Grandparents Mr and Mrs B referred their matter to us after a short period of unsuccessfully trying to resolve a dispute directly with their son F.
Mr and Mrs B had been looking after their grandson A for some years, following the death of F’s wife and F having difficulties of his own. As a result of F’s problems, A had been placed with Mr and Mrs B by the local authority, and a Special Guardianship Order had been made by the Court some years before our involvement.
At the time Mr and Mrs B got in touch with us, F was trying to persuade them to increase the amount of time that A could spend with him, to include extra overnight stays and more extended periods in school holidays.
Mr and Mrs B were concerned that A did not feel comfortable staying overnight at F’s home and that he regarded Mr and Mrs B’s house as his “main” home after spending so long there. Mr and Mrs B did not want to feel as though they were dictating to F and did not want to go back to the Court process, so invited F to try mediation.
In the mediation for grandparents sessions, Mr and Mrs B and F were able to say how they each felt about the situation and discuss a way forward that would work for all of them, but still, most importantly what would work for A. With some additional input from A’s social worker, they were able to come up with proposals to create a framework for A to move towards spending more time with F but still having the security of knowing that his main home would continue to be with Mr and Mrs B.
To provide A with greater security, Mr and Mrs B (with F’s knowledge and agreement) made an application to Court to replace the previously limited arrangements for contact with the new proposals that had been discussed in mediation. The Court was happy to approve the proposals and turn them into a binding order to bring the matter to a close, while still allowing flexibility for A to increase the time he spends with F as he gets older / more confident.
Whatever your situation, if you feel mediation for grandparents may help you do call one of our specialist mediators to arrange a meeting at any one of our four locations.
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Alex