The Cost of Mediation
FMIS has a franchise to provide clients with Legal Aid. Whether you are eligible for free funded mediation will be assessed at the introductory meeting. The general rule is that if you have a weekly disposable income of less than £169 a week calculated by taking your net income and deducting maintenance paid, housing costs and child minding costs and particular fixed rate allowances for your dependents and work expenses then you will qualify for Legal Aid.
If one client is financially eligible for Legal Aid, then the Legal Aid Agency meets the entire cost of his or her mediation. The introductory assessment meeting and the first mediation session are also free to the private client (but not further meetings nor the drawing up of any agreement).
There is an eligibility calculator on the Gov Uk website at legal-aid-checker.justice.gov.uk
Further information is available by downloading our leaflet Costs of Mediation. This leaflet includes a checklist of documents you must bring to your first meeting with a mediator in order for your eligibility for Legal Aid to be assessed.
Where a couple or an individual is not eligible for Legal Aid there is a charge for mediation but we believe that mediation offers value for money.
Private clients are always told the hourly rate and an estimate of the overall cost before the mediation starts. The charges are payable at the end of each meeting and can be apportioned between the couple as they may agree.
Our mediators usually charge at the rate of £115 plus VAT (£138) per hour per person. This compares favourably with the cost of employing individual solicitors to conduct the case. You may like to check with your own solicitor how that compares with the cost of litigation. Usually, the only additional cost is for the provision of the Memorandum of Understanding, which will depend on the amount of time it takes to prepare.
The Legal Aided client is not required to repay any mediation costs at any time.
We accept payment by cash, cheque, debit or credit card.
The average cost of reaching an agreement through our mediation services is between £700 and £1200 plus VAT per person.
...saved me a lot of stress AND a lot of money
