged) it will have a bearing on the location of the mediation and costs. We will advise you further about this in the information that we send you.

It will be necessary for both parties to agree to the mediation and its terms. Once an agreement has been reached, we can turn to the next phase, the intake session.

Phase 2 Intake Session

We will sit with each of you, individually, and conduct an interview which will run for about one and a half hours.

The intake session is very important. It provides the following opportunities: –

1. It enables us to obtain full details of the background to the relationship, the reasons for the dispute and the matters that are in dispute.
2. It enables us to reach a conclusion about the type of mediation that is best suited for you. There are several different types of mediations; we will advise you on the most suitable type of mediation depending on circumstances and needs.
3. It enables us to identify if there any issues that may require you obtaining further advice. For example, we may identify that legal advice needs to be obtained, or that some financial advice needs to be obtained. Where appropriate, we may also advise assistance from a child consultant, counsellor or psychologist.
4. It enables you to meet the proposed mediator, to identify whether there is a good fit.
5. We will be able to explain in more detail what will occur during the mediation itself. If you have any questions about the proposed mediation, you can ask them, and your questions will be answered.
6. The intake session also enables us to prepare for the next phase – preparation.

As you will see from our costs proposal, we will be charging a fee for the intake session. You will find that some other mediators will not charge a fee or that they will charge a fee for the mediation which includes the intake. Some mediators will say that the intake session will run for 30 minutes, others may say that it will run for up to an hour.

Astra Mediation places a lot of importance on the intake session. We believe that a successful intake session will increase the chances of the mediation resulting in a satisfactory outcome for all the parties. We are thorough in our intake session and devote time, effort, thought and expertise to it. We treat it as a very important phase, just as important as the mediation itself. This professional approach is reflected in the time we set aside and the fees we charge.

Phase 3 Preparation

At the conclusion of the intake session, Astra Mediation will probably provide some verbal advice or suggestions regarding preliminary steps to help you prepare for the mediation. In addition, we will forward you further written information which you can read, and consider, at your leisure. The information will be individually tailored to your specific needs. It will contain information such as:

• The processes involved in the mediation and what to expect
• How to prepare an opening statement (a statement that is provided by each party at the beginning of the mediation)
• Our obligations to you as a family dispute resolution practitioner
• Further information about the child-inclusive manner in which we conduct our work.

Further information will be provided as may be necessary to meet your needs.

We are not legal practitioners. We may provide you with information that could be considered as legal information, but we cannot and we will not provide legal advice. If you need legal advice, it will be necessary to obtain that from a solicitor. We can discuss this further with you, if necessary.

Phase 4 Mediation

The process of mediation will enable every party to have their say, to listen to each other and to be heard by each other. It is a structured process that allows the parties to talk with each other in a way that is supported by the mediator. It includes joint discussions – discussions where everyone is present. It includes single session discussions – where each party has a private discussion with the mediator. All of these discussions are confidential.

If the mediation results in an agreement, the agreement will be set out in writing. We will write out that agreement and we will ensure that it fully reflects what the parties have agreed upon. We will make sure that it is drafted properly so that it is understood by everyone.

The mediation may not result in an outcome. We will provide all the necessary documents that are needed in the circumstances including a section 60I Certificate.

How long will the mediation take? That depends. At Astra Mediation, we do not limit the mediation to a set time, such as 2 or 3 hours. We set aside a whole day of our time to conduct the mediation. We do this because:

• If parties think that the mediation is limited to a set time, such as 3 hours, they may feel rushed in their discussions and decision-making. You will be making important decisions and you should not be rushed.
• From our experience, we believe that 3 hours is insufficient time in many matters to allow a full exploration of all the relevant issues. For a mediation to work, all relevant issues need to be brought out and discussed.
• You know that, at all times during the mediation, you will have our complete attention. We will not be watching the clock, hoping for the mediation to resolve soon so that we can go on to our next job for the day. There is only one job that we have for that day – yours.

If you want to make a referral or if you need further information, please contact us and we will send you our Astra Mediation Information Pack.