What are the advantages of Mediation?

2. It is mutual. You remain partners in the decision making. There is no agreement other than one which is mutually agreed upon between you both. Nothing is imposed upon you, either by the Mediator, or by the Court. The only agreements reached are those which you, with your Mediator's help, reach between yourselves.

3. You control your own decisions over your own lives. Because the only agreements reached are those which you reach together, you, rather than the Court, or a third party, take control over your futures, and those of your children.

4. You concentrate on the future rather than the past. Your Mediator will not seek to look into the reasons or rights and wrongs behind the breakdown of your relationship, but will encourage you to focus on the future rather than the past, and to develop new and separate lives, while — if you have children — maintaining good working relationships as parents of those children.

5. It is best for your children. Your children will, inevitably, be affected by your separation. However, since the Mediation Process encourages parents to resolve their differences and reach agreements upon all matters relating to their separation in a dignified and constructive way — and with the interests of the children as paramount — your children are likely to be less adversely affected by your separation, and more likely to come to terms with it, if decisions which relate to them are reached in a constructive and non-adversarial way — and without decisions being imposed upon you and them by the Court.

6. Bitterness is reduced. Because the only agreements reached are those which you arrive at yourselves, through the Mediation Process, you should feel more comfortable with the outcome, knowing that the agreement was reached mutually, rather than being imposed by a Court.

7. Legal fees are reduced. The costs of litigation can be very great. By seeing your Mediator, and — where there is goodwill on both sides, reaching terms of settlement or agreement together — the overall fees incurred between you are likely to be substantially less than those which would be incurred otherwise. The substantial savings in legal fees can be considerable, and the fees saved put towards your joint needs, such as your re-housing costs, and the costs of maintaining/educating your children.

8. Mediation avoids the stress and bitterness which traditional litigation inevitably produces, for you and for any children of the family.