MIAM: Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings

What is a MIAM?

A MIAM is a Mediation Information Assessment Meeting.

It is a pre-mediation meeting between you and the mediator. It provides you with information about the mediation process as well as other dispute resolution options to help you decide which could be the best route to take to help resolve your dispute. It is also an opportunity for the mediator to assess whether mediation would be suitable in your particular case.

What to expect at a MIAM?

A MIAM usually lasts between 45 minutes to an hour during which you will have an opportunity to tell the mediator about your situation and the issues that need to be resolved.

The mediator will discuss with you:

• what mediation is and how it works
• what other options may be available for reaching an agreement
• the likely costs of mediation, including whether you may be eligible for free mediation and Legal Aid including the government voucher scheme
• the benefits of mediation and other appropriate forms of resolving disputes.

At the end of the meeting, the mediator will explain whether your case is suitable for mediation. If so, you can then decide whether you want to proceed or explore other options for resolving the dispute.

The mediator can also provide you with details of other organisations that may be able to help, such as counselling, debt advice or information about how to parent co-operatively after separation.

Where the issues involve children over the age of 10 years, the mediator will discuss with you how their views can be considered through Child Inclusive Mediation. This is an important part of the process designed to support the health and well-being of the children, ensuring their voices are heard in helping parents reach good workable decisions.

Who has to attend a MIAM?

Where there is dispute over a family issue arising from a divorce or separation and you are thinking about court proceedings, you will, in most cases, have to attend a MIAM before making that application to the court. This ensures that court proceedings remain an option of last resort.

There are only a few specific circumstances where you are not required to attend a MIAM, and those usually relate to cases where there is or has been domestic abuse within the relationship.

The list of the specific circumstances where you are not required to attend a MIAM and the evidence required in support can be found by following this link.

If court proceedings have been issued against you to resolve arrangements relating to your children or finances following a divorce or separation, the court will also expect you to attend a MIAM unless the same exemptions apply.

It should be noted, however, that attending a MIAM is different to attending mediation. A MIAM is designed to help you understand how the mediation process works, including other dispute resolution options, and whether there may be a better route to finding a solution than the court process.

What is a MIAM certificate?

A MIAM certificate is a form signed by the mediator following the MIAM assessment that confirms whether mediation is suitable at that point.

Only mediators accredited by the Family Mediation Council can sign a MIAM certificate to say you have been to a MIAM.

The certificate is valid for a period of 4 months and allows you to issue proceedings within that period.

Is a MIAM legally binding?

Nothing in mediation is legally binding, but what is agreed can be made legally binding with the court.

It is important to note that the mediation process is confidential. Nobody can refer to what has been said in the mediation process in any court proceedings unless both parties agree. The ‘privileged’ nature of mediation is designed so that the parties are free to consider, explore and possibly trial a variety of options which they might otherwise have been reluctant to do before arriving at a final solution. If an agreement is reached in mediation, the parties can ask the court to make that agreement into an order so that it becomes binding and enforceable in the future.

What happens after a MIAM meeting?

At the end of the meeting, the mediator will tell you whether your case is suitable for mediation. You can then decide whether you want to proceed with mediation or explore another option for resolving your issues.

How much does MIAM cost?

The cost of a MIAM will vary depending on the mediation service you use, but will usually be in the region of £120 to £200 plus VAT per person. This may include the cost of providing the MIAM certificate which is required before you can make an application to the court, although some providers may charge extra for this.

Legal aid is available to cover the cost of a MIAM for those who meet the financial criteria. However, you would need to instruct a legal aid provider. Where legal aid is available this will usually cover all the individual mediation costs, including the MIAM, as well as the other person’s MIAM even if they do not qualify themself.

What is the difference between mediation and MIAM?

A MIAM is simply a meeting between you and the mediator that is designed to help you understand how the mediation process works, including other dispute resolution options, so you can decide the best route to take to achieve a resolution.

Only after both parties have attended a MIAM and both have confirmed their wish to use mediation will the mediation process then begin.

Family mediation is then the process by which an independent, professionally trained mediator helps the parties work out arrangements for their children and/or finances following separation or divorce. This usually involves a series of meetings where the mediator will see the parties together in person or online via video, although they should also be offered the choice to see the mediator separately if required.

It usually takes between three and five meetings to come to an agreement depending on what needs to be resolved. During these meetings the mediator will help the parties find a solution that works for them and explain what needs to happen to make any agreement legally binding.