What is Family Mediation?
Family Mediation is a flexible and confidential process used to settle a dispute between two or more people following the breakdown of a marriage, civil partnership or relationship. A mediator will listen to you and your ex-partner, each explaining your concerns and views to each other and will help you both to reach an agreement.
What is a MIAM?
The first meeting with a mediator is often called a Mediation Information & Assessment Meeting or MIAM. This session lasts about an hour and gives you time to inform the mediator of your situation and issues on a one to one basis. At the end of the meeting, the mediator will tell you whether your case is suitable for mediation, and then it is for you to decide whether you wish to progress with this option having received all of the information.
Hybrid mediation
The Hybrid Mediation Process allows the Mediator to have separate meetings with the couple as individuals. This process includes staying apart from one another in separate rooms. Sometimes both parties have their own solicitor with them to provide guidance and legal advice, but usually the parties are on their own. Hybrid mediation can be particularly effective when there are certain safeguarding issues and where one person does not feel comfortable being in the same room or same Zoom screen as the other. It enables each person to explore options with the mediator in a safe environment.
So, what can be discussed at mediation?
The mediator’s job is to stay judgement free and completely impartial in order to help everyone find a solution they can all agree on. Some topics that are regularly discussed in mediation include:
- Contact or living arrangements for children
- Division of matrimonial or jointly owned assets
- Maintenance payments
- Terms of Pre or Post Nuptial agreements
- Where your children will attend school.
- Potential proposals for relocating with a child.
Good mediator qualities
- Demonstrating impartiality. For example making the surrounding space a safe area where the client feels as though they can freely speak without judgement. This is achieved by being unprejudiced, fair and objective.
- Ensuring you feel you have been able to provide and have received all the information first before you begin to reach settlement, this includes updated disclosure, individual and joint priorities and a clear understanding of where each of you are in terms of trying to reach an agreement. It is very important that if either one/ both of the parties decide to change their direction, then it is important for the mediators to take this on board and fully understand their new point.
- Patience. It can take parties a long time to reach an agreement because of communication delays or disagreements. Therefore, it is important for mediators to show patience in this process to be the most effective practitioners they can be.
Our team of experienced Family Solicitors are all members of Resolution, the national association of family lawyers, and abide by the Resolution Code of Practice which commits them to act to resolve disputes in a non-confrontational way.
Contact the Family team to arrange an appointment at any of our office locations, or virtually.