Financial disputes within a family can quickly be resolved through mediation instead of going to court – which is a far lengthier process than the former.
Before heading straight to court, it pays off to know that before any financial orders are granted by a Court, family members may be required to make a genuine effort to resolve the dispute through alternative dispute resolution such as mediation.
The mediation process is forming part of the future of law. It is ideal for families given its non-confrontational approach of handling the issue. Instead, mediation emphasises on collaborative efforts to work through the issue by being sympathetic and empathetic to the other party and the situation at hand. Resolutions created from a mediation are often satisfactory for both parties instead of being a clear win or lose situation as you would find in a court setting. This very element of a cooperative nature of mediation makes it the most effective form of alternative dispute resolution for families.
When talking money, it is more than likely that you’d want to keep your financial situation private – which is exactly what mediation offers that the courts cannot. Sensitive information from the family financial dispute remains within the parties involved in the mediation and the mediator. In contrast, court proceedings are made public and can be easily accessed by anyone.
Beyond having the advantage of methodology and privacy, mediation also comes with a myriad of other advantages such as lower costs and quicker resolution times.
To add more advantages to mediation, make use of online mediation instead of the traditional form of mediation which requires you to be physically present.
A quality online mediation platform such as Immediation guarantees the best mediators Australia has available with the advantage of quick 30 day resolutions, significantly lower costs, absence of logistic requirements and a flexible schedule allowing meetings to take place outside conventional work hours.
The online mediation process to resolve financial disputes within a family is straightforward. First, the mediator will typically initiate a call to discuss with the parties about the mediation process along with establishing any issues which may declare mediation inappropriate. Next, the mediator will have individual meetings with each party to discuss the background of the issue, as well as addressing any uncertainties about the mediation process. These individual meetings are confidential and any information shared will not be revealed to the other party.
Once the individual meetings have taken place, the mediator will move onto joint meetings with both parties where parties can deal with any interim issues and set the agenda for future joint mediation sessions.
Once an agreement is reached, the mediator then records the details in an open financial statement and/or a memorandum of understanding.
It is important to note that an agreement reached in mediation isn’t legally binding and the parties will need a court to approve the agreement thus making it an legally binding order.
Get in touch with our experts at Immediation and find out how we can help you resolve the financial dispute within your family today.
Reference:
http://www.familycourt.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/fcoaweb/family-law-matters/family-dispute-resolution/