Family Mediation Jersey

We provide a mediation service which aims to help separated or divorced couples and other family members make decisions regarding finances and childcare.

Family Mediation Jersey (FMJ) can help you make joint decisions to resolve and prevent further disputes. Mediators don’t tell you what to do but help you reach your own agreements. Freely negotiated decisions can help restore communication, understanding and trust between you. If you have children, you, as parents, are the best people to decide their future. With mediation you might not have to go through court.

Family mediation is voluntary and confidential. The process starts with an initial meeting or intake for each client which is free of charge. This is a discussion between you and mediators about the background and what you wish to achieve through mediation. Intakes usually last 45–60 minutes.

After both parties have had their intakes, if suitable for mediation, we move onto joint session(s). These usually last 60–90 minutes.

After each session, summaries are provided to clients as an aide-memoir and documentation relating to final agreements reached will be produced for clients as a basis to produce something legally binding through lawyers. As we are not legal experts, we always advise people to seek advice before a final agreement is reached.

Mediation sessions can take place in separate rooms if being together in one room is too difficult and we also offer the opportunity for children’s voices to be heard as part of the mediation process by arranging meetings separately with them.

WHO DO WE HELP?

If you are facing divorce, separation or other family disputes and don’t know which way to turn, family mediation can help you sort arrangements for children, property, finance and other important matters.

COUPLES

You might be thinking about separating or getting divorced, or you may have already done this. Your situation may be tense and communication between you difficult.

As such, you might find yourselves struggling to make important decisions about the future. This is where FMJ might be useful.

We can help make arrangements for any jointly owned and shared properties, finances, other assets, or debts and we can work with you to consider how you’ll sort and divide these to enable you to both be able to move forward independently.

Our mediators are neutral and independent professionals who will help you to find solutions that work for both of you as best they can according to your situation and requirements.

PARENTS

Whether you are separated, or divorced, you will still need to co-parent for the rest of your children’s lives.

It’s important that decisions about future parenting are made by the parents as they are the ones who know their children best. However, discussing certain issues can be difficult to do alone, particularly when emotions might be running high.

As such, mediation can help you make arrangements regarding child contact and rotas, holidays, parenting rules and boundaries, schooling and child maintenance, for example.

Parents are encouraged to consider all the implications of the arrangements they propose to make for the children. Our mediators are neutral and independent professionals who will help you to find solutions that work for all of you as best they can according to your situation and requirements.

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Young people may want to mediate directly with a parent, stepparent or another family member and this can be facilitated through FMJ.

As with other mediation, we’ll see both parties separately initially and if suitable for mediation, joint sessions will be arranged to discuss matters further. We may mediate with both people in the same room or in separate rooms if more appropriate.

We also offer direct consultation with children in order that their voice is heard during parents’ mediation sessions which is sometimes helpful when making decisions. Click here to find out more.

OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS

Family disputes can arise at times which inevitably cause a great deal of stress for everyone involved. Some of the issues that families may disagree over could include relationships and communication, visitation rights, family businesses, estranged family members or property and inheritance.

We can help stepparents and siblings, grandparents, carers or others in an existing or a new family to resolve differences and communicate more effectively. Hopefully this may help to rebuild and strengthen relationships which have broken down for many reasons.

Whatever the issues, we can help those involved look at different options and find a way forward.

Our mediators are neutral and independent professionals who will help you to find solutions that work for all of you as best they can according to your situation and requirements.

You dont need to see a lawyer while involved in mediation but as agreements made with us aren't legally binding, we advise all clients to seek legal advice along the way necessary and before finalising agreements, particularly regarding finances.

You can contact us directly.  Lawyers or other people may also get in touch with us on your behalf or the court may recommend you to come and talk to us. If you want to support a friend or relative, FMJ is also a good place to start. Please contact us for more information.

FMJ is a not for profit charity providing a mediation service for families in Jersey.

It is also a member of National Family Mediation (UK) and the Association of Jersey Charities.

All mediators are professionally trained and supervised according to best practice.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE FAMILY MEDIATION JERSEY BROCHURE