Property and Finance
It can feel so overwhelming when you separate to consider how you will sort out the:
- Property
- Pensions
- Debts
- Assets
- Contents within the home
- Business
- Children
Legal Aid & Costs
The section that costs the most in any separation is the negotiation, who gets what!
Mediation is here to help and legal aid is available, if you qualify the whole process is free, or if your ex-partner qualifies then part of the process is free for you both. It can be expensive to instruct a solicitor and you might simply be unable to afford it. That is why mediation is here to help you both resolve matters amicably over the course of 2 to 3 sessions, lasting 1.5 hours.
Separation and the Divorce Process
Our mediators are trained to help and guide you through the tricky process to ensure you have discussed and worked out what is best for both your futures. Although we do not do the divorce, which is the paperwork exercise of legally ending your marriage, we do the expensive part of negotiating how you will separate everything out.
Legal Advice
The mediators cannot tell you what to do and they cannot give you independent legal advice, but as several of our mediators are qualified family solicitors, they have the legal knowledge to know if you are on the right track to reach a fair financial agreement. If the mediator feels at any point that you are agreeing to something unusual, they will suggest obtaining independent legal advice between sessions, this therefore provides you with reassurance that the mediator is looking out for both of you.
Complicated Separations
If your situation is particularly complicated, we have the expertise to help and can provide a tailored approach. Mediation is a perfect solution to work together to reach an agreement that fits with everyone. In mediation you can be as creative as you want, you make the decisions with the help of the mediator of what is best for you, rather than a Judge imposing the situation for you both.
What Next
Once you reach an agreement the mediator will prepare an outcome Summary and Open Financial Summary setting out the facts and figures. You can then use this document to take your separation to the final stage, getting it turned into a legally binding agreement/consent order which you can do with solicitors or direct with the Court.