More than 27,000 separating families have saved money, protected their children and avoided lengthy, expensive and combative courtroom battles, thanks to a £23 million government scheme.
The Family Mediation Voucher Scheme provides funding to help families navigate the complexities of separation, allowing them to settle issues around childcare and finances outside of court.
Separating couples work with expert Mediators to reach agreements that are less conflicting and place greater emphasis on the voices of children.
So far, two-thirds of couples have reached an agreement without the need to go to court.
Families can get up to £500 towards their mediation from the government.
Traditional courtroom battles usually take nearly a year to resolve. On average, families using Mediators only need two sessions to reach an agreement, lasting a total of three hours.
However, mediation will remain voluntary. The government has decided not to change the law to make it compulsory.
The sessions are flexible and arranged when convenient for the whole family, providing a better solution than fixed court dates.
It can be challenging, but experienced Mediators are there to make the process easy and less confrontational.
When children are exposed to intense and poorly resolved parental conflict, it can have a devastating impact on their well-being.
However, there are only 350 specialist child-inclusive Mediators across England and Wales.