In short, the answer is yes. Mediation can be an effective and efficient way of reaching an agreement amicably.
Usually, individuals who wish to take part in mediation are hoping and wanting to reach an agreement and relatively quickly.
A mediator can help parties cut through issues, communicate and facilitate discussions with the overall aim of reaching an agreement. The Family Mediation Council outlines that typically, it will take between 3 – 5 mediation sessions to reach an agreement (with recommendations of at least 1 week between each session).
The charges from mediator to mediator do vary, but inevitably overall costs are usually cheaper than going to court because:
- Agreements tend to be reached after a number of weeks, whereas the court process would likely stem over a number of months (or even years in particularly complex cases).
- Legal advice is required only at the point of reaching a settlement and can be limited to:
- Advising on the ‘fairness’ of the agreement and the legal implications of it.
- Drafting the order required to turn the agreement into a legally binding consent order (which can be dealt with a lot of the time with a “fixed fee”).
3. The overall cost of the court process does however depend on how the individual chooses to fund their court proceedings and the level of legal advice and input they require (referred to below).
Individuals who are on a low income or not working may also qualify for legal aid to assist with mediation costs generally (to include mediation to discuss financial issues).
Further, the government in March 2021 also introduced a scheme to help families more generally to fund the cost of mediation by providing a £500 voucher towards their mediation costs. The voucher is available for mediation relating to:
- A dispute/application regarding a child;
- A dispute/application regarding family financial matters when a party is also involved in dispute/application in relation to a child (and many people of course fall into this category).
- If, however mediation sessions are required solely in respect of financial issues the voucher is not available and the mediator’s costs will need to be privately funded (unless the individual qualifies for legal aid).
More information about the funding of family mediation can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/family-mediation-voucher-scheme
Court Proceedings
Sometimes, court proceedings are inevitable. They can however become costly very quickly and can run into many thousands of pounds, particularly when emotions are running high and when issues become particularly acrimonious.
It is recommended that legal advice is sought throughout (to assist in drafting documents, statements, and to ensure consistency of evidence) with legal representation usually required at court hearings from solicitors or barristers.
Each case is different and at the outset of a case (and at regular intervals during it) a client’s legal representative will provide a realistic estimate of costs to each stage of the process and provide advice as to how best to keep costs proportionate to the issues in the case.
Sometimes the very act of issuing a court application may be enough prompt the other party to engage and an agreement can be reached at any time. So it’s not every case that costs become substantial or protracted.
In addition, if individuals choose not to instruct a solicitor/barrister and they represent themselves in court, then costs will be limited to any court fees required (which usually are paid at the beginning of the case only). All options should be discussed between a client and their legal representative at the outset of the case.
Legal aid is no longer available for financial proceedings generally (even for low-income families). It is available in some circumstances including cases of domestic violence and in children cases where there has been domestic violence or there are care proceedings. Financial proceedings do, therefore need to be privately funded in almost all cases.
