A section 60I certificate is a certificate that a Family Dispute Resolution practitioner can issue to show that parties have made an attempt to participate in or have participated in Family Dispute Resolution. This certificate is a requirement needed to commence proceedings in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Only a Family Dispute Resolution practitioner can issue such a certificate. Bainbridge Legal can discuss with you the benefits of obtaining a section 60I certificate and discuss the reasons why your case may not be suitable for a section 60I certificate.

Family Dispute Resolution puts the decision making in the hands of you. It stops a Judge, who you do not know, making important decisions about your life such as your parenting arrangements and your property settlement arrangements. It is a cheaper way of arranging your family law affairs over litigating through the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. It gives each party a chance to air their grievances and feelings and allows the other party a chance to possibly understand the issues impacting settlement of the family law issues up until that point.

Even in cases where the matter is not resolved on a final basis Family Dispute Resolution can assist parties to resolve a number of issues in the matter. This then reduces the number of contested issues which makes a matter less complex and more easily resolvable where there are less issues to have conflict over.

You can engage in Family Dispute Resolution at any time in your family law matter. This includes before court or once you are engaged in court proceedings. A court can order the parties to attend Family Dispute Resolution throughout the proceedings. This is quite common practice. This is as one of the aims of the court is to assist parties to resolve their own disputes and Family Dispute Resolution can help parties to do this.

When in your matter the Family Dispute Resolution is taking place will impact what you need to do to prepare for your Family Dispute Resolution. It is often helpful to consider the issues that are important to you and why they are important to you. It is also helpful to consider issues that you are willing to compromise on and in what ways you are willing to compromise. You should also consider issues that are important to the other party and why you think this is the case. It is often the case that parties may have issues that are important due to sentimental reasons rather than necessary financial or logical reasons. Every matter is different and has different issues and reasons behind those issues.

The type of Family Dispute Resolution you are engaging in will impact how the process of Family Dispute Resolution will work for you. It is often the case that each party will participate in an intake session with the Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner where the dispute practitioner will talk to you and/or your lawyer about the case from your perspective. Once both parties have participated in their intake then the parties will attend for a, for example, mediation day. This mediation may be run in different ways. It may be conducted via zoom, in person, with everyone in the same room or with the parties in different rooms, where they speak directly to each other, or where they never see each other on the day. It is a matter for the parties as to what they feel comfortable with. The Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner will give the parties the options as to how the mediation is run.

It is important to consider what you will feel comfortable with and what you think will be the most effective way of running the day to achieve the best results. Prior to any Family Dispute Resolution Bainbridge Legal will assist you in the preparation for such a process. Family law property matters will require different preparation to family law parenting matters. For example, the preparation for family law property matters will likely involve ensuring disclosure is complete and attending to any valuations needed.

It is important to note that the Family Dispute Resolution process does not of itself finalise your family law matter. Formal documentation is to needed to formalise your agreement made at Family Dispute Resolution. This documentation may be consent orders filed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia or a Binding Financial Agreement. Without this formal documentation each party is free to change their mind from the agreement made at the Family Dispute Resolution event. Thereby, the work is not quite finished at the Family Dispute Resolution event. The deal agreed upon still needs to be formalised by the property documentation. Bainbridge Legal can attend to this for you to ensure your matter is completed properly in an enforceable manner.

Here at Bainbridge Legal we are experienced in Family Dispute Resolution. We can help you now, whether your matter is just commencing or where proceedings are on foot and any time in between. We are able to help you resolve your matter via Family Dispute Resolution effectively with the view to your matter being resolved in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible. Call us on 1300 148 110 to discuss your matter today.