It has been a largely well-accepted reality that divorce ingested a lot of stress to family members.

During the process, the family is subjected to child custody agreements, division and distribution of family assets and support for the family. This is a great emotional cataclysm for the family members and often is legally contested without the actual participation of the parties.

In divorce proceedings, the parties do not argue their sides. It is the lawyers and the judges who take over the proceedings making the parties as mere passive witnesses of the trial. If the parties are allowed to air their differences, then the outcome may make more chaos to the already ambiguous relationships. In divorce proceedings, the parties are subjected to anger, disbelief, hatred and other intense emotions that greatly affect their personal lives.

Therefore, the need for mediation. Mediation is defined as the process of commissioning a neutral party to deal with the claims of the spouses as regards to the family assets, custody of children and other matters taken up in a divorce proceeding. Unlike in an actual court hearing, the mediator seeks to reconcile the parties’ claims to arrive at a reasonable ruling. This means that the family members can personally participate in the mediation.

The Family Court’s concept of mediation states “...a process whereby the participants, together with the assistance of a neutral third person or persons, systematically isolate dispute issues, to develop options, consider alternatives and reach a consensual settlement that will accommodate their needs. Mediation is a process which emphasises the participant’s responsibilities for making decisions that affect their lives.”

The mediator is not allowed to make decisions for the parties. His role is to help the parties to arrive at a just and reasonable conclusion. The mediator assists the parties to understand each other’s claims in order to reach an arrangement that is favourable and agreeable to them. The mediator has the role of lessening the ill feelings of the parties so that they can better cope with the divorce and its consequences.

Divorce makes further quandaries and conflicts which are normal considering the strong emotions of the parties and the surrounding circumstances of each case. These conflicts hardly resolve the issues lingering within the family which renders it problematical for the parties to adjust to the ill effects of the separation.

Mediation aims to alter these conflicts to a reasonable settlement. It helps to turn personal problems to family problems. When properly managed, the sentiments of separation and divorce can lead to reasonable arrangements. Further, solutions are reached and the parties’ feelings are eased during the mediation process.

Mediation is an efficient method to work out divorce and separation issues. These issues may be addressed by a chosen lawyer. However, it is also given that mediation can not work for all families. The parties must submit themselves to the process and must be ready to work out their differences.