Mediation can help you reach a settlement in relation to your finances including property, pensions, assets and any debts
Getting a divorce through Mediation offers a positive opportunity to resolve things amicably. Mediation enables both of you to sit down with a neutral third party in order to resolve the issues in and around their divorce. The Mediator can help you to explore ways in which to unravel the financial connection between you, whilst providing an opportunity to look at the full financial information, explore different options together, test the reality of your proposals and assist you in trying to find a way forward that works for everyone.
This can include helping you to decide together how to best to settle any debts, deal with outstanding bills; consider your current or short term housing needs, as well as long term planning for the future. This can be done simply and without long delays. If you want to legally separate Finance Mediation with Children 1st Mediation can help you achieve this.
The Mediation Process
Mediation services can assist you both
- Looking at your current financial situation
- Identify all of your assets and liabilities
- Discuss what needs dealing with immediately so that you avoid getting into further debt
- Explore in detail the different options each of you put forward with regard to a settlement
- Consider how the suggested proposals will work for each of you individually and, if applicable, how it will best ensure your children’s futures
- Arrive at an agreement that the two of you feel is fairest and is within the parameters of the law, so that your agreement on finances can be made legally binding.
A full disclosure of finances is very important if you want to get a settlement to enable you to get divorced. We encourage you to look at options for how you might share any savings and assets that you may have between you in a way that the two of you feel is fair.
It is estimated that the cost of using solicitors and going to court on issues around finances for divorce is between £4000 and £12,000 each and takes an average 15 months compared with an average of 3 months in Mediation.
How much does Mediation cost?
Before the MIAM the admin team will speak to you to find out if you may be eligible for Legal Aid, if you or your ex-partner is eligible then this meeting will be FREE for you, otherwise the MIAM will be £120 inc vat.
We offer the £500 Voucher scheme, which is shared between you towards the cost of your mediation fees.
Depending on the experience of the Mediator the fees range from;
| Per person per 1.5hr mediation | ||||
| Consultant Mediator | £234 | |||
| Practice Director | £255 |
All fees are per person and inclusive of VAT.
If you require the mediator to provide you with a written summary of proposals or an open financial statement these will be charged in addition to the fees above. The mediator can explain these fees to you at the MIAM or in the mediation.
If you are a mediating about child arrangements a one off voucher can be applied for which will pay up to £500 towards the time in joint mediation meetings. Click here for more details.
What Happens after Mediation?
For Children only cases the mediator will upon request provide a summary letter detailing any agreements reached. If you require a parenting plan drafted this will be discussed with you at the mediation appointment.
Following the last financial cases the Mediator will produce an open financial statement that will be used as your financial disclosure in any divorce proceedings. This document is open and will need to be signed by each of you. The Mediator will also draft a Memorandum of Understanding or Summary letter depending on your needs, setting out any proposals/agreements reached during the mediation
If we produce a Summary letter, Open Financial Statement, Outcome Statement, Summary letter or Memorandum of Understanding at the end of a session or upon conclusion of your mediation the is a cost. Each document is charged at £120 / hr (inc VAT) which is shared between the parties. For financial cases involving property and pensions you can expect between 2-4hrs each at the end of the mediation process if you require an OFS and MOU.
Some of our Reviews
Financial Mediation - Divorce Bristol
Our head office is located in Plymouth, but we have trained and qualified mediators working remotely across the country. Most of our divorce mediation is done online now, usually on Zoom. However, we do occasionally do face-to-face mediation when the need arises. We are regularly dealing with clients from Bristol and surrounding areas including Bath, Portishead, Clifton, Yate, Weston-super-Mare and Wells.
Over 90% of our mediation’s lead to an outcome that both people are positive about, which makes us one of the most successful mediation services in England. This means that both of you have found a settlement that you can both live with, which avoids the need for court intervention, which no one wants. All of our mediators are accredited with the Ministry of Justice to undertake Family Mediation in both financial and Children’s issues so you can be confident your in safe hands.
