Separation and parenting
Where the children will live, time with each parent, school holidays and how decisions will be made from now on.
A calmer room for a hard conversation
Structured, confidential sessions for families, neighbours and businesses who want to settle a dispute without a fight. Each person books a first meeting on their own, and only then do we decide together whether a joint session is right.
Voluntaryanyone may stop at any time
Neutralthe mediator takes no side
90 minjoint sessions, with breaks
Disputes we mediate
We work with people who will still have to deal with each other afterwards: parents, relatives, neighbours and business partners.
Money after separation
The family home, savings, pensions and debts, worked through with full financial disclosure from both of you.
Wider family
Care for an older parent, a disagreement over an inheritance, or a family business that has turned into a family argument.
Neighbours
Noise, boundaries, trees, parking and shared spaces, talked through by the people who live side by side.
Workplace
Disagreements between colleagues or within a team, with the consent of everyone who takes part.
Business and commercial
Partners parting ways, suppliers and customers at odds, and contracts that have gone wrong.
How mediation works
Every case starts with separate first meetings. Joint sessions follow only if everyone agrees and mediation looks safe and suitable.
A first meeting on your own
Forty five minutes for each person separately, to explain mediation, hear your concerns and check that it is safe and suitable.
Agreement to mediate
Everyone signs the same ground rules, including what stays confidential and where that confidentiality ends.
Joint sessions
Ninety minutes each, in one room, or in separate rooms with the mediator moving between you.
Written summary
The proposals you reach, set down for each of you to take to your own lawyer before anything becomes binding.
Sessions and fees
Fees are shared equally unless you agree otherwise. In some countries public funding or legal aid covers family mediation for people on lower incomes, so ask what applies where you live.
First meeting
per person$90
- How mediation works, explained
- A private check that it is safe and suitable
- No obligation to continue
Joint session
a session, shared$280
- One room, separate rooms or video
- Breaks whenever anyone needs one
- A note of progress after each session
Neighbour or workplace half day
shared, from$650
- Separate conversations first, then a joint meeting
- Suited to one clear disagreement
- A written summary the same week
Business mediations are quoted by the day after a short call with each side. Fees are paid directly to us before each session.
Voluntary, confidential and safe
What is said in mediation stays in the room, within the limits of the law. A mediator must act if someone, especially a child, is at risk of serious harm, and financial details disclosed for a settlement may need to be shared with lawyers. Mediation is voluntary: any of you, or the mediator, can end it at any time.
If there has been violence, threats or controlling behaviour, tell us at the first meeting, in private. Mediation may not be suitable, and we will help you find other routes. If anyone is in danger right now, call your local emergency number.
- Separate waiting areas and staggered arrival times
- Shuttle sessions in separate rooms on request
- Video sessions from separate homes
- The mediator gives no legal advice to either side
What a mediator does, and does not do
A mediator manages the conversation, not the outcome. The decisions stay with the people at the table.
| A mediator will | A mediator will not |
|---|---|
| Keep the conversation fair and make sure each person is heard | Take a side or judge who is right |
| Help you find options neither of you had considered | Give legal advice to either of you |
| Write down the proposals you reach | Make decisions for you or impose an agreement |
| Pause or stop a session that is no longer safe or useful | Repeat what you say privately without your permission, within the limits of the law |
Mediation is not a substitute for legal advice. We encourage each person to see their own lawyer before and after sessions, and always before signing anything.
The rooms
Two waiting areas on different floors, a quiet room for joint sessions and a smaller one for time apart.
People who sat at the table (example reviews)
Two parents who had stopped speaking left the second session with a holiday plan both could live with. Separate rooms at the start made the first hour possible.
A three year argument over a boundary hedge was talked through in one afternoon. The written summary went to both lawyers the following week.
Two business partners agreed how to divide the company, step by step and without raised voices. The mediator never once told either side who was right.
Before you agree to mediate
Is an agreement reached in mediation binding?
Not by itself. The proposals go into a summary that each of you can take to your own lawyer, who can turn them into a binding agreement or a court order where the law allows. How that works differs by country and state.
Do we still need lawyers?
We recommend that each of you has one. A mediator explains options and information but cannot advise either side, so independent legal advice before you sign anything protects you both.
What if the other person will not come?
Mediation is voluntary, so nobody can be made to attend. With your agreement we can write to the other person and invite them to a first meeting of their own.
How many sessions does it take?
Many neighbour disagreements need a single half day. Separating parents usually need several joint sessions, and we review progress with you after each one.
Is mediation required before going to court?
In some countries a court expects separating couples to consider mediation first, and some require an information meeting. Rules differ widely, so ask a lawyer where you live.
Is everything said in mediation confidential?
Almost everything, within the limits of the law. A mediator must act on a risk of serious harm, and some financial information may be shared openly so that proposals can be checked.
Book a first meeting
Each person books their own first meeting. Suggest a day and say whether mornings, afternoons or early evenings are easier, and we confirm it, offer another time, or explain if mediation may not be suitable.
- We contact the other person only with your agreement
- Fees are paid directly to us before each session
- Separate arrival times for every joint session
Find the rooms
Use the side door beside the library steps; each waiting area has its own entrance on a different floor.
Contact us
Quiet rooms above the library on the town green, with separate waiting areas and sessions by video
Opening hours
| Monday to Thursday | 09:00 to 19:00 |
| Friday | 09:00 to 16:00 |
| Saturday | Sessions by arrangement |
| Sunday | Closed |
Mediation and legal advice
Mediation is voluntary and confidential within the limits of the law, and it is not a substitute for legal advice. Rules on family mediation, court requirements and who may practise as a mediator differ by country and state.