The Family Court has recently been synonymous with the word delay. But that connection looks like it might be one of the past.
Now more than ever the Courts, the lawyers and the parties are turning to mediation as a means to resolve their disputes. Parties to property settlement proceedings are required to mediate before their case can progress unless there are urgent or interim issues which require a Court determination.
Before you even think of commencing proceedings for parenting matters, you need a certificate confirming your attendance at mediation. Unless of course an exemption applies. But in our experience, the Court is becoming stricter on what qualifies for an exemption.
In order to give our clients the best chance of success, we take a great deal of care in making sure they have the right team working for them. We consider the nature of the legal issues at play and the personalities in the mix. The breadth and depth of the team at Carr & Co place us in the enviable position of being able to find the perfect match in terms of a legal team.
Notwithstanding some of the requirements to mediate have been in circulation for some time, there was previously a view that one attempt was enough. However, attitudes are changing. People are becoming more open to the benefits of second attempts and late intervention mediations, and for good reason. Our team at Carr & Co has outstanding success rates in resolving our matters through mediation, saving our client’s the time, expense and emotional distress of ongoing proceedings and litigation.
We do, however, appreciate that not every case is capable, for one reason or another, of being resolved at a mediation. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try and at the very least, we may be able to narrow the issues in dispute. If mediation is unsuccessful, our team is full of experienced, skillful litigators. When a matter proceeds to litigation, the time and care spent putting together the right legal team for our client’s needs, pays dividends.
If you’d like some advice about mediation to resolve issues arising out of your divorce or relationship breakdown, whether they are child related custody issues or property settlement issues, get in contact with our team. We have three qualified and experienced mediators in William Carr, Andrea Sassella and Jorja Brady. All of our team at Carr & Co are skilled at representing parties in a mediation, regardless of the issues. For more information call us on 08 9322 8000.