Separating couples largely unaware of mediation options

A new survey has shown the level of ignorance that people intending to get divorced have for non-court options.

The family lawyers’ group Resolution Today questioned just over 2,000 adults and found that 45% believed that divorces always involved a visit to court, while 40% said they did not believe it was possible to have a divorce without conflict of some sort. However, 53% did say they would make a priority of trying to make their divorce as free from arguments as possible.

The survey was timed to coincide with the first Family Dispute Resolution Week which aims to make more people aware of the alternatives to court such as mediation, arbitration and collaborative law and Resolution Today has published a guide – Separating Together: Your Options for Separation and Divorce – which it hopes will persuade more separating couples to consider alternative dispute resolution methods.

Jo Edwards, vice chair of Resolution, said that while the survey showed that people in this position do want to avoid conflict, and are determined to safeguard the well being of their children, they can be hampered by a lack of knowledge regarding non-court options. She said that using alternatives such as mediation would also reduce the burden on the courts, which are already struggling to cope and are likely to come under further pressure from next April when public funding is withdrawn from the majority of private family law cases.