Stage 1

Telephone/online Consultation (Free)

Arrange a free 30 minute discovery call. A member of the team will contact you to discuss your current situation and provide information about the services we offer.

 

Stage 2

MIAM

Your Mediator will see you individually (usually online) for your confidential MIAM meeting. This meeting will last about an hour, and will give you an opportunity to tell the mediator about your situation, and the issues that need to be decided. The mediator will tell you about the mediation process and other options for reaching agreements.

At the end of the meeting, the mediator will tell you whether your case may be suitable for mediation, and you can decide whether you want to proceed with mediation or explore another option for resolving issues. If you want to proceed with mediation, the mediator will invite your ex partner to also attend a MIAM. The process will be the same as above.

 

Stage 3

Case Management

You will be allocated your own, dedicated family consultant who will work with you every step of the way. All of our family consultants are highly experienced in dealing with situations like yours and are further supported by an extensive network of expert professional associates. The family consultant will be available by phone and email to support you throughout the process, assisting with any paperwork and can liaise with other professionals on your behalf.

The average costs of solicitors for this kind of case management can run up to £10,000 per person, depending on the complexity and length of the case. Our services come at a fraction of this cost for the same level of professionalism and without compromising quality. 

Also, unlike solicitors, we do not charge you for every phone call, email or form as the case goes along.

 

Stage 4

Pre mediation meeting (included in all packages)

If you decide to continue with mediation with us, you will then be invited for a separate hour long individual and confidential pre-mediation appointment with your family consultant. They will talk with you about the more emotional aspects of your situation and the feelings which may impact on and affect the mediation process. 

The Mediator and family consultant then meet together and make their recommendations for what support they feel is needed in your particular situation. We think carefully about the most suitable arrangements for you.

At the outset you will be sent an illustration of costs from intake to conclusion. You are free to choose from any of our fixed fee packages or we can tailor a bespoke package for you. All of our illustrated fees include VAT. 

 

Stage 5

Starting Mediation

Following your individual pre-mediation meetings we will arrange your first joint mediation meeting, most of our clients find that online meetings are the most efficient way to do this. We can also arrange in person mediation at our office in Coventry if you prefer to meet face to face.

Most couples require a minimum of two joint mediations, if your situation is more complex or there is a high level of conflict or disagreement then more sessions will be required.

Our fixed fee packages are the most cost effective way to mediate. Once mediation begins if you wish to add any additional sessions or services, these can be added to your package on a pay as you go basis with a 10% discount.

 

Parenting Plan

Following mediation, your agreed child arrangements can be set out in a parenting plan. The many benefits of making a parenting plan together include:

• helping everyone involved know what is expected of them
• creating a clear agreement to refer back to, and
• setting out practical decisions about your children, such as living arrangements, education and health care

(If the case is finance related only, no parenting plan will be required)

 

Open Financial Statement

This is a narrative summary, accompanied by a schedule setting out your finances. The open financial statement is not ‘without prejudice’ which means it can later be used in court if required.

(If the case is child related only, no open financial statement will be required)

 

Memorandum of Understanding

The final document is a ‘without prejudice’ document called a Memorandum of Understanding. This document sets out a summary of the proposals made by the parties to each other and the outcome that has been reached. It provides an explanation about why the parties arrived at the outcome that they did. ‘A without ‘prejudice’ document is confidential and can not be used later in court without the permission of both of you.

 

Parenting Plan

Following mediation, your agreed child arrangements can be set out in a parenting plan. The parenting plan gives the parties an opportunity to set out not only the actual arrangements reached but also some more broad-brush elements of their agreement. These might include, for example, some statements about the ethos they are going to follow as co-parents.

 

Next Steps Following Mediation

 

Apply for a divorce

The divorce application can be started at any stage of separation by applying for a , you may choose to do this yourself online or use a solicitor, before you apply for the final order you will need to have agreed on how you divide your finances.

 

Consent Order

Once you have come to an agreement in mediation then it is recommended you use a solicitor to turn your Open Financial Statement and Memorandum of Understanding into a legal document called a consent order which can then be submitted to court to make a legally binding agreement. You can choose to use your own separate solicitors for this, or we can recommend a family law firm to do this for you. After you are submitted and approved by the court you can apply for your final order.

 

Child arrangements order

If you reach an agreement about child arrangements in mediation it is not usually necessary to apply for a child arrangements order through the court. The court strongly discourages unnecessary applications about matters that parents should be expected to sort out between them.