From 6th April 2011 anyone contemplating issuing proceedings in the family courts will have to consider whether mediation will be a better alternative. That covers all family case, including divorce, dissolution of a Civil Partnership, child contact and residence, parental responsibility, financial settlements after separation.
Mediation itself will not be compulsory, but it will be compulsory for an applicant to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting. Your details will be supplied to your chosen mediator by your solicitor or you can directly refer yourself. The forms that you will need to complete can be found in the download section of this website.
The MIAM will be used by the mediator to work out:-
- whether your case is suitable for mediation, and to make sure that there is nothing that would prevent it from happening.
There are a number of factors that might make a case unsuitable, such as domestic violence, risk of child abduction or other vulnerability.
- whether you are willing to try mediation as a way of sorting out your dispute or whether there might be a better way.
We will tell you all about mediation and about other forms of alternative dispute resolution
- whether you will qualify for free mediation, under the Legal Aid scheme.
If your case is suitable and you wish to go ahead, we will of course need to make sure that the other person in your case is also willing, and we will invite them to a MIAM as well. Only when we are satisfied that the mediation is unsuitable or the parties are unwilling will we be able to sign you off, enabling your application to the Court to continue.
If you are both willing to try mediation then we will book your first session in the normal way.