Argutia Family Mediation

We’ll help you and your ex-partner work out arrangements for children, property and finance following separation or divorce.

Our approach is focused on collaboration and mutual understanding. We’ll provide a safe and supportive environment in which you and your ex-partner can discuss your concerns and needs. We’ll encourage you both to work together to resolve issues fairly and completely.

Breaking up is rarely easy. Emotions can run high and resolving disputes may seem impossible. But we’ll help you communicate with each other as calmly as possible, identifying and focusing on the issues that you can’t agree on. We won’t take sides but we will help you find practical solutions that work for you both. When you are satisfied with the decisions that you have reached, you will be able to make the agreement legally binding if that’s what you both want to do. You can take legal advice at any time and you can stop mediation if it’s not working for you.

Unlike at the Family Court, no one will make you do anything that you don’t agree with. You’ll stay in control of all your decisions and negotiations will remain confidential. Mediation sessions will be scheduled at times that suit you and we’ll send you progress summaries after each session.

Compared with going to the Family Court, mediation is usually quicker, cheaper, less stressful and more Flexible, and almost always results in better outcomes for the whole family.

The law has changed, so unless an exemption applies, you are now legally required to consider mediation before applying to the Family Court to resolve a dispute. This means that before submitting your court application, you must attend a Mediation Information & Assessment Meeting (MIAM) to find out about mediation and see if we can help you sort out arrangements for the future.

A MIAM is a pre-mediation meeting that will take around 45 minutes. We’ll explain to you the mediation process (as well as alternatives to mediation) and assess your case’s suitability for mediation.

After your MIAM, if you would like to try mediation, we’ll invite your ex-partner to attend a MIAM also. However, if you don’t wish to try mediation, we’ll certify that you’ve attended a MIAM and you’ll then have 4 months to submit your court application should you decide that the Family Court is the best option.

Your total cost will depend on the number of mediation sessions that you need to reach an agreement with your ex-partner. On average, we’d expect people mediating about typical child arrangements or property and finance issues to attend between 2 and 3 mediation sessions (excluding MIAMs) and people mediating about typical child arrangements and property and finance issues to attend between 2 and 4 mediation sessions (excluding MIAMs). Generally, you can expect to pay between £500 and £1,000 per person in mediation fees, including the cost of your MIAM, mediation sessions and any documents produced during and at the end of the mediation process.

All our family mediators are registered with the Family Mediation Council, members of Resolution, have Enhanced DBS checks and carry professional indemnity and malpractice insurance.

Jonathan Fish, our founder, is a family mediator with extensive experience in the Family Court and how it is likely to make decisions about children and finances. He is a natural problem solver who will listen carefully to what you and your ex-partner say and help you structure a fair agreement that works for you both as well as the family as a whole. With over 25 years of experience in business, management consulting and law, Jonathan can assist you with even the most complex disputes involving children, property, pensions, personal finance and business interests. He holds a BSc (Hons) and an LLM.

For more information, please visit our website: www.argutiafamilymediation.com