National family mediation was born out of a recognition that divorce is one of the most stressful events anyone can go through. It’s long-winded, expensive and often confrontational – resulting in bitterness and resentment that simmers for years.
Mediators interviewed for this study report that the traditional scope of family mediation tended to be restricted by its therapeutic focus, with services being primarily run by mediators with a therapeutic background.
What is Mediation?
Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution method in which a neutral third party assists disputants in reaching a settlement. It is a less expensive and quicker process than litigation and allows for flexible solutions that are not available in court.
Mediators have extensive experience working with difficult situations and help disputants to understand each other’s side of the issue. They also encourage disputants to think “outside the box” for possible solutions, broadening their options.
NFM mediators recognise that divorce is one of the biggest crisis points in anyone’s life and that emotions may be running high. This can make communication very challenging. NFM mediators use specialised communication techniques to ensure that your concerns are heard and understood. They also take into account the impact of your divorce on children’s emotional well-being and academic progress. All mediation sessions are confidential. However, you will have the opportunity to discuss your final outcome with your solicitor if you have chosen to have them with you at the mediation.
Why choose NFM?
NFM has the potential to bring a wide range of benefits. These include increasing biodiversity, reducing siltation and carbon in the soil, improving water quality and improving productivity of agricultural land. These measures can also help to reduce flood risk for the benefit of communities downstream. NFM projects have shown that putting these measures in place requires significant community involvement and engagement. This can be challenging and is a critical part of the project. Local residents often have valuable knowledge which models and desk-based tools may not identify, especially if they live in the area.
The Countryside Stewardship Scheme offers a range of grants for farmers and land managers who wish to take up NFM techniques. This can be for capital items or management options, such as contour cultivation and planting winter cover crops along slopes. These can be a cost effective way to make the most of natural and landscape features for flood risk reduction and increased crop production.
NFM’s model of working
NFM is a non-profit organisation committed to providing access to quality justice. It provides professional and affordable mediation services to families and individuals requiring a solution to a dispute.
It also offers training and professional development for lawyers, judicial officers, social workers and other professionals. NFM is a member of the Australian Family Mediation Association and the International Academy of Family Lawyers.
Despite the increasing recognition of the benefits of NFM, the effectiveness of these measures in permeable catchments with complex hydrology has been understudied (Ascott et al., 2017). This study aims to fully assess the suitability of a modelling framework for NFM assessment in two medium-scale lowland catchments with complex hydrology within the Thames basin, UK. This is achieved through comparing the performance of different model configurations and analysing their uncertainties. A series of “what if” scenarios were constructed to test the effect on the water balance components and river discharge of converting land cover to broadleaf woodland and conventional agricultural cropland.
NFM’s fees
It takes the beginning balance of your account each day, adds new purchases and charges, and subtracts payments and credits to calculate the daily average balance. Nfm uses this average to determine the amount of interest you owe each billing cycle. Special promotions may include deferred interest, where some purchases are excluded from the average calculation for a certain length of time.
If you’re in bankruptcy, NFM will ask you to sign a reaffirmation agreement. This means you promise to keep paying them even after your bankruptcy ends. If you don’t, they could file an adversarial case against you, arguing to the bankruptcy court that your debts aren’t dischargeable.
NFM will always try to comply with any state or federal laws that might cover any transactions under this agreement. However, if there’s a conflict between any term or condition in this agreement and any law or regulation, the terms of the law or regulation will prevail.
