Blog | LKW Family Mediation

Can children have their say in the mediation process?

December 9, 2024

The short answer to this question is yes. However, as is always the case with everything in life, there are some caveats. The part of the mediation process where children can have their say is called Child Inclusive Mediation (CIM). It was introduced in January 2019 when it replaced something called Child Consultation. CIM reflects the child’s right, as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (and paralleled in UK legislation, The Children Act 1989), to…

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Is it bad to argue in front of children?

December 4, 2024

Louisa

Blog, Family Mediation

Hands up all the perfect parents out there. What? No-one. That’s right. There are no perfect parents. Hardly groundbreaking news but sometimes it’s worth remembering writes Emma Ingham. Parents are just people, trying to do their best, but sometimes – even a lot of the time – making mistakes. And the feeling of making mistakes can be heightened when you are going through a separation and potentially arguing with your ex-partner. Sometimes these arguments will happen in front of your…

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Looking at pensions in divorce

November 14, 2024

Louisa

Blog, Family Mediation

In a divorce pensions can be one of the biggest assets people have (or even the biggest) but many people put them on the back seat when it comes to working out what happens next. There are understandable reasons for this: unless you are approaching your retirement you are unlikely to be able to access your pension (yes there are rules on potentially taking money from your pensions after the age of 55 but this should only be done in…

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Keeping children out of conflict in your divorce

November 5, 2024

Louisa

Uncategorized

In my role as a Family Mediator and Family Counsellor writes Michelle Rumsey I have worked with children who have experienced their parents’ conflict. Conflict is not always children witnessing parents shouting, it can be parents not verbally communicating, it can be parents being verbally negative about the other parent to the child/ren, or it can be a parent refusing to include the other parent in daily activities or communicating about the children’s needs. All forms of conflict children witness,…

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8 ways to divorce positively

September 2, 2024

Louisa

Blog, Family Mediation

8 Tools from Positive Psychology to help you feel happier after your divorce. Positive Psychology is the science of happiness and is concerned with helping individuals flourish and thrive in life. Whereas traditional Psychology looks at what’s ‘wrong’ with people, Positive Psychology focuses on the positives and negatives equally. It focuses on what’s going well in your life, with your relationships and work and building on your strengths. We’re all hardwired to focus more on the negative things in life……

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Changes to the Family Court

May 9, 2024

Louisa

Uncategorized

In recent years the government has placed a much greater emphasis on separating couples/parents resolving issues outside of the court process wherever possible. This started with the introduction of the requirement to attend a MIAMS (Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting) a few years back but there have been issues with whether this requirement was policed and what difference it made if you hadn’t. The reasons for it are probably clear to anyone with any knowledge of the family court system…

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A Child’s Right to Matter

December 4, 2023

Louisa

Blog, Family Mediation

This blog is focused on the second Family Solutions Group report called A Child’s Right to Matter which was published in November 2023. The first report “What about Me” was published in 2020. I wanted to write about it because I think it matters (not intended to be a pun). You can simply read the report or the executive summary and I would encourage you to do so. The publication starts with some important statistics: That is a huge number…

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The Love Game

December 4, 2023

Louisa

Blog, Family Mediation

It occurred to me the other day that I’ve been blogging about divorce and mediation for over 10 years and I’ve never written about love writes Louisa Whitney. That struck me as being particularly strange given the work I do. It almost feels taboo to be talking about love when you talk about divorce as though you are breaching some unwritten rule. The simple truth is that when your partner tells you they want to separate, or you make the…

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Your first Christmas post separation

November 2, 2023

Louisa

Blog, Family Mediation

When couples who are going through a separation come to talk about how their children will spend their time for the first Christmas (or in fact any other special day or celebration) it can be a tough ask. It’s a special day and it’s likely you have always spent it with your children. So facing the thought of what to do can mean that one of you won’t see your children on this special day. This is tough and something…

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Why it’s important to be realistic on finances

October 5, 2023

Louisa

Blog, Family Mediation

It has never been more apparent than now that we all must be more aware of our finances writes Emma Ingham, and our financial situation. The cost-of-living crisis that is so widely spoken about, and is affecting so many, is incredibly worrying. For those who are going through a divorce or separation, times that worry by about, well, a million. That is why, when discussing a financial settlement in mediation, your mediator will help you look at your finances in…

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