Conditions

Anything discussed during mediation must be known to both parties but to no-one else (with certain exceptions, which will be explained at the preliminary meeting). All negotiations are private and cannot be used in any future court proceedings. At the end of the mediation, you will be provided with a summary of the discussions to give to your solicitor.

Although mediation is usually held in one room, it can be undertaken with the two parties sitting in separate rooms so that they don’t have to meet and the parties’ safety will be considered at every stage. Children are only rarely involved in mediation and special arrangements will be made if this appears necessary.

If there have been threats or incidents of domestic violence, then the mediator should be told of this at the initial meeting so that these can be discussed and a decision made as to to whether mediation is, in fact, appropriate. All these issues will be discussed at the preliminary meeting.

The welfare of any child of the family is always paramount and should the mediator feel that a child is at risk and that that risk is not being dealt with by the couple, we reserve the right to inform the relevant Child Protection authorities.