I Want To Try Mediation

You can either complete and send to us a referral form.

Or, you can contact us by telephone or e mail

If you are still unsure about whether you want to go ahead with mediation, then you can contact us by telephone to speak to us and we can answer any questions that you may have before you decide whether you want to go ahead.

Once you have decided you would like to try mediation, we will arrange your Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM). This will usually be by Zoom video-link but we will discuss with you whether you would prefer a face-to-face meeting.

This meeting gives you the opportunity to meet with one of our experienced mediators to talk about your situation and the issues, to find out about the mediation process and to ask any questions that you have. We can explain how many sessions you may need and how long the mediation may last based upon your particular circumstances.

This initial appointment is for you on your own with the mediator, although you may choose to attend this appointment jointly with the other person to the dispute if you both agree to a joint meeting.

Together with the mediator, you will be able to decide whether mediation is suitable for you.

We can also assess whether you qualify for Legal aid at this meeting and if you do not, we can tell you how much the mediation is likely to cost.

If you want to be assessed for Legal Aid before your meeting, you can telephone us or use the Legal Aid Calculator.

Once you have attended your initial meeting and have decided that you would like to try mediation we invite the other person to attend an information and assessment meeting also.

Then if you are both willing to mediate and we have assessed your case as suitable, we will arrange your first mediation session at a time convenient to you both. This will usually be via Zoom video-link but we can discuss the option of meeting face-to-face if you prefer this.

The cost of the information meeting is £120 (inclusive of vat) for a single meeting or, if you arrange with the other party to the dispute to attend jointly, then the cost is £180 - £90 (inclusive of vat) each. If either of you qualify for legal aid, the meeting is free of charge for you both.

Under The Children and Families Act 2014, there is a legal requirement that most separating or divorcing couples, or those with a dispute about finances or children, will attend a Mediation information and Assessment Meeting - called a MIAM, to consider whether mediation would be an appropriate way of resolving their disputes, before making an application for a court order.

If you are not the applicant, but the respondent, i.e. ‘the other person’, to the application, there is an expectation that you will attend a meeting also.

If mediation is not going ahead after you have attended your MIAM, and you decide that you are going to issue court proceedings to sort things out, then unless you can show that certain exemptions apply, you will need the mediator to sign either the court application itself or a form called an FM1, to show that you have attended a MIAM. Which of these forms you need depends on the type of application that you are making. The mediator will usually give you more information relevant to you and your circumstances during your MIAM.