Understanding The Role Of Family Mediation In Legal Conflict Resolution

Published on: 02 November 2023 Last Updated on: 30 October 2024
Role Of Family Mediation In Legal Conflict Resolution

As much as we enjoy close and loving family relationships, sometimes, disputes find their way without warning. These disputes may include divorce and separation, succession issues, child maintenance, and custody. Handling these disputes is challenging and may need immediate action to resolve them.

While some family disputes, especially those involving violence, may be resolved by court, some can be resolved by family mediation. Family mediation works on both parties’ interests and aims to restore a positive future relationship between the disputants. It is also a cheaper way of resolving family disputes and takes relatively less time.

But what role does family mediation play in legal conflict resolution? Read through to understand all aspects of family mediation, including its process and benefits, as a peaceful way to solve family disputes.

Understanding Mediation Role In Family Law

Mediation is a dispute resolution process where the disputants cooperate with an independent third party to resolve their disputes outside court. Mediation is both a cheaper and faster way of resolving disputes among family members.

Family mediation can help solve several issues. It can help resolve parenting disagreements, property settlements among divorcing couples, and succession disputes among kin. Note that mediation can occur with both parties sitting together or separately on different occasions.

On disputes of significant magnitude, you can involve family lawyers to help guide the mediation process.

If you don’t resolve the dispute through family mediation, you may move to court. However, you must present a certificate to prove you engaged in family dispute resolution through mediation.

The Purpose Of Family Mediation

The purpose of family mediation is to help disputing parties reach a long-lasting agreement. The decision they arrive at should be of their liking and should be satisfactory to each party.

Unlike other disputes, family disputes have a relationship and emotional attachments, though some have financial and legal implications. Resolving these disputes in court may address the financial and legal aspects alone and fail to address the emotional and relationship aspects. However, through mediation, the disputing family members can resolve all aspects of their disputes and arrive at a more desirable agreement.

Family Mediation Process

The family mediation process involves the following steps.

1.  Initial consultation/pre-mediation: The mediator seeks more information concerning the dispute. They should also gather personal concerns, perspectives, and projected outcomes of both parties. Note that at this stage, the mediator meets the disputants separately.

2. Joint sessions: After individual parties agree to proceed with mediation, the mediator organizes a joint session. At this stage, the mediator sits together with the disputing parties in one room.

3. Issues identification: Since the mediator has background information about the dispute at hand, they, at this stage, identify critical issues of the dispute. The mediator should guide both parties in talking about their priorities, concerns, and desires.

4. Establishing options: Now that the underlying issue is well-spelled out, the mediator should guide disputants in coming up with possible solutions. The mediator should suggest expansive possibilities after brainstorming suggested solutions.

5. Final agreement: At this stage, the mediator should assist the disputants in structuring a mutual agreement. The mediator should ensure that the final agreement is fair and in line with the state´s laws.

Family Mediation Benefits

Family mediation has several benefits, as listed below:

It Generates Mutual Agreement

Through family mediation, disputants can arrive at a mutual agreement satisfactory to each party. The parties have the right and power to explore all possibilities and arrive at a more desirable decision.

Family Mediation Resolves Disputes Faster

Unlike court disputes, which take years to resolve issues, family mediation takes a short period. On average, the family mediation process takes between three and six months to resolve a dispute.

It Preserves Relationships

Since family mediation addresses the emotional and relationship aspects of a dispute, the disputants should be able to maintain their long-term relationship post-dispute.

Confidentiality And Privacy

Court cases are in the public domain and may expose sensitive and private aspects to the general public. However, family mediation creates a more secure and private environment where disputes are resolved without involving the general public.

Cost-Effective

Mediation saves a lot of money, which would otherwise be spent on court charges and other legal fees.

Family Disputes Ideal For Mediation
The family disputes that should be resolved through mediation are as follows:

·         Succession disputes

·         Matrimonial property issues

·         Children maintenance disputes

·         Children custody

·         Shareholder disputes in the family business

·         Civil and other inter-personal disputes

Should I Involve Family Lawyers In Family Mediation?
It is good to involve your family lawyer in family mediation. The lawyer will provide you with legal advice concerning the legal and financial implications of your family dispute. Besides, they should be able to guide you through the mediation process since it can be overwhelming. In addition, they can help add the final touches to the final agreement you arrive at.

Unfortunately, not all family mediation processes have the desired outcome. Sometimes, parties may disagree, bringing the need for court proceedings. In this case, the court will demand a certificate showing you participated in family mediation. Your lawyer will be much more resourceful here.

Conclusion

Family mediation aims to bring disputed family members to an agreement. Besides settling their disputes, it also helps mend their broken relationships and heal their emotions. In doing so, it protects the interests and values of both parties, promoting family cohesion. What’s more, family meditation addresses the issues of parties involved in the mediation session and those indirectly involved in the dispute. The process will ensure the interest of such parties, including children´s future well-being, is well addressed. However, when your dispute involves violence or threat of life, don´t hesitate – file a court case immediately.

Read Also:

Barsha Bhattacharya is a senior content writing executive. As a marketing enthusiast and professional for the past 4 years, writing is new to Barsha. And she is loving every bit of it. Her niches are marketing, lifestyle, wellness, travel and entertainment. Apart from writing, Barsha loves to travel, binge-watch, research conspiracy theories, Instagram and overthink.

View all posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related

Language Translation Services

4 Factors to Consider When Hiring Legal Language Translation Services

If you have a legal firm, you will frequently require documents to be translated. Unfortunately, mistranslating legal documents could mean problems to the client, you and your company. Therefore, it's essential to find a translating company with legal knowledge. It is also important to confirm whether the right tools and systems are used for language translation services provided by the company. For example, if you have a client in a different country who uses other languages, you need to communicate effectively. With language translation software that can translate more than 120 languages, you can effectively communicate and run business. This software is ideal if your client has a multinational corporation and you have to present them in one of the countries. If the company has a document that is written in a language your client does not understand, you have to translate it. Therefore, you should hire a reputable, experienced company. With that said, here are the tips you must consider to hire language translation services. Tips to Consider When Hiring Language Translation Services: 1. Specialization: When finding language translation service, ask the company whether they have worked with legal firms. This is especially essential because the legal language has jargons and complicated terminologies. So, when translating the document, the legal expert has to go through the paper and confirm the details when comparing it with the original text. 2. Reputation: If a company offers quality language translation services, people will recommend or leave a review on the company's website. So, check those comments and evaluate the quality of their services. Only a certified legal language translation agency like ‘Languex” can provide the most accurate and flawless legal translation services for high-profile clients in the form of attorneys, lawyers, law firms, advocates, legal counsels and barristers that deal with non-English speaking clients. When you're doing business, you should maintain an open line of communication. So, check whether the company at hand can respond to your questions or allow conversation. 3. Speed and quality: Some people are fast at delivering services. However, if you don't evaluate the products provided, you'll be sorry. For example, if you order chicken and it’s delivered within an hour but is undercooked, is it worth it? So, the company you're hiring should deliver quality work under the shortest time possible because you have to provide to your clients too. Always remember that the quality of work is also determined by the number of people going through your document. So, confirm the channel which the company uses before the document is ready. If the information is sensitive, you should ask the expert to minimize the number of people dealing with the document. 4. Price: Language translation services vary depending on the type of document that has been translated. For instance, the charges for a business document are different from those of legal documents. So, ask about the pricing of the translation services. Conclusion Technology is changing at a rapid rate. It's essential for all of us to grow along with these changes. So, if you've been hiring a human translator and spending a lot on their pay, you should know there are better ways to translate your documents. By hiring translation service providers who use translation software, you can get a document translated to up to 120 languages at a low price as compared to human translators. Read Also: 7 Characteristics Of A Great Lawyer That Can Help Win Your Legal Battle Keys To Become A Successful Lawyer Your Federal Disability Attorney And Lawyers

READ MOREDetails
Comp Claim

What Is the Typical Workman’s Comp Claim Process?

When employees get injured while working, they are entitled to compensation. If an employer doesn't want to incur compensation costs, they can get insurance coverage for such cases. Workers' compensation insurance covers all the damages caused by work-related injuries. It covers medical expenses and even lost wages. If you are an employee looking to get compensation for work-related injuries, you might want to know the process. This guide discusses a typical compensation claim process for employees. Read on to learn more! How Does Workmans Comp Claim Process Work? Before getting into the workman's comp claim process steps, knowing how the process works is vital. If you get injured while working, you have limited time to report the incident and file a claim. Your workman's compensation claim will be allowed if you meet these requirements. This could see you incur all the medical expenses and other costs from your pocket. Employers are required to train an employee to report all work-related injuries on time to avoid setbacks. As an employer, you must ensure that your employees are well-informed about compensation and the need to do things on time. Besides, it is the employer's responsibility to submit a workers' compensation claim to the insurer. Before doing that, you must gather all the details about the injury. The workman's comp claim process starts when the employer gets to the insurer and presents an employee's claim. It is crucial to understand the subsequent steps, especially if you want to get compensated on time. Employees must present details about the incident and ensure everything checks out. Steps Involved In Workman's Comp Claim Process Knowing how the process works, it is time to understand the steps involved in the workman's comp claim process. These steps determine whether or not you get compensated for work-related injuries. The steps are as follows; 1. Reporting The Injury To The Employer The first step is the employee reporting a work-related injury to the employer. As mentioned earlier, employers must inform employees about the importance of reporting work-related injuries or illnesses. Employees must know that if they become injured or ill at work, the management must know immediately. An injured employee must typically provide a written notice about the injury. Most states have deadlines on when work-related injuries should be reported. In New York, for example, you must notify your employer within 30 days of the injury. In some states, employees have up to a year to report work-related injuries. 2. Getting The Necessary Paperwork From The Employer After you report a work-related injury, your employee will give you details about your rights and benefits as an injured worker. You will know about the business's workers' compensation insurance policy and the next steps you should take. Besides, the employer will tell you about the return-to-work policies after recovery. In most cases, the employer will issue you a workman's comp claim form to fill out and then return to them. The form aims to collect details about the incident, such as the nature of the injury and where and how it happened. In some cases, you may be issued with a first report of injury form that the employer submits to the state's workers' compensation board. 3. The Employer Reports The Injury And Files The Claim Form Once you have provided details in the worker's comp claim form, the employer will report and file it. Typically, the employer sends the claim form and all the necessary documents to the workman's comp insurance carrier. However, the employer's doctor sometimes provides a detailed medical report. The employer should report the incident to the worker's comp board or the state's division of workers' compensation. 4. The Insurer Approves or Denies the Claim Lastly, the insurer will approve or deny your workman's comp claim. If the claim is approved, the insurer will inform your employer to contact you with payment details. If the claim is denied, you will be asked to consider other options or reapply. Kickstart Your Workman’s Comp Claim Process No matter your work environment, there is always a risk of injuries. Therefore, businesses should get workman's compensation insurance that helps cover their employees. As an employee, if you are injured at work and are looking for compensation, the steps highlighted here will give you an idea of what to expect. Additional: Injured At Work? Claim Your Compensation! Staking Claim To Receive Suitable Compensation Pros & Cons Of Hiring A Worker’s Compensation Lawyer

READ MOREDetails
Bail Bonds

The Basics of Bail Bonds System

If you’ve never used bail bondsman services before, you probably don’t know how it all works. You’ve most likely heard it on the news somewhere ‘the defendant was released from prison on an insert-amount dollar bail until trial next month’, or you’ve seen it on TV or in a movie. The point is, it always goes along the same lines. But how do bail bonds work? We reached out to bail bonding professionals at BailCo LLC for a crash course in bail bonds. Why is there a need for bails? Simply put, when someone’s arrested, they’re taken to a police station for booking, and the process includes having mug shots taken, fingerprinting, and giving a statement. Then that person is held in prison until they can have their day in court. Alternatively, a person can post bail and leave prison until their trial. However, bails are usually very steep, and the defendants usually cannot pay them themselves, or even with the help of friends. This is where bail bonding agencies come into play, to ensure that people don’t needlessly sit in jail. Ok, so what is the bail itself? Basically, bail is a contract, usually between the bail bonding agency and the court, on the behalf of the defendant. The defendant will be released from prison to await trial, provided that they give some insurance to the agency, in form of money, property, or bonds. The amount of money needed to post bail is set by the court. The court’s end of the agreement is to release the defendant, while the bail bonding agency’s end is to make sure that the defendant shows up for their court date. Since these bonds are usually not cheap, some courts accept payments of full bonds, but they also agree to only be paid 10% of the bond, as a down payment, in order to release the defendant. Should the defendant skip, the agency is accountable to pay the rest to the court? Since the agencies also have a lot of money on the line in this situation, they need a way of protecting themselves in case the defendant skips their day in court. The agencies can hire bounty hunters to track down the fugitive defendant. The USA is one of the last countries to still allow bounty hunting. How does the Bail Bonds system work? The bail bondsman puts up the bail set by the court, and the defendant is released. It is important to note that a fee of usually 10% must be paid to the bail bondsman in order to cover the expenses of the agency. If everything goes well, and the defendant shows up for the court date, the full amount of the bail is returned. Except for the money given to the agency as a fee. This is kept by the bail bonding agency, for services rendered. Can anyone just post bail? Well, no. Bails are usually not given to people who have been accused of committing severe crimes, especially those crimes of a violent nature. The courts prefer having those individuals in prison, to avoid any further criminal behavior. But most other people are offered this option. And of those, the overwhelming majority of them go for it. It is a difficult time in the defendant’s life, and staying in prison during all that time could be even more so. Feeling the support of one’s family really does mean a lot, and bail is here to provide it. Read Also: 6 Reasons to Contact a Lawyer before an Arrest in Knoxville Why Are Court Reporters Necessary? What You Can Expect from a Criminal Defense Lawyer

READ MOREDetails