Child mediation costs
We understand that choosing the right mediation service is an important decision and you will want to have an idea of costs upfront before you commit to using our services. This page will help you to understand what the fees are for both our mediation sessions and the documentation drafted by our mediators.
When you have your one-to-one meeting with one of our mediators (MIAM) they will go through our pricing information with you, providing guidance so that you are completely clear of what the process is likely to cost before going ahead.
To help with the costs of family mediation in cases where you wish to discuss arrangements for children we can apply for the government’s Family Mediation Voucher worth up to £500 per family (please see more information on this below and in our blog). We are also proud to be able to offer our clients legal aid funding for family mediation if they meet the Legal Aid Agency’s eligibility criteria.
How much does child mediation cost
Our fees are broken down into the following (all prices are inclusive of VAT):
| Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) | A one-to-one meeting with one of our experienced mediators that typically lasts up to an hour where you discuss your circumstances and find out about mediation and the other non-court dispute resolution options available to you. Read our MIAM guide. | £150 |
| Mediation Sessions | This includes the session itself and the wrap-around work for the session (e.g., preparation and follow-up). Read our Family mediation process guide. | £150 per hour per person per hour per person |
| Documentation | Our mediators produce a range of documents that are useful to help you move forward by putting in writing what
has been discussed and proposed within
the sessions. In some cases, these can also be used to make agreements legally binding with the help of a solicitor. Memorandums of Understanding, Outcome Statements, Parenting Plans. All priced based on the time that is required to draft the document. |
£150 per hour per person per hour per person |
| Mediator’s certificates | Our mediators are able to sign the following forms should you need to make an application to court: C100 FM1 Form A |
No additional fee |
Who pays for child mediation?
As already mentioned above, where you are looking to discuss issues relating to children within mediation we can apply for a government voucher worth up to £500 per family. For more information please ask about the voucher in the one-to-one meeting with the mediator and also see our blog on the the Family mediation voucher. The government website also provides further information about the voucher scheme.
In addition, if you are on a low income or in receipt of state benefits we can also apply for legal aid funding for family mediation. This is based on strict eligibility criteria and so we will need to assess your current circumstances before your meeting to see if you are eligible.
For more information on legal aid please see our blog on Legal aid for mediation.
Please contact our Mediation Support Team who will be happy to provide you further details on the assistance available to pay for family mediation and read our guide on Who pays for family mediation.
What is included in the price of child mediation?
When you meet with one of our mediators they will give you more detailed information regarding costs. However, to give you an idea of the typical costs for mediation, most cases involving arrangements for children will take around 2 and 3 sessions but can be more depending on the complexity of the case.
In addition, once you have reached a set of plans regarding arrangements for your child(ren)these can recorded in a Parenting Plan or an Outcome Statement. Sessions typically last around 90 minutes, plus an allowance of 30 minutes of admin time around the session, and so please see below a worked example for typical mediation costs per person.
| EXAMPLE FEES FOR CHILD MEDIATION PER PERSON* | ||
|---|---|---|
| Giving a total cost of | ||
| reduce the cost to | £1,025
per person |
£1,025 per person |
*This is an example only. Our fees will vary based on the exact circumstances of your mediation.
If one party in the mediation is legally-aided (dependent on specific LAA criteria) then both the MIAM and first joint mediation session are free to the other client.
In the example above, when also applying the voucher, this would reduce the cost to only the Parenting Plan (which is not covered currently by the voucher). In other words, where one party is legally-aided and the voucher is applied we can typically offer up to 3 mediation sessions for free before the other party will be required to pay fees.
Compare that with the typical cost of using a solicitor which can often be between £5,000 and £10,000 each and sometimes much more.
For more information on typical mediation costs please read our guide on How much does mediation cost?
Legal Aid
At Mediation First we feel that it is really important our clients should not be prevented from accessing our service if they cannot afford it and so we are proud to be able to offer legal aid funding for family mediation. In fact, we were Legal Aid provider of the Year at the National Mediation Awards 2022.
If you are on a low income or are in receipt of state benefits then we can assess your eligibility for legal aid. If you are eligible then the service will be completely free for you and the other party (depending on specific LAA rules) will benefit from both a free MIAM and first joint session.
Payment options
For the initial one-to-one meeting with one of our mediators (MIAM) we will need a payment of £150 to secure your booking.
If mediation is to proceed then we will normally take a payment on account upfront to cover the likely sessions and documentation. Where we can apply the voucher and one party is assisted by legal aid then we are happy to delay the upfront payment until later in the process.
Contact us for next steps
Should you wish to take advantage of our service and speak with one of our experienced team of mediators then please get in touch with our Mediation Support Team today who will be happy to answer any queries you may have about costs or the mediation process.
Get in touch using our online form, or contact us by phone or email:
Tel: 0330 320 7600
Email:
office@mediationfirst.co.uk.
