How much will it cost?

Overall Collaborative Law is likely to cost between £1,000 and £6,000 for each person for a straight forward situation. It will be more if there are many issues to resolve and more meetings are needed.

Overall Family Mediation is likely to cost about £700 - 1,000 for each person for a straight forward situation with a couple of sessions. It will be more if there are many issues to resolve and more Mediation Sessions are needed.

There may be additional costs for a divorce or ending a civil partnership as well as for turning the outcome into a legally binding agreement.

An example

A straightforward situation with a couple of issues usually takes about 3 -4 Mediation Sessions, so the costs could be calculated as follows:

• £300  for Initial Session/MIAMs
• £1,200  for 4 Mediation Sessions at £300 each
• £300  for preparing the Memorandum of Understanding
• £1,800 in total (£900 for each person)

For more complex situations there may be additional charges, for example dealing with large amounts of financial documents or co-mediation with another skilled professional.

Breakdown of costs for Family Mediation

£150 for Initial Session/MIAM for each person

£300 for each 1 hour Mediation Session (session times can be shorter or longer than 1 hour depending on what is needed). These costs are shared between you.

£300 for preparing the formal document called a Memorandum of Understanding which sets out the decisions reached in Mediation. These costs are shared between you.

Breakdown of costs for costs for legal advice and mediation

£300-£900 for converting a Memorandum of Understanding into a draft consent order which is a legally binding agreement.

Mediation Voucher Scheme of up to £500

We may be able to apply for a voucher from the Government to help you pay some of the costs of mediation. This voucher does not cover all mediation costs. It applies if your mediation is about children, you complete the necessary paperwork and funds are available. The Government has said the voucher scheme may come to an end soon.

Please contact us to find out if you are eligible for a Mediation Voucher.

You can find the full details of this Government scheme here

A fixed price can be agreed for legal advice in advance. The cost will be tailored to your situation and will depend on the complexity of the issues and advice required.

Below is a guide to general legal costs in different scenarios to provide an idea of the likely costs:

• £350 for one-off advice on a straight forward question or issue.
• £1,000 to £5,000 if you and your partner are able to reach an agreement yourselves and would like it converted into a legally binding agreement.
• £5,000 to £10,000 if detailed legal advice is needed, assistance with negotiations, or preparation of legal documents, but it is still a relatively straightforward agreement. There may also be additional expenses for you to cover, such as obtaining experts opinions on the value of property and court fees.
• £7,000 to £30,000 if the situation is not straight forward or negotiations prove to be more difficult. There may be additional expenses as above.
• £10,000 and perhaps as high as £100,000 or more if the court process is started. The court procedure is designed to promote settlement and to encourage agreements at the earliest possible stage, but this does not always happen. The legal costs will depend on how far along the court process it is necessary to go before an agreement can be reached or a judge can make a final decision.