Smokeball Launches Family Mediation Offering for Practitioners

We are excited to announce that Smokeball Legal Practice Management Software now offers a full end-to-end solution for family mediators.

Smokeball is focused on delivering the best family law software solution on the market for small law firms. Providing family practitioners, family dispute resolution practitioners, and mediators with all the tools to power through their mediation matters. Including capturing client details during pre-mediation, scheduling appointments, issuing invoices, plus much more!

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What is family mediation?

People refer to ‘mediation’ in many different ways. It can be as informal as having a friend or family member helping to talk through the issues in dispute. It can also be a formal process involving a professional mediator.

Disputes can involve just two people in conflict, or include extended family members. Where there are issues related to child protection, mediation may involve full family group conferencing.

When disputes can’t be resolved by mediation, the matter may need to go to court for a judge to make decisions. Going to court is a long, stressful and expensive process. Mediation aims to avoid the situation reaching this point.

The family law system encourages separated families to come to their arrangements in caring for their children without going to court. This can be done in several different ways:

• Discussion between the parents
• Using a friend or family member to help
• Informal general mediation
• Utilising a special family mediation process covered under the Family Law Act 1975 called Family Dispute Resolution (FDR).

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What is included in the family mediation offering?

The first version of the family mediation offering includes three matter types, basic forms and precedents, and a FamilyProperty integration in the following categories:

• Children Mediation
• Children and Property Mediation
• Property Mediation

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What are the common forms and precedents used in Family Mediation?

• Invitation to Mediate
• Letter confirming Mediation
• Agreement to Mediate
• Section 60I Certificate
• Certificate of Dispute Resolution

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Complete Family Mediation matters with ease

With the creation of the new family mediation offering, existing Smokeball clients who practice as mediators in family law and conduct mediation matters as part of their practice, can now start entering their family mediation matters into Smokeball and use the accompanying forms and precedents as well as the FamilyProperty integration. This matter is designed to be used by a mediator, rather than by a solicitor acting for one of the parties to a mediation.

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Using this new functionality, you can capture:

• ‍1. The Party details: This information might include the relationship of the party to the other party, and any Barrister or support persons that this party has.‍
• 2. The Mediation details: This includes information about the party pre-mediation conferences and the mediation date(s). The dates entered in mediation details can be used in Smokeball’s tasks and workflows section.

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Discover more powerful Smokeball innovations

If you are a Family Practitioner, Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDRP), or Family Mediator and would like to see Smokeball’s family mediation software in action, please give us a call on 1300 33 55 53 or book a free online demonstration.

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