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Financial Issues (Children
issues may also be included)
There will be an initial joint or separate meeting for us to discuss
detailed information about the mediation process, for the clients to
give limited information about themselves and
to ascertain if they are eligible for Legal Aid. If not, we can give
some idea of the cost to them of mediation.
A Court Form "E" (requiring complete disclosure) and a
form for listing outgoings are usually handed out at this initial
meeting. Clients then meet for a total of about six or seven sessions
(including paperwork, typing and bundling sessions) of 90 minutes each.
Clients are seen separately on the first meeting; in this meeting,
they can set out their issues, hopes, expectations and/or concerns.
This takes from about 5 to 45 minutes, depending on the matters
raised. The issues etc are shown to both clients, usually sooner rather
than later: all information is usually shared in family law mediation
(apart from addresses and telephone numbers, if requested).
Two sessions are usually required to collect and collate evidence of
assets and liabilities and work out each party's cash flow. The issues
are usually considered in the fourth meeting when, hopefully, some
decisions for the future are mutually agreed. Sometimes, a letter will
be formulated to the clients' solicitors for advice, usually regarding
the split of assets.
In the remaining meetings, it is usually the practice of the
mediators to type up the Memorandum of Proposals and the Statement of
Finances, and to prepare the bundle of information for solicitors with
the clients present.
After "reality testing", one of the following may happen:-
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Clients' joint proposals may be written up by the
mediator in a memorandum for them to take to their solicitors to put them
into a Consent Order and then sent to a judge. This is then legally
binding.
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Clients may decide to try out their joint proposals
and end the mediation without setting any further date for mediation.
This is not legally binding.
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Clients may decide to try out their joint proposals
and set a further mediation date to discuss how matters are working
out. Until any proposals are put into a Consent Order, they are not
binding in law.
It would help to reduce delay if clients write to their pension
provider for a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) of their pension
as soon as they decide on mediation.
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Child and communication
issues
There will be an initial joint or separate meeting for us to discuss
the mediation process, for the clients to give limited information
about themselves and to ascertain if they are
eligible for Legal Aid. If not, we can give some idea of the cost to
them of mediation.
Clients usually meet with us for a total of two or three sessions of
90 minutes each. Clients are seen separately on the first meeting; in
this meeting, they can set out their issues, hopes, expectations and/or
concerns. This takes from about 5 to 45 minutes, depending on the
matters raised.
The issues etc are shown to both clients, usually sooner rather than
later: all information is usually shared in family law mediation (apart
from addresses and telephone numbers, if requested).
The issues are usually considered in the second meeting when,
hopefully, some decisions for the future are mutually agreed.
After "reality testing", one of the following may happen:-
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Clients' joint proposals may be written up by the
mediator in a memorandum for them to take to their solicitors to put them
into a Consent Order and then sent to a judge. This would hopefully
result in an agreement that parties are happy with.
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Clients may decide to try out their joint proposals
and end the mediation without setting any further date for mediation.
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Clients may decide to try out their joint proposals
and set a further mediation date to discuss how matters are working
out.
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