Life after separation will be different
The other day I was thinking about new blog topics for February and it occurred to me that I always seem to look at the difficulties in separation. There’s an obvious reason for this (well many really): There are many difficulties in divorce and separation It’s my job to help those going through it to navigate this tricky path So many issues arise from separating from a partner But I have also been mindful of how difficult people are finding…
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So this blog brings us to the end of our series on dealing with the immediate aftermath of a separation. If you haven’t already seen the blogs then the first one set the scene and suggested some things to think about for those that weren’t sure they had yet made the decision to separate. We then shared some tips on how to tell your partner you want a separation. This is an enormously difficult conversation to have but doing it…
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One of the things you hear as a mediator is something that sounds like one of the following: My ex won’t come to mediation My ex won’t co-operate My ex isn’t listening to me I don’t think he/she/they will……… We don’t communicate We can’t communicate Is that you? From a mediator’s perspective there can be a multitude of reasons for this and many of them are not permanent but temporary issues. Since it’s something that crops up a lot it…
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This blog started after a conversation between Louisa Whitney and Jo O’Sullivan and was borne out of a simple conversation about something that is an underused tool in resolving issues between parents. Both Jo and myself are passionate about minimising the effects on children of their parents’ separation, and about giving them a voice in this process wherever possible. If you’d like more information about our Child Inclusive Mediation services than please have a look at the page. You can…
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If you haven’t seen the blog about Pushing your Buttons then I recommend you have a look as it helps to understand what can be the most difficult part of resolving issues for many separating couples. From my perspective as a family mediator two of the most common barriers I see to resolving issues are the fact that the couple pushes each other’s buttons so much they can’t get near constructive discussions about what options could look like; and secondly…
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If you follow me on social media then you might have seen me talking a lot lately about what might be pushing your buttons. This is for a number of reasons: I believe it is the nub of many disputes to understand and unpick this. I think given the current situation with coronavirus buttons are being pressed a lot at the moment. Partly because we are on edge anyway, but also because if you’re living in the same house as…
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Never has a period of time brought forth such use of the word “unprecedented”. The use is of course justified as these are times for which there simply is no road map or blueprint. Lockdown is a situation that was only put in place previously during airstrikes during World War II. Even then the situation was not entirely the same. I have already written guidance for those self-isolating in a house with a partner they’re separating from. I now want…
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Recently I added a blog post aimed at giving more information to those thinking about mediation and collating various pieces of information that are contained across the extensive range of blogs on the LKW Family Mediation website This got me thinking about whether those coming into mediation, or going through a separation generally, really understand the full range of things that can be talked about in mediation. So the list below is of conversations that have been facilitated by me…
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In this blog Claire Gardner shares some insights from her own divorce. She explains the fears she had surrounding her journey to being financially self-sufficient and how she draws on that to help other women who are having to look at going back to work following a divorce or separation. Many couples make decisions that one person will stay at home to look after children and historically this has often been mum’s role (although at LKW Family Mediation we have…
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This blog is a guest blog by divorce consultant Rhiannon Ford. Rhiannon is a divorce consultant and coach providing support and guidance to people before, during and after divorce. She is based in Walton on Thames in Surrey but works with clients all over the country and UK nationals living abroad. If you have agreed to use the family law mediation process, hopefully you are feeling fairly optimistic that with the help of the family law mediator, you and your spouse…
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