Family Mediation

We offer a mediation service conducted by Sarah Jay, a skilled and trained specialist. She is also a practising solicitor, which will be cost effective as it reduces the need for you to consult with your own legal advisers. As a mediator, she can give legal information on the legal process, as well as guiding you through the mediation process.

Mediation is designed to help couples who have decided to separate or divorce to talk things through and to achieve an amicable settlement between the parties. Mediators are trained to help you reach agreement about making the best arrangements for the future. This may be about the way the children are cared for, or how finances will be organised. The mediator gives impartial guidance to help you understand what matters to you and to make your own choices about the best way forward. It works on the basis that a negotiated settlement is preferable to potentially expensive and protracted court proceedings.

How it Works

Mediation takes place in an informal setting with just you, your ex-partner and the mediator present. The mediator is there to assist you both to listen to the other in order to understand their needs and concerns and to try and find a solution. The mediator will help you look at different suggestions and consider your ideas. When you are both content with the decisions you have reached, the mediator will suggest that the parties see their own independent Solicitor to obtain legal advice. The mediator will provide you with a written summary of the decisions you have both made. This final agreement is called a Memorandum of Understanding. This can then be incorporated into a formal Court Order made by consent. At any stage in the mediation process you may consult your own solicitor to take advice on what is best for you and to complete any legal formalities.

What will it cost?

Generally a mediation session lasts two hours. The hourly charge is £100 per person per hour plus VAT. Any work that needs to be done outside the session will be charged at the same hourly rate.