Information and Assessment
What does the court expect from applicants?
Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings (MIAMs)
It is important that anyone considering applying to the court in regard of a Family Dispute is aware that since April 2011 all private and legal aid applicants have been required to attend a Family Mediation Assessment and Information Meeting before going to court, thereby using court as a last resort. The applicant is required by the court to produce a form signed by the mediator to confirm the meeting has taken place.
This requirement is due to the government’s belief that Family Mediation is generally the most suitable place for family disputes regarding finances or children to be resolved.
The types of application included are where a party is seeking financial support from the other upon separation (either for their own benefit or the benefit of children), where a party wishes the court to make an order in regard of property or any other assets on divorce or where an application is being made in relation to child arrangements.
The parties usually attend the meetings separately and the meetings may last around 45 minutes, to include information exchange and assessment of your case’s suitability to mediation. Meetings are free for any party eligible for Legal Aid, and may or may not progress to full mediation dependant upon whether clients wish to use mediation and whether mediation is suitable to both the case and the clients.
Leatherhead Family Mediation commit to handling your case in a sensitive and respectful manner. We are not here to judge parties but to try to assist in bringing disputes to an acceptable outcome for all concerned.
