Coronavirus and the COVID-19 pandemic have presented significant challenges to everybody’s way of life – a truly global problem that will take time to fully overcome.
Several national lockdowns have seen life grind to a halt across the UK, with regional restrictions in between leaving many people confused and worried about how to proceed.
Marcia Mediation’s family mediators are here to help, including offering remote mediation so that you can still sort out your situation even while you stay at home.
Just like many business meetings, job interviews and even pub quizzes have moved online during lockdown, remote mediation has allowed family mediators to do the same.
Remote mediation can mean a webcam call using familiar software like Zoom, Teams or Skype, but it can also be a phone call if that’s what you’re comfortable with – you don’t have to appear on camera.
Sessions can be scheduled out of office hours, to fit around your lifestyle, and you don’t need to be in the same room as your spouse.
In fact, if the involved parties are on separate connections, this enables even easier shuttle mediation (where the mediator acts as a go-between to pass messages back and forth) and/or lets you take a break by temporarily leaving the call and waiting in a virtual lobby.
Marcia Mediation have been making much greater use of remote mediation ever since COVID-19 first emerged – click here to find out more.
Unfortunately, the initial lockdown period in the UK created a significant backlog of court cases which is likely to have a knock-on effect for some time, even once everything opens back up fully.
Cases involving vulnerable individuals or where there is a risk of harm are likely to be prioritised, while new divorce applications could take longer than usual to be processed until the backlog is cleared.
The courts were already stretched before Coronavirus hit, so it’s not clear how long it will be until the backlog is dealt with.
You can improve your chances of a swift divorce by applying online, rather than by post. Divorce mediation will typically help speed up the process too, by allowing you to negotiate your separation privately and cut court time to an absolute minimum.
If you have children spending more time at home, either because their school is closed, their bubble has been asked to self-isolate, or they are unable to socialise in person with friends, it’s likely you have much less spare time to attend mediation sessions.
Again, remote mediation can help by allowing you to schedule sessions for a convenient time – either when the kids are at school, visiting relatives (in line with any current government guidelines for face-to-face contact) or even in the evening after they have gone to bed.
Family mediators are working especially hard in this challenging time to accommodate unusual schedules and difficult household situations – so if you have complicated commitments to fit your mediation around, contact Marcia Mediation today and we will try our very best to help.
If you have any questions, call us on 0161 425 3940 or fill out this form
