“Separating couples find that mediation is the most effective, quickest and cheapest way of resolving issues concerning children, finance, divorce and separation.”

Mediation is a process by which the couple meet with the mediator, usually in the same room but not always, and in a planned and structured way talk through the views, feelings and proposals that each has to make to resolve issues. The mediators use their skill and training to encourage discussion and to make sure everybody has a voice. Mediators are skilled at dealing with power balance issues and they ensure that each party knows and understands the relevance of each argument. Mediators are not able to give detailed legal advice but legally trained mediators can give guidance on the general Law and how Courts approach such issues.

One of the main advantages of mediation is that the issues are resolved out of Court which invariably means that it is far less stressful, more cost effective and produces results that the couple each agree on. That makes for a better outcome.

Mediation is particularly useful in dealing with issues concerning the children, some mediators are specifically trained to involve the children themselves in the mediation process which can be very effective.

Mediation is not suitable for some cases, for example  where there is domestic abuse.

At T.V.Edwards we have a high success rate in enabling separating couples who had great difficulty in speaking to each other, let alone agreeing anything, reaching agreement

The process starts with a telephone call to the mediation team at T.V.Edwards to discuss whether mediation is suitable and what the issues in dispute might be. A separate meeting is then arranged either at our offices or by telephone to explain the mediation process and assess whether or not mediation is suitable in each particular case. If it is then the first session is arranged where the agenda is set and any financial disclosure, valuations and other necessary preparation is planned. Mediation sessions can last up to 90 minutes and many disputes are resolved after 2-3 sessions.