Children, Divorce and Visitation

Transitions between parents can be challenging, especially for younger children. They start to feel settled and then it is time to move back again to the other parent’s place. One’s attitude sets the tone for these exchanges. If you cannot manage to

Family Mediation – Complex Cases

In this article I will talk about mediation with highly emotional clients, how to deal with emotional clients and some reasons why clients may be emotional. It has been a real learning experience working with couples over the past four years as

Collaborative Law Explained

Each person who has decided to separate or divorce in the Collaborative Law process has their own solicitor where meetings take place in the same room with the aim of resolving everything face to face. I find this works better than correspondence

Same Sex Marriage Bill – A Level Playing Field?

The first Same Sex Marriage is expected to take place next month. The Marriage Bill (Same Sex Couples) legislation, which had previously divided opinion in government, was far from controversial when Parliament granted Royal Assent last summer. The unanimous approval of the

Children Deal with Divorce Differently

We all know and understand that each child is different and how he or she handles divorce will be unique to them.  Yet we are also probably aware that the reaction that they have will also depend on their age or developmental stage.

Divorce – Children Need Fathers

As a new year begins, many of us will be looking at the year ahead as a time of change. For many parents across the UK, this may also be a time of anxiety and stress; sadly, many family breakups tend to

How to Divorce – Is there a ‘Right’ Way?

How to Divorce? I met a wife in mediation a couple of weeks ago who was clutching her twenty page list of chattels she ‘must have’ from the formal matrimonial home. She admitted that it was not really about the chattels but

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Dealing with Pain

When it comes to dealing with pain, the strangest thing I ever did to help me move on was to literally speak to myself, out loud, while I got ready for bed one day. I had spent the day, like the previous

Family Mediation Services – Children in Mediation

Direct Consultation With Children (DCC) in Family Mediation Services Since training to be a family mediator three years ago, several of my children issue mediation cases have led to the parents deciding that they would like to involve their children as part