Divorce can be very expensive. If financial arrangements cannot be agreed costs can easily amount to £15,000 – £20,000 or more each, if the case proceeds to a final hearing and is decided by a Judge.

It is easily possible for the cost to be much higher than this.

Negotiations between solicitors can be painfully slow. They tend to be by detailed letter. This style of negotiation is hardball. A court process tends to increase stress and negative emotions to the parties. Children get caught between their warring parents.

Divorce finance proceedings can also be painfully slow. Clients can easily take a year or more from visiting their solicitor for the first time to obtaining a Decree Absolute and Final Financial Order – whether a clean break or including maintenance.

Why a Mediation-Arbitration scheme is needed

Family mediation does not take place in as many cases as it should do. Many cases which proceed to mediation do not achieve a settlement either.

Often parties will not agree to mediate because they don’t trust the other party to reach an agreement. Sometimes there is a small issue which blocks an overall agreement. Other times, mediation is undermined by a lack of financial disclosure or by parties receiving very different legal advice as to what constitutes a fair agreement.

If mediation takes place it, it can save clients thousands of pounds. If it does not succeed, it adds to the delay and to the cost, and the parties end up in court anyway.

Call our experienced Family Law Solicitors, Divorce Lawyers or Mediators now

CALL: 03339 390188
Or find your local expert:

Exeter (Head Office): 01392 248113 Barnstaple: 01271 827555 Bath: 01225 809399 Bristol: 0117 911 1215 Dorchester : 01305 896776 Frome: 01373 887331 Honiton: 01404 819098 Plymouth: 01752 545244 Plymouth (Plympton): 01752 545244 Poole: 01202 090063 Shaftesbury: 01747 898332 Taunton: 01823 429183 Torquay: 01803 895228 Wells: 01749 987446 Weston-Super-Mare: 01934 806223 Yeovil: 01935 804466

Mediation-Arbitration is the answer

Ian is one of only a handful of practitioners who are quadruple qualified as a Solicitor/Arbitrator/Family Mediator/Civil Mediator. His knowledge of the pros and cons of the different ways of working of each discipline has enabled us to produce a model combining mediation/arbitration and legal representation in a way which should enable clients to resolve divorce finance issues much quicker and less expensive than a court process.

At bottom of this page flowchart showing how the scheme works.

Fixed fees

Because everyone has a clear role it is possible to undertake most of the work within the scheme on a fixed fee basis. Unless expert evidence/advice is needed, This may vary depending upon the complexity of the issues.

If cases do not settle at this stage, the issues should be sufficiently narrow that the outstanding issues can be resolved by an Arbitrator on the basis of the case paperwork. Again, this can be dealt with for a fixed fee for both the solicitor and the arbitrator.

It is only in the small number of cases where a formal hearing before an arbitrator is needed in order to achieve a legally binding outcome that it is not possible to offer a fixed fee from the outset. However the case can proceed on hourly rates or fixed fees agreed at that stage. Even in this scenario, we believe that the overall costs per person will be considerably lower than a comparable court process.

Not only potentially less expensive than Court– but much quicker

Unless there is a delay caused by obtaining expert advice and or pension information, most cases should be able to be resolved within a six-month timescale – if not much shorter. All cases should be resolved much quicker than contested court proceedings.

Saving time, mean saving costs and saving stress and also means that family members can take their lives off of hold, and move forward positively.

The benefits of mediation

We have also sought to retain for clients the most significant benefits family mediation. These are working together, and reaching agreement together. There is also much to be gained working with a couple – whether together or separately, to assist them to find better ways to communicate.

In comparison to normal Family Mediation

Our mediation-arbitration programme is more expensive than traditional family mediation. However the advantage of our mediation-arbitration scheme is that there is a much much greater level of certainty that a definite solution can be achieved for the couple. A broken mediation simply causes delay and extra cost. In our scheme, if the mediation fails, the case move seamlessly onto a decision by arbitration. The scheme also involves the couple solicitors throughout – which will give each of the couple much greater confidence in the agreements that will be reached.

The starting point is a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting with Ian. If you would like to know more – please contact us at team@familylawandmediation.co.uk or telephone 01404 819098