Family Mediation Week 2024
Family Mediation Week will take place from 22 - 26 January 2024
Separating parents can avoid courtroom conflict as Family Mediation Week kicks off.
Separating parents urged to avoid courtroom conflict as Family Mediation Week kicks off.
Parents who have decided to separate or divorce in 2024 are being urged to find out how to avoid courtroom confrontation to settle money and parenting arrangements, with the launch of Family Mediation Week, 22 – 26 January.
January usually sees a dramatic rise in the number of parents deciding to live apart as the various pressures that go hand-in-hand with the Christmas period act as a final straw for relationships.
Family Mediation Week is designed to raise awareness of the benefits of family mediation, a process that can help ex-partners agree what works for them, whilst avoiding the court process with all the stress, delay and cost it can bring.
Many parents emerge from the festive period feeling defeated by the pressures on relationships and finances that have been highlighted during the holiday period.
Parents in this position simply don't know which way to turn. Their life-changing decision to separate brings with it so many tough questions:
Family Mediation Week shines a helpful spotlight on these tricky issues, offering separating parents information about their options as they look to make arrangements for parenting, property and finance.
Family mediation is a process where an independent, professionally-trained mediator helps you work these things out, enabling you to avoid courtroom confrontation. Professional mediators help empower you to create long-term solutions for your particular circumstances, rather than leaving it to a court to make decisions for your family."
Many mediation services are taking part in the Ministry of Justice's Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, which meets up to £500 of mediation costs for families if they need to discuss arrangements for children.
Legal Aid remains available for family mediation.
Family Mediation Week takes place from Monday 22 - Friday 26 January 2024, organised by the Family Mediation Council (FMC), a not-for-profit organisation whose aim is to promote the use of family mediation for the benefit of the public. The FMC does not offer mediation itself.
Mediators on the FMC Register means they meet agreed professional standards. The FMC Register can be searched online, enabling people to find mediators near to them, who are working online, and – if relevant – who offer legal aid. The search facility can be found here: https://www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk/find-local-mediator/
