Why choose family mediation to sort out your financial issues?
Why is family mediation often better for separating couples making choices about their property and finances?
Your relationship has run its course and you have decided to bring it to an end. But you need to agree about the finances. All sorts of issues may need to be sorted out:
What should happen to the family home?
What about the savings - and the debts?
Who gets the favourite sofa – and the dog (who thinks it’s his)?
Who pays for what going forward?
What about pensions?
and so on…
In the past couples would head off to their lawyers and the lawyers would take on the task of negotiating a settlement. But that was:
Slow
Expensive
Divisive
Took the decision making away from the couple
Family mediation was designed to address some of these problems.
Because the negotiations happened with the couple and the mediator together in the room, there was less need for slow correspondence to move things forward, so it was faster;
Because it was faster, and because only one professional was involved most of the time, it turned out to be much less expensive;
Because the couple are in the room together, misunderstandings and issues are more readily resolved and, because the mediator is listening to both participants, he or she understands the needs, hopes and fears of both and is able to increase mutual understanding and respect – especially important if they have children;
Because the couple are negotiating directly, they are the ones who together make the choices and keep control of the outcomes.
So for most couples, family mediation makes good sense.
In another blog in this series, we will explain what happens when a couple decide to make their choices in the mediation room rather than the court room.
What next?
If you need help sorting out your finances after separating with your ex, you can find more information on our Practical Support page or please visit our Referral Page to start the process.