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Sydney Family Mediators
Helping Families Thrive
We provide you with a comfortable and non-intimidating atmosphere. We work with you to empower you to achieve an outcome that you can live with. You will avoid lengthy and costly court proceedings and achieve finality and closure. Mediation will enable you to move forward positively.
Parenting Arrangements
In family law cases, you must make a genuine effort to resolve your parenting disputes through dispute resolution services before you can apply to the courts for parenting orders The Court will not be able to hear an application for a parenting order unless a certificate from an accredited family dispute practitioner is filed with the application.
All Sydney Family Mediators are accredited family dispute practitioners.
Parenting arrangements deal with parental responsibilities after separation. They set out where children will live, who will be caring for them and for what periods of time. Parenting arrangements can be verbal, written in a parenting plan or written in consent orders.
Verbal parenting arrangements are not legally binding and whilst they work for some parents most parents prefer to have their arrangements in writing. Written Parenting Plans, are not legally binding but they have what is called “legal weight”. This means that they can be provided to services such as schools and the child support agency to let them know what the parents have agreed to. They can also be provided to a court and the court will consider them. To have “legal weight” a Parenting Plan must be in writing and signed and dated by each parent or caregiver. Consent orders are legally binding and must be written in specific terms that constitute enforceable orders. For this reason it is recommended that parents who have come to an agreement and wish to have consent orders seek advice from a lawyer in relation to the wording of the orders. The parents will also need to complete an application to the court for consent orders.
Mediation provides significant benefits to parents and those benefits in turn help the children involved enormously. Some of the benefits include being able to resolve the parenting arrangements quickly. At the time of writing the waiting time for a matter to be heard in the Sydney Registry of the Family Court is 18 months and even longer in the Parramatta Registry. Another benefit is parents being able to tailor the arrangements to suit the needs of their children and family circumstances rather than a court imposing a regime that neither parent wants and does not meet the children’s needs. Even if the parents are unable to finalise an agreement in mediation they will have refined the issues between them and will usually have resolved some if not most of them. This results in major cost savings when they are speaking with lawyers.
Property Settlements
In family law cases, you must make a genuine effort to resolve your financial disputes through dispute resolution services before you can apply to the courts for financial orders. The Court will not be able to hear an application for a financial order unless a certificate from an accredited family dispute practitioner is filed with the application.
All Sydney Family Mediators are accredited family dispute practitioners.
The final settlement of financial matters between separated or divorced partners is the single most liberating step forward in their lives after separation. For this reason it is important to be able to settle it as quickly as possible.
Mediation of financial matters saves you time and money if you can reach agreement. You will know exactly what each of you will get. If you go to court, there will be uncertainty waiting for the court to decide for you. Long court proceedings will increase stress and add to the pressure that you and your family are under. The money spent on court costs and legal fees can help you and your family get back on your feet after separation.
You can make a financial agreement or consent orders.
A financial agreement can be made before, during or after a marriage or de facto relationship and can cover:
- financial settlement (including superannuation entitlements) after the breakdown of a marriage or a de facto relationship
- financial support (maintenance) of one spouse by the other after the breakdown of a marriage or a de facto relationship,
- any incidental issues.
For a financial agreement to be legally binding, you must both have:
- signed the agreement, and
- received independent legal and financial advice before signing.
Even if you are unable to finalise your property settlement in mediation you will have saved time and money by refining the issues between you. This means you will spend less fee paying time with your lawyer about your property matters and less time in court overall.
Our Expertise
Making A Difference In The Lives Of Our Clients
5 strategies you must know before you attend mediation.
In this FREE e-booklet we will reveal the top 5 strategies that people who achieve successful outcomes at mediation know and do, before they attend mediation.
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Our Professional Connections
We work closely with other leaders in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution.
