Mediation Services in Brisbane
Save on costly legal bills with a timely out-of-court settlement.
Mediation Services Brisbane:
We offer mediation sessions Online or Face to Face
Family
Family Dispute Resolution - The Courts now require parents who are separating or getting a divorce to first attempt mediation before approaching the courts for orders about child custody/parenting arrangements. This approach, known as Separating Smarter, is more affordable to parents and gives them the ability to come to arrangements of their own making. Sherri is an accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (‘FDRP’) who is skilled and knowledgable about screening for suitability for mediation and issuing the required section 60I certificate.
Property Settlement - involves dividing your assets, liabilities and superannuation interests, whether held jointly or individually. Again, the courts now require parties to first attempt mediation before filing applications in the courts to demonstrate they made a genuine attempt to resolve the matter.
Child Custody/Parenting Plans - are agreements about the day to day responsibilities of each parent, the practical considerations of a child’s daily life, as well as how parents will agree and consult on important long-term issues about their children. These agreements can be reviewed and changed at any time as long as both parents agree.
The benefit of a parenting plan is that they are able to be drawn and agreed to immediately upon signing, rather than waiting for court approval or consent orders that can be costly. Parties do not need lawyers for parenting plans.
Grandparents /other interested person - this involves estranged grandparents or other persons of interest wanting to arrange time with their grandchildren etc .
Consent Orders - are when you are making child custody/parenting and or financial/property settlement agreements with your estranged partner or spouse, but you are wanting that agreement to have the same legal effect as if the order was made by the court. Once you have finalised and agreed on the terms of your orders, you can then file them with the court. Consent Orders can be made about topics dealing with:
the care, welfare and development of your children;
the division of property, or maintenance of your spouse/de facto;
to vary or discharge existing Family Court orders.
You can then take the agreement to your respective lawyer and file them with the court in a timely and cost effective manner.
Commercial
Parties involved in commercial disputes can benefit from early intervention to their problem to ensure that the relationship remains in place and the parties can move forward amicably. These types of disputes usually stem from contractual misunderstandings to serious contractual breaches. Sherri can bring a neutral and impartial approach to your dispute in the following commercial areas:
Workplace/ Bullying / Harassment/ Management issues
School/Discrimination within education
Contractual disputes
Loss of opportunity claims
Partnership disputes
Franchise Disputes
Property
Commercial / Residential / Retirement Living / Aged Care issues
Commercial Property - Leasing or buying disputes.
Body Corporate Issues - Maintenance; By-Laws (animals, vehicles, noise); nuisances, lot owner improvements; caretaker and management rights; contractual matters; debts other than BC debts; statutory obligations; common law breaches (defamation, trespass, damage, economic loss)
Neighbour Disputes - dividing fences, trees, nuisances etc
Landlord/Council issues - debts, noise, animals, vehicles, noise
Wills & Estates
The estate mediation process assists parties to come together without the expensive, time consuming and emotionally draining litigation to resolve their underlying causes to their dispute.
Sherri can assist parties in the following areas:
Will disputes
Trust disputes
Inheritance/ Family Provision /Family Maintenance
Executor duties and issues
Challenging transactions
Guardianship
Elder & Disability
Parties who experience difficulty in raising conversations about planning for the future, resolving differences in ways that parties see how they will protect and improve the care of their loved one, or consider that their loved one is at risk of abuse, neglect or abandonment either within their family or through a provider of a service.
Parties with children who are wanting to advocate for their child’s right to access mainstream school can also use mediation services to resolve disputes with either State or Private school for their child with a disability.
Sherri Gullickson
Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (‘FDRP’)
Nationally Accredited Mediator (NMAS)
Elder Care Mediator (EMAN)
Family Divorce Lawyer (Hons ) QUT
Sherri’s drive to achieve a sustainable settlement agreement during her mediation sessions is what sets her apart. Preparation is at the core of her service, which involves getting a deeper insight into the issues in dispute, and understanding each party’s goals and concerns in reaching successful settlement terms. This approach is invaluable to the parties in dispute, as it gives them the confidence that they have been heard and their concerns acknowledged when bringing their voice to the negotiating table.
Whether you prefer to have your mediation session face to face or via online video call Sherri Gullickson can accommodate. Sherri can also conduct child-inclusive mediations if needed.
Sherri Gullickson experience comes from working for ANZ Bank, Insurance Australia Group (IAG), Suncorp GIO, Vodafone, small start ups within telecommunication and IT, Aged Care and Private Health as well as being an Australian Lawyer.
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Family Mediation Services
To prove that you made a genuine effort in a parenting matter, you are required to attach a certificate, which can only be produced by an accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (‘FDRP’), such as Sherri Gullickson, known as a Section 60I Certificate.
If you don’t provide the s60I certificate and/or your lawyer fails to discuss the pre-action procedures under the FCFCOA as early as practicable in your matter and you send your partner a Notice of Intention to proceed to court, you may be putting yourself at risk of a cost order.
This means you may have to pay all or a percentage of your partner’s costs associated with not only their court appearance but the costs associated with responding to your Notice of Intention.
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Genuine Effort Requirements
Did you know that the Mediation process begins with your Intake Session?
To demonstrate to the Court that a genuine effort was made, the parties will need to show that they participated in good faith in their mediation session. This means:
Each party received a copy of the pre-action procedures;
Inquiries about mediation services available to the parties were made and booked to attend;
That both parties were invited to attend their scheduled mediation session;
Each party cooperated for the purposes of agreeing on a mediation service provider like Sherri Gullickson Mediation;
Each party made a genuine effort to resolve the dispute by participating in the dispute resolution process.
If at the end of the dispute resolution session the parties still cannot agree on the issues in dispute, then we can issue the parties with the required section 60I certificate to file your application in the Courts.
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Benefits of Mediating your matter
Mediation gets your settlement faster than court proceedings.
With Sherri Gullickson Mediation, you have a qualified Family Divorce lawyer guiding you through to settlement.
Mediation is cheaper than court. You split the costs of mediation 50:50.
The beauty of mediation is that the process is cost-efficient. You split the costs with the other party. If your matter goes to court, it may cost you between $8,000 - $30,000 plus and you can’t share these costs, they’re all yours.
Mediation is less formal than court and you have more control over what is decided.
The mediator facilitates the process to help the parties reach their agreement. A good mediator will not give legal advice, judge or weigh the evidence in anyone’s favour. The mediator should be neutral and impartial to your dispute.
With Sherri Gullickson Mediation, a family divorce lawyer is your facilitator. With up-to-date case knowledge within the family courts, Sherri can gently guide the parties to ensure the agreement reached is sustainable.
Mediation is more convenient than court.
You can choose the time that suits you both and complete the session Online or Face to Face - if it is safe.
Mediation does not require you to have a lawyer present with you on the day.
We are happy to work with self-represented clients or those that wish their lawyers to be present on the day. Just keep in mind, that the lawyers do not run the process, they are there for you to seek advice from on the day.
What is the Mediation Process?
Step 1.
You or your solicitor engages Sherri Gullickson Mediation as your mediator for your dispute. You can get started by Contacting Us.
Step 2.
Either you or your solicitor will send us, seven (7) days prior to your mediation, your Mediation Position Statement. (Sherri can assist self representative clients on what documents will be required to be exchanged.)
We will then contact you to confirm everything is in order and when the best time would be to discuss your matter. This is part of your Intake Session.
During intake we will be assessing for suitability for mediation. If everything is in place and all good to go, we will then take reasonable steps to contact the other party to invite them to mediation. The other party will also be required to undergo the same intake session as you.
Step 3.
Once Intake is complete, we will then send all the parties a Mediation Agreement. Both parties will be asked to sign the agreement and return it before attending the session.
This agreement is confirmation that the parties have the authority to agree to mediation settling their matter and will co-operate with the process to ensure that settlement can occur and end the dispute.
Step 4.
NOTE: Due to Covid, mediation is conducted electronically via Zoom.
In most cases, the parties will meet at a neutral location, such as meeting rooms, or now due to Covid, online via Zoom, at a set time.
If a face to face mediation, we will confirm the date, time and location of the mediation session.
If you prefer an online session, the parties will be issued with the Zoom invite to the session with all the mediation dates and times etc.
Step 5.
You attend your mediation.
Your confidential and without prejudice mediation session will start whereby Sherri welcomes everyone and will explain how the session will work. Both parties will then be given an opportunity to make their case and detailing what terms they feel should become part of the settlement agreement.
The parties will then often split into separate rooms and Sherri will employ a confidential process known as “private session or shuttle mediation”, which is where Sherri will move back and forth between the parties to help them refine the options they are prepared to offer back to the other party by way of settling the dispute, or the areas where compromise is possible. This method is used online as well.
While it is possible for parties to be legally represented, unlike court, lawyers are expected to provide support and advice at the appropriate time, rather than trying to run the mediation session.
The aim of mediation is for the process to be informal, timely and less expensive than court proceedings. If agreement is reached, you are done.
What type of mediation service is offered?
Facilitative Mediation - great for Family Dispute Resolution sessions, or any session where the parties need to maintain an effective ongoing relationship after the dispute is settled.
Shuttle Mediation - this method is used if there is a history of domestic violence, or where the parties are not capable of coming face to face with the other party.
Online Mediation - Due to Covid this method is required to keep all parties to the dispute safe. It is also more convenient if distance and/or safety is a factor for a party.
Face to Face Mediation - where the parties come together to openly discuss the matter in the one room. This method also allows for the parties to be split into separate rooms during the negotiation stage. This method has additional costs due to venue hire charges.
Child focus / Child Inclusive Mediation - in addition to Family Dispute Resolution mediation Sherri can offer a child-focused and child-inclusive option to separating parents. This process allows children of a school age and above to allow their parents to hear, and meaningfully consider, their child/ren’s experiences of separation and how they would like to move forward. This is a more delicate process and requires a highly trained child expert consultant to work alongside Sherri to deliver a valuable and transformative support to families. This method has additional costs due to the costs associated with the highly trained child expert.