The paper presents the institute of peaceful dispute resolution in the Croatian legislation with a brief review of mandatory counseling and a more detailed presentation of family mediation. It shows the advantages of peaceful settlement of disputes and the cases in which it is desirable to use them. The historical development of family mediation, changes in the law and what changes they brought with them are presented. Also, the paper describes the role of the mediator from the beginnings of this procedure to the present day and the currently valid guidelines regarding the person who performs the mediation, the necessary education, etc., Given that this is an institute whose main purpose from the very beginning has been and remains the protection of well-being and the best interests of children, the procedure is also presented from the role of the child, his rights in such circumstances and the advantages and risks of children's participation in the procedure. In conclusion, we can see the advantages and main successes of the implementation of family mediation so far, and some parts of the regulation that should possibly be further improved.