Most people going through a divorce or separation would rather avoid having to go to court if possible. We will help you consider how best to solve your family problem in order to reach a fair outcome as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.

Your options to achieve an out of court agreement include:

• Direct discussion

• Roundtable Meeting with professional help (including the Collaborative Family Law process)

• Family Mediation

• Arbitration

• “Traditional” solicitors approach

• Court proceedings

Direct Discussion

• It is seldom easy for a couple to communicate when their relationship breaks down, but some couples can do this with little or no outside help.

• Direct discussion can help you keep your legal costs to a minimum.

• Communication can be face to face or via other methods such as email, text message or Skype.

• It is important to keep your discussions private. It is not appropriate for very personal discussions to take place in a very public way, such as via a social media sites, eg. Facebook or Twitter.

• Direct discussion should only be attempted if it safe to do so.

Roundtable Meetings (including Collaborative Family Law)

• If a couple meeting face to face alone is not appropriate, then a meeting could take place with each person accompanied by a specially trained family lawyer.

• The aim of both of the family lawyers is to help a couple address all issues in a constructive and non-confrontational way.

• The Collaborative Family Law process is a special way for a roundtable meeting to be arranged. Each person appoints their own collaboratively trained lawyer and you and your respective lawyers all meet together to work things out face to face. Both of you will have your lawyer by your side throughout the process. Everyone involved signs an agreement that commits you to trying to resolve the issues without going to court.

• Here at Kiteleys both Colin Mitchell and Jonathan Harvey are trained Collaborative Family Lawyers.

Family Mediation

• A family mediator is trained to help a couple resolve their dispute by meeting with the couple.

• The mediation session might take place with the couple and the mediator in the same room, or sometimes it is better for the couple to sit apart in a separate room with the mediator “shuttling” between them.

• The couple will not usually be accompanied by their lawyers when meeting with the mediator, but each should take separate independent advice from their own family lawyer.

• An agreement reached in mediation is not legally binding is until it has been recorded in a written document. This is something your family lawyer will need to do, because this cannot be done by the mediator.

• Therefore, if family mediation is the right dispute resolution option for you, we can refer you to a local mediator, work with you throughout the mediation process and prepare a legally binding written agreement document at the end of the process.

Arbitration

• The family arbitration process is similar to the court process. An independent arbitrator will consider your case and make a legally binding decision. However, the important difference from the court process is that you to remain in control of the arbitration process, but the arbitrator will have costs for their service which will need to be paid.

• We work closely with family arbitrators at College Chambers http://www.college-chambers.co.uk/family-arbitration in Southampton.

Traditional approach

• Whilst it is often best for a couple to sit down together with professional help in order to solve their family problem, the most appropriate method of dispute resolution will depend on how they each choose to engage in the problem solving process.

• Sometimes it is still necessary to adopt a “traditional” approach to problem solving, which may include letters or emails being exchanged between solicitors.

• However, this method of communication can sometimes result in delay, confusion and frustration.

Court Proceedings

• Despite the best endeavours of the professionals involved, sometimes it is necessary for an application to be made to start a court process in order to help a couple resolve their dispute.

• The full court process will be lengthy and costly.

• Wherever possible the family lawyers and judge will still make every endeavour to help a couple reach an agreement “out of court” without the need for the case to proceed through the full legal process up to and including a court decision being made after a contested final hearing.

• Starting the court process can allow you to gain the benefit of a court managed timetable to help prevent delay and ensure that everyone is focussed on reaching a prompt and cost effective agreement.

• The court should ensure each party fully complies with his or her obligations, such as providing full details of income, capital and pension.

• Very seldom do a couple who start the court process end up proceeding through the full legal process up to an including a contested final hearing.

Contact Kiteleys Family Solutions team for a free consultation about your circumstances and to ask any questions