Conversation before Conflict
We also offer out of hours appointments (4pm-10pm) & Sat/Sun (8am-12pm) with no extra charge
FIND PEACE
& FREEDOM
At Mediation4Families we specialise in Online Divorce Mediation services to support couples and families with their journey from separation and divorce through to independence and co-parenting.
All conflicts end in peace talks.
Let us help you to work together to put conversation before conflict, and together find clarity, peace, and freedom for both of you.
- Freedom from court conflict.
- Freedom from expensive legal fees.
- Freedom to move on to a new life.
Book a free enquiry at a time to suit you so we can listen to your concerns
Family Expertise
Mediation4Families have 30 years of experience on the educational family front line working closely with children and parents in crisis, with Children and Adult Social Services and with the Family Court. We've seen what happens when the Courts, the Lawyers and the Mediators leave and the parents are left to navigate the transition to co-parenting. On the family front line we've used that unique insight to help hundreds of parents find practical and flexible co-parenting solutions that have avoided the need for them to go to Court: protecting the parents and their children from further conflict and cost. It was one of the key drivers for founding Mediation4Families.
Our experience and the academic research shows us that parents who reach agreement through the Mediation process often make an easier and quicker journey to the new realities and routines of co-parenting, independence and freedom.
Find out about us.
Compassionate
At Mediation4Families We understand this is a difficult, stressful and overwhelming time. Our first priority is to remain neutral and work in a non-judgemental manner with empathy and compassion to help you to have conversations together about your co-parenting future and the best way for you to get there. We're here to help you on that journey and to help keep your conversations focused on the future and not the past.
Financial Expertise
At Mediation4Families James Lascelles, our Managing Partner, has significant financial, property & estates experience gathered whilst running a multi-million pound Educational Trust: he also holds qualifications in Personal Financial Planning Dispute Resolution, and a Law Masters Degree.
At Mediation4Families we are comfortable working with clients on all ends of the financial spectrum from the simple division of assets, like your home and savings, through to high net worth individuals with more complex arrangements and those who are self-employed or company directors.
Child Focused
At Mediation4Families we use Child Focused Mediation where the needs of children are a central part of the process. We want to hear about your children, their interests, needs and views to help ensure that arrangements include them and what they might want. This helps us identify common ground and guide everyone towards reaching proposals about future child care, property, and finance arrangements as well as other matters such as access to grandparents or other important family members.
We also offer pet custody mediation as a separate service for those experiencing difficulties: see our Pet Custody page.
Our Approach
Understanding Mediation
What is Mediation? Why is it so successful? How does it help parents, and children?
Choose Family Mediation with Confidence
Mediation provided a calm approach and future focus which helped to keep us
on track during some challenging
problem solving sessions
Let Us Help You With........
Assets, Finance & Property
Using our knowledge about the Family Courts means we can help you both to work out arrangements that may be similar or better than those imposed on you by the Court, and at a fraction of the cost.
With our service we will work with you together to gather the financial disclosure documents required by the Court, help you to manage the organisation of your assets, assist you both with negotiations to agree an amicable solution, and draft your agreement into a detailed Memorandum of Understanding for you to share with your solicitor and the Court.
Mediation is usually a much faster and financially efficient route to freedom and independence compared to the Court route.
Co-Parenting Arrangements
At Mediation4Families by listening and being neutral we can often help both parents identify and create co-parenting arrangements that work best for everyone.
Every co-parenting arrangement is unique to you and your situation but one thing they all have in common is compromise.
Let us work with you to help you both find arrangements that are in the best interests of your children.
Post Separation & Divorce Support
Let us help you with those difficult discussions about family life after separation. How does Christmas work? Birthdays? How do the holidays work? What about seeing grandparents, step siblings, uncles, aunties and other important family members?
Let us help you to work together to resolve these issues amicably, and help you create, amend or update your family plans.
Pet Arrangements
At Mediation4Families we understand that families include loved pets and animals. Let us help you to resolve the issues and concerns you have about pet custody arrangements.
We conduct initial one to one meetings with each individual to listen and understand the issues, followed by a joint meeting to discuss practicalities to help you reach an agreement.
This will then be written up into a Memorandum of Understanding setting out each person's responsibilities and timings.
See our Pets page.
Fee Structure
We operate a flat fee structure. Unlike Solicitors we don't make additional charges for emails, letters, phone calls, scanning documents etc. We do make an administrative charge for postage and photocopying where this is required. All meetings are online via Zoom.
Prices for all services are per person, and include VAT. Payments are taken online at the time of booking via credit card. Payment can also be made via PayPal or Klarna - both include the option to pay by instalments.
Mediation and Information Assessment Meeting [MIAM] £85.00
A one to one, confidential introduction to Mediation lasting 45-60 minutes. We explain the Mediation process, listen to your concerns, offer relevant legal information, direct you to possible sources of help, and assess your situation and suitability for Joint Mediation. If you want to progress to Joint Mediation we ask to contact your former partner on your behalf and then invite them to their own confidential one to one MIAM.
Joint Mediation Meeting £125.00
If you both agree to Mediate then the next step is a Joint Mediation Meeting. This typically lasts about 90 minutes, is conducted over Zoom and can be set up with both of you in the same virtual room OR if your situation requires it we offer 'Shuttle' Mediation. Shuttle Mediation is where you are in separate virtual rooms with the Mediator going between each room. Many people start with Shuttle Mediation and progress to Joint Mediation in the same room.
How Many Sessions Will I Need?
The industry standard is 3-4 sessions to reach agreement on Co-Parenting Plans & Child Arrangements, with a further 3-4 sessions to reach agreement on Financial and Asset Arrangements. Typically this means that a full all issues Mediation [Children and Finance] of 4-6 Joint Mediation sessions can cost approximately £1000-£1500 per person, less if you qualify for our Legal Aid Support Offer: payments can also be spread out by using our PayPal or Klarna options.
Financial Memorandum of Understanding [MOU] £150.00
Once you have reached agreement our MOU service includes writing up a detailed version of your agreement with an accompanying Open Financial Statement. We work closely with your Solicitors at this point to carry out this service so that we are supporting their ongoing work drafting your Financial Consent Order and presenting this to the Court. You can also choose to submit the necessary paperwork to the Court yourselves although we do not recommend this approach.
Legal Aid Support Offer
We only offer Legal Aid Support to one person; this is because we do not have a Legal Aid Contract and cannot reclaim any fees from the Government. Instead we assess Legal Aid eligibility at the MIAM, and require evidence that you qualify for Universal Credit or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance [JSA] we then verify it with the Department for Work and Pensions. Once authorised we refund the MIAM payment and make no other charges to you for the Joint Mediation sessions or any Financial Memorandum of Understanding Service.
The other [non-qualifying] person pays for their own service as normal - some people enter into sharing arrangements and split the non-qualifying persons costs 50/50 between them.
Pet Mediation Services
Our Pet Mediation Services follow the same principles and charges as above: these services do not qualify for the Legal Support Offer.