Resolving Family Problems
Litigation or Collaboration?
Negotiation or Mediation?
How to resolve your family problems
When a marriage or relationship breaks down there are usually financial issues to resolve: what should happen to the home, how are the assets to be divided and are pensions relevant? Sometimes also there is difficulty in agreeing the future arrangements for the children. How do you go about all of this at a time of unhappiness and stress – where do you start?At Brain Chase Coles, our Family Lawyers can offer you a variety of ways of tackling and resolving these issues. We are able to offer a choice so that you can decide upon the best way for you.
Litigation through the Courts has often been a client’s expectation of what will happen once lawyers are involved. This is not so. Of course there will be cases where litigation is the only way to protect a client’s interests particularly if their former spouse or partner has adopted an unreasonable attitude. Our lawyers have no hesitation in going to Court when it is necessary, but litigation can lead not only to considerable cost in legal expenses but also to a high cost in emotional terms. Our Family Lawyers are trained and skilled to offer alternatives to litigation.
At the end of last year, Senior Partner Nick Massey-Chase trained as a Collaborative Family Lawyer. Collaboration is a fresh new approach to resolving family difficulties. At the outset, both members of the couple commit to an agreement that they will not go to Court. They each employ a lawyer who is specifically trained in Collaborative Family Law so that together they can work through a series of 4-way meetings between the couple and their lawyers, to resolve all the issues and difficulties in a way which the couple together find acceptable. With the support and guidance of their lawyers the couple are able to explore the various options and possibilities to find fair and reasonable solutions for the future. The clients are able to each take the meetings at their own pace and to discuss what is important to them without feeling that they are being overtaken or controlled by a legal process. Obviously both need a commitment and willingness to find solutions but in the experience of our Family Lawyers, all that most separating couples want to do is to achieve a fair result as painlessly as possible so that they can regain control of their lives. For more information, please phone to speak to Nick Massey-Chase personally or to ask his Secretary, Mandy Pullen to send you a more detailed leaflet.
Another tried and tested alternative to litigation is Mediation. Sheila Parkes, one of our Senior Family Lawyers, qualified as a Mediator 10 years ago, since when she has run our mediation arm “Haymarket Family Mediation”, which is accredited by the Legal Services Commission. In mediation, a couple meet together with the Mediator who acts independently to assist and facilitate them to reach their own agreement. Sometimes a couple may choose to take advice from their own lawyer before mediation and often couples are referred to mediation by their lawyers who can stay involved behind the scenes to advise their client. The Lawyers will also prepare the legal documentation once an agreement is reached in mediation. For more information about mediation, please see the Haymarket Family Mediation section of our website or telephone Sheila Parkes or our Mediation Administrator Mrs Pat Davis, for a leaflet or discussion.
If Collaboration or Mediation are not appropriate for you for whatever reason, then all of our Family Lawyers are skilled in negotiating settlements. Hopefully if your former spouse or partner takes advice from an experienced Family Lawyer, we will be able to negotiate with them to achieve a fair and reasonable solution. We will be able to explore all aspects of the case to advise you what to expect and to consider the options. In accordance with your wishes and priorities we will engage in negotiation with the other lawyer, through proposals and counterproposals to find a solution that you are both prepared to accept as being reasonable. Sometimes those negotiations have to take place against the backdrop of Court proceedings, but the good news is that less than 5% of cases ever have to be resolved by a Judge in a final contested Court case.
If you are in the process of divorce or separation our Family Lawyers can offer a variety of approaches to best suit you and your individual circumstances.
Nick Massey-Chase, Kate Martin, Yasmin Ali or Sheila Parkes would be happy to meet with you to discuss your situation and advise on the options open to you and the possible ways forward. We are pleased to offer an initial meeting for one hour at a fixed fee of £100 plus VAT which will include a brief written summary of our advice. Please telephone any member of our Family Law team on 01256 354481 or e-mail help@brainchasecoles.co.uk to set up a meeting.
