Mediation.

Stay in control of your future.

Getting to a final settlement by mediation is hugely beneficial not only cost and time wise but, in the flexibility, to get the best deal for the family.

Mediation allows you to determine the best outcome for both parents and the children.

Whenever possible we recommend parties use mediation to come to settlement for both the arrangements concerning the children and the financial settlement. Mediation is a process we can lead to a successful outcome.

Why?
The primary reason is that both parties have control over the final outcome of the divorce and do not have to live with the final judgement of the court, a judgement they may not agree with or like.

You can determine when and how property assets are dealt with, minimise taxes and maximise wealth. Issues the court may not consider to be important. This is never truer when complex financial structures are in place. Something we are comfortable dealing with.

If you reach agreement, you can choose to have the said agreed settlement blessed by the court.

Because the courts are busy and consequentially backlogged, this leads to months of delay where effectively nothing happens. The average financial court divorce takes over one year when the matters are straightforward. Children court processes are prioritised but there are still laborious procedures to follow that can take many months.

Avoiding a court process will not only allow you some flexibility in engineering the final outcome for you and your children but significantly reduce the time, effort, cost and stress a court divorce process entails. This is particularly true for children who want certainty and routine in their lives.

One of our core strengths is navigating the mediation process to achieve outcomes that benefit children and establish financially viable resolutions for all parties involved.

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Children’s
arrangements —

The children’s emotional well-being is critical. They are the innocent bystanders in this process – this is the last thing they thought would happen and not something they want.

Children often have fears that are not logical, fears an adult would not have, which reflect their age and emotional maturity. If parents are interested, we can suggest professional counsellors to assist with the transition.

Agreeing children’s arrangements is a sensitive and emotional time. We are well versed to assist in a caring and constructive way. We have developed tools that can help make the process as painless as possible.

Children’s arrangements can be categorised into (i) financial and (ii) living arrangements.

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Children’s
financial
arrangements —

Understanding and protecting your children’s financial needs is something we are well equipped to do. We can accurately calculate their financial needs and will be able to suggest methods to safeguard your children’s funds for their future. We can recommend the best way for parties to jointly distribute the funds to the children according to their needs over time in a seamless and non-confrontational way. This will normally form part of the financial settlement.

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Children’s
financial arrangements —

Understanding and protecting your children’s financial needs is something we are well equipped to do. We can accurately calculate their financial needs and will be able to suggest methods to safeguard your children’s funds for their future. We can recommend the best way for parties to jointly distribute the funds to the children according to their needs over time in a seamless and non-confrontational way. This will normally form part of the financial settlement.

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Children’s living
arrangements —

When it comes to living arrangements,
there are many variables to consider.

Factors include:

  • Medical needs

  • Schooling

  • Term-time living arrangements

  • Birthdays

  • Holidays

  • Visits with relatives such as grandparents and cousins

  • Overseas travel

  • The availability of parents, taking into account work requirements, business travel and the essential personal time parents need to recharge

We work with parents to agree the non-financial arrangements in a very detailed way, with the overriding objective to ensure the children’s well-being. We can put together a parenting plan that covers all issues if required, including detailed 12-month day to day diary management.

The goal is to create an annual plan that can be replicated year after year with only minor changes. Ideally the plan is one that both parties can agree each year without any further outside intervention and cost. Getting to the final plan requires teamwork from parents for the benefit of the children. We will always be available to meet and discuss the plan once completed however hopefully this will only be needed when there has been a significant change in circumstances.

The process ends when final arrangements are in place that ensure the children feel safe, loved and have stability in their lives including set routines they can rely on.

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Financial
settlement —

A mediated financial settlement means you can agree an outcome that maximises and protects the matrimonial assets and allows you to agree on asset division. In essence you will be able to:

  • Maximise the assets available for division including cash

  • Decide which assets are sold and which are kept

  • Stop enforced sale of assets including the matrimonial home

  • Agree an outcome where no unnecessary taxes are paid

  • Agree which assets will be retained by each party

  • Ensure the children’s financial needs are accounted for and ring-fenced for their protection

  • Ensure assets are protected for your own use and that of the children

Meeting the above objectives will require some give and take from both parties. It will also require some creativity when looking at alternatives and reaching the final settlement. Our background enables us to be creative and look for non-typical outcomes that satisfy both parties’ needs. We set up an environment that is conducive to reaching a fair settlement and ensure the necessary tools are available to undertake this.

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Financial
summary —

The first step is to undertake the financial summary so the financial picture is available and can be used as the basis for the settlement negotiations. In mediation this can be done more quickly and efficiently than in the courts as you are not following antiquated court forms and processes. This in turn allows for information to be presented in a more useful format, reducing time, effort and cost in the settlement negotiations. Lawyers are generally not suited to this type of work as they do not have the financial acumen and experience that we do.

We will ensure the assets and liabilities are presented in the right way for a successful mediation. Every asset and liability will be transparent, clearly understood and the potential tax consequences for each asset will be included.

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Financial
summary —

The first step is to undertake the financial summary so the financial picture is available and can be used as the basis for the settlement negotiations. In mediation this can be done more quickly and efficiently than in the courts as you are not following antiquated court forms and processes. This in turn allows for information to be presented in a more useful format, reducing time, effort and cost in the settlement negotiations. Lawyers are generally not suited to this type of work as they do not have the financial acumen and experience that we do.

We will ensure the assets and liabilities are presented in the right way for a successful mediation. Every asset and liability will be transparent, clearly understood and the potential tax consequences for each asset will be included.

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Settlement
negotiations —

The financial information will be presented in a way that allows us to brainstorm creative solutions. The pros and cons of each alternative need to be communicated transparently to reach a final outcome that meets both parties’ needs. As this is a core strength of our team, we will undertake the work and create an environment that enables constructive meetings so we can reach a fair and reasonable settlement.

We have developed a unique sensitivity tool or ‘what if’ model which greatly assists in the settlement process. This tool works in real-time and allows you to understand the after-tax financial implications of any offer including the percentage asset split. Using this tool, any offers made during meetings can be quickly and easily understood by both parties right there and then. This is an incredibly effective tool that enables the pros and cons of offers to be quickly identified and understood, so we can narrow the options to viable ones very quickly.

Once both parties are agreed we can organise for the court to both formally bless the agreements and end the marriage through the decree absolute.

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