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The family mediation voucher scheme is designed to support parties who may be able to resolve their family law disputes outside of court. The scheme was set up by the Government in response to Covid-19 to support recovery in the family court and to encourage more people to consider mediation as a means of resolving their disputes, where appropriate. To support this, a financial contribution of up to £500 towards the costs of mediation will be provided, if eligible.

Only mediators authorised by the Family Mediation Council (FMC) are taking part in the voucher scheme.

Why might mediation be of benefit to me?

Family mediation lets you stay in control. Unlike in court, where a judge makes the decisions about child and financial arrangements, in mediation you and the other person/people decide what you agree to and what you don’t. When it comes to your children, mediation can help you put your child’s interest first.

Mediation can be less stressful and far quicker than going to court so can be an efficient way of resolving disagreements. If you cannot reach an agreement, you still have the right to go to court. You can also use family mediation after you made an application to the court.

It can be difficult for separated parents or other family members in dispute to talk to each other and work together to find solutions. Family mediation provides a safe and supported structure to sort out the best arrangements for children, as well as other considerations such as how to divide assets and money, and where you and your children will live.

Family mediation can also help when circumstances change which means you need to make new arrangements. For example, as children grow up, family mediators can help you agree on changes to arrangements for children without having to go to court.

How do I apply for a mediation voucher?

At your mediation information meeting (MIAM), the mediator will discuss the voucher scheme with you if your case might be eligible. You will be offered a ‘voucher’ contribution, subject to suitability, case type and availability of the vouchers.

What is a MIAM?

Before making a court application for certain types of family law orders, you will be required to attend a Mediation Information Assessment Meeting (MIAM).

A MIAM is a short meeting with an accredited mediator where you will be provided with information about mediation as a way of resolving your issues. The mediator will assess whether mediation is an appropriate option based on your individual circumstances. Both parties will need to attend a MIAM before undertaking mediation which can be attended together or separately.

Only mediators who hold ‘Family Mediation Council Accreditation’ can sign court forms to confirm that a MIAM has been attended or that certain exemptions apply.

Do I have to pay for a MIAM before I attend mediation?

You will have to pay for the MIAM. At How2divorce mediation service this is £80 per person. You can get further information about fees on our website.

Can the mediation voucher be used to pay for a MIAM?

No,the use of the mediation voucher is restricted to assisting with funding of mediation sessions only. You will have to pay for your MIAM

How do I know if I am eligible for a mediation voucher?

When you attend your MIAM, the mediator will assess the issues which you seek to resolve to see if they are suitable for mediation and meet the eligibility requirements for the voucher scheme.

The mediation voucher scheme applies where there is:

• a dispute/application regarding a child
• a dispute/application regarding family financial matters where you are also involved in a dispute/application relating to a child

It is important to remember that mediation is only an option when both people agree to take part in it, so you and the other person will need to agree to mediate.

How will I receive the voucher?

If you decide to proceed with mediation, and are eligible for the voucher, your mediator will apply for the voucher funding and it will be paid directly to them once all mediation sessions are concluded. Vouchers are limited in number and will be offered to eligible parties until they are no longer available. Your mediator will let you know if there are vouchers available.

What do I have to do to take part in the scheme?

You will be asked to confirm that you have:

• asked the mediator to apply for the voucher
• not already applied for another voucher as part of the same scheme
• given consent to your mediator providing your necessary information to the Family Mediation Council. This includes your name, the bill for mediation services you receive from the mediator and some basic information about your case.

How many vouchers will I receive?

You can only claim once per family/ case for a one-off contribution of up to £500 towards your mediation costs.

If you have an application or dispute relating to a child and also have a financial issue application or dispute ongoing at the same time, you can still only receive up to £500.

If you make a second application and have already received a voucher, you will not be offered a second voucher under this scheme.

Will the voucher cover all my mediation costs?

This will depend on the rates set by your chosen mediator and how many mediation sessions are required. The voucher is intended to be a contribution towards mediation sessions. Your mediator will tell you their rates and how many sessions the voucher is likely to cover. As the total value of the voucher is £500, you may need to contribute to the overall cost of your sessions if you choose to continue with mediation.

Is the mediation voucher available for financial remedy issues?

If your issues solely relate to a financial remedy dispute/application you will not be able to obtain a voucher. However, if your issues relate to a child and to a financial remedy issue you can obtain a voucher, subject to availability.

I have already attended a MIAM and didn’t get information about this scheme. Can I now attend mediation and get a voucher?

The mediation voucher scheme comes into effect on 26 March 2021. Vouchers can only be obtained where a MIAM has been attended on or after this date.

Data collection

You will also be asked to complete a short monitoring questionnaire. Completing this is optional.

Your mediator will be required to provide some information about your case, such as whether you reach an agreement and whether you ask the court to formalise an agreement. The data provided will be anonymised before being used to provide information about the way in which the voucher scheme and the mediation services were used.

 

For more information about this article or mediation visit the How2divorce mediation service website

How2divorce.com

Debra Stevens LL.b (Hons) LL.M
Accredited Family Mediator

When dealing with financial matters in mediation there will no doubt be a discussion about pensions. Since 2012 the government has insisted that every employed person is part of a workplace pension scheme. A pension is an asset the same as savings in the bank or a property. There will therefore need to be a discussion about pensions in mediation and you may need to seek legal advice upon the pension documents that are produced in mediation. Often pensions are the second, if not the most valuable asset in the ‘matrimonial pot’ during divorce proceedings. There are different ways of dealing with pensions when you are getting divorced and amongst the options open to the Court in relation to these are ‘pension sharing orders’ and ‘pension attachment orders’.

A pension sharing order transfers a specified percentage of a pension fund into a separate fund for the benefit of the receiving party. Once such an order has been implemented, the parties can usually contribute to this fund, ‘drawdown on’ it (i.e withdraw money) and generally deal with their pension as they choose to, without impacting on the other party’s fund. By comparison, a pension attachment order shares a percentage of the pension income and/or lump sum but if the pension holder dies, the surviving party’s income from that pension fund will cease.

One alternative to pension sharing or pension attachment orders is ‘off-setting’. This is where one party ‘off-sets’ their interest in the other party’s pension against other non-pension assets such as equity in property or bank savings or investments of equal value. When calculating the appropriate ‘off-set’ figure it is important to appreciate that a pound in a pension pot is not the same as a pound in a bank account or even a property. There are various reasons for this, including the fact that there are restrictions on when money in a pension fund can be accessed, both in terms of income and lump sum, and there may be tax to pay on pension income – and in some circumstances lump sum withdrawals as well. It is therefore advisable to seek advice from a pension expert or actuary on how to calculate the appropriate ‘off-set’ figure but even if you choose to take this option you should always remember that you are comparing two different types of assets, one a future income source, the other a more immediately available resource. It is often said that it is like trying to compare apples with oranges.

In certain cases, the involvement of a pension expert or actuary will be essential. In particular, cases involving final salary pension schemes, defined benefit schemes and public sector schemes may require an expert’s input into the true value of the pension fund and often a transfer or cash equivalent value can underestimate a fund value. With final salary schemes, where the member can retire after a fixed number of years and often long before the normal retirement age, the full pension benefits paid to an individual who could even be in their early 50’s are far more valuable than the cash equivalent value would suggest. Police, Fire Service and Armed Forces pension schemes, for example, require careful consideration and each pension will be governed by a specific scheme, depending on when the fund was first set up. With the Armed Forces Pension Scheme for example, there are three different schemes, all of which differ in some way and would impact on the value of the pension. In some cases there will be more than one transfer value for a member. It is also important that early departure payments (EDPs) are taken into account where relevant, so a projection of EDP benefits should be obtained.

It is not always a case of concentrating on pension fund values and sometimes, particularly cases involving couples approaching retirement, the projected pension income is more relevant. In such cases it is appropriate to calculate the level of pension share required to achieve equality of pension income for the divorcing couple on retirement, taking into account all of the pension resources.
Given the value of pension assets, and the intricacies of certain schemes, it is important that the right questions are asked on divorce to ensure that the pension resources are divided in a fair way.

For more information about this article or mediation visit the How2divorce mediation service website:

How2divorce.com

Debra Stevens LL.b (Hons) LL.M
Accredited Family Mediator

One of the key considerations for separating parents is how to provide ongoing financial support for children. One method is child support, also known as child maintenance. Child maintenance can make a real difference to children as it can help pay for things like clothing, food and other essentials. It can also help to keep both parents involved with their children’s lives. It’s also important to remember that paying child maintenance for your child is a legal responsibility.

Under the child support legislation, parents are given the title of parent with care (PWC) or non-resident parent (NRP). This is dependent on who the child normally lives with, child support rules still require one parent to be the PWC and the other to be the NRP. Child support is money paid by the NRP to the PWC to help provide for a child’s financial needs. It may also be paid to another carer such as a grandparent or a guardian, who the child normally lives with.

A parent with care or a non-resident parent can apply to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) to work out child support and set up arrangements for payment. When a parent with care, or their current partner, claims Universal Credit or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, their claim will also be treated as an application for child maintenance. It is possible to ask the CMS to deal with your child maintenance case even where you have previously made a private arrangement, although some restrictions may apply.

A person can elect a representative to act on their behalf in respect of their Child Maintenance case. That person may receive all the correspondence that would normally be sent to the client, act on their behalf in respect of reporting changes of circumstance and make an application for maintenance in the first instance. Child maintenance is something that can be discussed and agreed between you and your ex-partner in mediation.

For more information about mediation visit the How2divorce website at how2divorce.com

Debra Stevens LL.b (Hons) LL.M
Accredited Family Mediatior