Costs & Legal Aid
The initial pre-mediation assessment meeting is FREE for everybody, regardless of level of income.
You can attend this meeting on your own or together. If you attend on your own and wish to consider mediation as a way forward your former partner will be offered an individual meeting too. When you both have agreed to engage in the mediation process we will then offer a first joint mediation appointment.
Legal aid is available for mediation if you are in receipt of Income Support, Income Based Job Seekers Allowance, Income Based Employment and Support Allowance or Guarantee Credit or are eligible following a means assessment.
For a means assessment for legal aid to take place at your initial assessment meeting your "gross family income" needs to be under £31,884pa. (April 2010)
You can see if you might be eligible for legal aid by clicking here and ticking Family Mediation at Question 1 on the Legal Aid Calculator.
For clients not eligible for a legal aid means assessment they can choose to be assessed for a subsidised fee. The level of fee due will be identified at the assessment meeting.
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From January 2010, as a result of being awarded funding from the Department of Children Schools and Families for a pilot project that runs until March 2011, an additional subsidy of £60.00 for any parent not eligible for legal aid is available to qualifying families. To qualify the child/ren must live in CV1 - CV6 and mediation must include issues regarding the child/ren. |
IT IS NOW POSSIBLE TO PAY MEDIATION FEES BY STANDING ORDER, THE LEVEL OF MONTHLY PAYMENT WILL BE AGREED PRIOR TO MEDIATION STARTING
If you are not eligible for legal aid and choose to be assessed for a subsidised fee you will pay on a scale between £60.00 and £180.00 per session (meetings last up to an hour and a half) for mediation, the level of fee due is based on your disposable family income and the issues to be discussed. .
If you choose not to be assessed for a subsidised fee the charge is £180.00 per session (meetings last up to an hour and a half) for mediation that relates to finance/property/children or £160.00 per session for mediation that relates to Child issues only.
The fees are assessed per person per session and are inclusive of VAT and all our administration costs - (letters, telephone calls, case notes, documentation etc.)
Where clients are eligible for legal aid for Family Mediation the Statutory Charge does not apply and legal aid is non contributory.
Involving children (CIM) in mediation does not incur additional costs as their meeting is covered by charitable donations.
