3.4 Divorce And Children - Mediation or court

Hi, welcome to Video 4 of Module 3. My name's Helen Chetcuti, and I'm a Senior Associate at Pearsons Lawyers. If this is the first video you've seen, I highly recommend you go back to Module 1. Module 1 contains two important checklists of actions that you need to take right now, before proceeding any further. To get there, please visit Pearsons' YouTube Channel or Pearsons' website and follow the links. Otherwise, if you're ready, let's begin. In the last few videos we covered a lot of ground, and the obvious question that my clients often ask me is where do we start. Mediation is the first place that you start in trying to make arrangements for your children. Mediation is a cost-effective process, and ensures that parties are actively involved in the decisions and the structure of the time arrangements for their children. However, in some situations mediation may not be the most effective process. This could be in situations of risk, or urgency, where the only option is to issue to the court urgently for a parenting order. Prior to issuing any parenting order you need a Certificate of Attempt to Mediation. However, in situations of urgency and risk you can seek an exemption from the court when filing your application. Mediation Centers themselves are very different. There are some in the community that have nominal charges and each center is different in terms of what they charge parties, and there are also private mediators who can be engaged by parties to assist you in your dispute. So there are a variety of different models of mediation that you may want to access and will suit your family. In addition, you may have a situation where parties are from different cultures or backgrounds, or linguistic ability, and this is also a factor you need to take into account as to whether mediation will suit you or whether it's suitable in your case. The Mediation Centers themselves will assist you in providing you with this information, and as to whether they can actually mediate your dispute. In the event that they can't, you have the option of seeking an exemption from the court and issuing your application for a parenting order. So in a nutshell, the first place we start is with mediation. It is cost effective; it helps parties to come together to try and reach a resolution about their children. However, in other situations you may not be able to do so. It would depend on the facts of your case, and you may need to seek an exemption from mediation and issue an application with the court. So, this is the end of this video and this module. If you're ready to proceed, head on over to Module 4: Divorce and Financial Support. All our videos in this Youtube series can be found through the Pearsons Youtube Channel at http://youtube.com/pearsonslawyers or by visiting the Pearsons website at http://pearsonslawyers.com.au and following the links. Alternatively, if you know that its simply time to see a Family Lawyer, please contact us for a free initial consultation. Please be advised that we must complete a conflict check so that we can only represent one party in a Family Law matter. So if your partner is watching this same Youtube series and engages our services before you do, we advise that we may not be able to talk to you. Whatever it is that you choose, its our wish that throughout this Youtube series, you can finally gain a sense of certainty so that you know where you stand.