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Alternatives to Court - Collaborative Family Law and Mediation

Sumner & Tabor is proud to endorse the non adversarial approach to the resolution of all issues arising from the breakdown of a relationship through both the collaborative family law process and/or mediation.

Collaborative Law

This process involves each person appointing their own lawyer but instead of conducting negotiations by letter or phone you meet together to work things out face to face. There is an open commitment not to go to court. Each of you will have your lawyer by your side throughout the entire process and therefore you will benefit from legal advice as you go. The absolute aim of collaborative law is to resolve family disputes without going to court.

How does the collaborative process work?

Initial meetings take place with your individual lawyers, different options are discussed and if you decide the collaborative process is for you, this is broadly what happens next:-

• You and your lawyer will discuss what you both need to do in order to prepare for the first 'four way' meeting. The lawyers will speak to each other either face to face or over the phone in order to plan for your first meeting. An agenda will be agreed between all parties.
• At the first four way meeting the lawyers will make sure that you both understand that you are making a commitment to working out an agreement without going to court and you will all four sign an agreement to this effect. Your lawyers are parties to this agreement and are committed to the success of the process. If the process breaks down, both yourself and your former partner will need to instruct a new legal team to represent you.
• You will be invited to share your own objectives in choosing this process and you will all plan the agenda for the next meeting. This will depend on your own individual circumstances but might typically include a discussion about how the children are responding to the separation.You may also go on to discuss how financial information will be shared and agree on who will bring what financial information to the next meeting.
• Subsequent meetings will deal with each person′s particular priorities and concerns. You might, for instance, look at involving other professionals such as specialists in pensions and financial planning or people trained to assist children in understanding and coping with the changes that your divorce or separation will bring to their lives. The meetings will enable you to reach agreement on how the finances will be shared or what arrangements need to be made for any children.
• The final meeting documents the agreements you have reached. Your lawyers will talk you through anything else that needs to be done in order to implement those agreements. Sometimes a firm timetable for implementation will not be possible, for instance, if the family house needs to be sold.

One of the benefits of the collaborative process is that it′s not driven by a timetable imposed by the court, so to a large extent the process can be built around your family′s individual timetable and priorities.

Mediation

Mediators are trained to help people resolve disputes. Our mediation specialist, Selena Ludick will meet with you and your partner and will identify those issues you can’t agree on and help you to try and reach agreement. Selena will remain entirely neutral and will not take sides in any dispute. She is not there as an advisor to either party and will not give advice on your individual position to either of you and will usually recommend that you each obtain legal advice alongside the mediation process.
Not everyone is ready for mediation at the same stage in separating, so Selena will need to find out whether it is suitable for both of you. This is often done at an assessment and information meeting when your concerns and questions can be addressed. Selena will also check eligibility for free publicly funded mediation (and if you are eligible she will refer you to a public funding mediator in this area) and explain charges if you are not eligible. If you decide not to mediate, this stage is necessary if you want to go to court, as the court will expect a certificate from a mediator before you start proceedings.
Selena will speak to you briefly about the process to ensure you understand how it works. She will then contact your partner and have the same conversation with them. Sometimes this is done face to face rather than on the telephone.
Further meetings will be scheduled at which you may work on communication issues, renew arrangements for children, exchange financial information and consider options. Selena may suggest other help, such as financial advice or support for your children. Between meetings you may wish to meet with your individual lawyer for advice.
Once you have proposals you both find acceptable Selena will prepare a summary of them together with a summary of the financial information which will be sent to each of you to discuss with your lawyers. After you have both received legal advice and if you are both still happy with the proposals, the lawyers will convert the summary into a legally binding document and carry out any necessary implementation.

For more information on collaborative law, please contact Kathryn Ainsworth who is a Resolution trained Collaborative Lawyer on 01442 872311.

For more information on mediation, please contact Selena Ludick who is a Resolution trained Mediator on 01442 872311