Dispute Resolution

Dispute Resolution

There are many ways to resolve family law disputes. The options include negotiation, mediation, family dispute resolution, arbitration and litigation (i.e. in court). Forte Family Lawyers endeavours to settle matters outside of the court system, using a variety of dispute resolution options. Most of our clients, with our assistance, are able to achieve a negotiated outcome.

We are experienced in all aspects of dispute resolution, and can support you through dispute resolution processes which do not involve lawyers (such as family dispute resolution), through to processes involving lawyers such as negotiation and mediation to litigation, if that is necessary.

In some cases, negotiation and other non-court based processes are inappropriate or unsuccessful. Our lawyers are able to advise you on which non-court based processes are appropriate in your case or if they are not appropriate. If you cannot settle, rest assured that we give high quality strategic advice about litigation and are pro-active in the conduct of litigation.

Common Types of Dispute Resolution

There are a variety of ways to resolve your matter outside of the court system. These include:

Family Dispute Resolution (FDR)

See Relationships Australia.

Settlement Negotiations Through Lawyers

You may wish to engage in settlement negotiations with your former partner through lawyers. The process typically involves exchanging written offers and counter-offer of settlement. More often than not, some level of compromise from both parties is necessary to reach a joint agreement. Throughout the process, our lawyers can provide you with advice on how to make offers that correspond with your desired outcomes, the best way to respond to counter-offers and reasonable compromises to make. If agreement can be reached our lawyers can also provide you with advice on the best way to formalise your agreement.

Mediation

During a mediation, a neutral third party (known as a mediator) assists you and your former partner to reach an agreement. The mediator’s role is to assist you and your former party to resolve your dispute, but not to make a decision for you. Agreements reached at mediation are not binding simply because they were reached at mediation. Further steps, which our lawyers can advise you on, will need to be taken to formalise the agreement. The precise structure of a mediation varies from client to client in accordance with the circumstances of their case. Mediations may:

• Take place before court proceedings have been issued in the hope that the expense, delay and emotional costs of court proceedings can be avoided, or whilst court proceedings are on foot.
• Be in person or online.
• Involve direct contact with your former partner (e.g. through roundtable discussions), require no direct contact with your former partner at all (e.g. parties remain in separate rooms and all discussions are had through the mediator), or a mix of both.
• Be lawyer assisted or not involve lawyers on the day. Even if you choose not to have lawyers present on the day of your mediation, our lawyers can help you prepare in the lead up and may meet with you during the process between sessions.
• Be entered into voluntarily by a client or be mandatory (e.g. court ordered).

See Relationships Australia.

Arbitration

In an arbitration, each party presents a neutral third party (known as an arbitrator) with their case. Unlike mediation, the arbitrator has the power to make a determination to resolve the dispute. The arbitrator’s decision is binding on the parties. Arbitration may be:

• Consensual (e.g. voluntarily entered into by the parties).
• Mandatory.
• Court annexed (e.g. court ordered).