MEDIATING SINCE 2009

Solving your problems & resolving your disputes

Mediation provided by accredited mediators who are non-practising solicitors. Expertise in family, elder, pet and civil cases.

Our Services

Some of the things we can help with

Family Mediation

When intimate partner relationships break down, mediation is a safe and structured way to sort out financial and parenting arrangements.

$

MIAM

Private and confidential one-hour meeting with an authorised family mediator to assess whether a problem or dispute can be addressed without involving the courts.

$

Pet Mediation

Mediation provides a way of sorting out arrangements for a loved pet when the owners’ relationship ends.

$

Elder & Adult

Mediation helps families communicate and make decisions as members age. It provides a safe and structured way for engaging in difficult conversations.

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About Us

Mediation is a more effective way for most people to solve their problems or resolve their disputes than going through the legal system.

With our decades of expertise as solicitors and  mediators, we help clients achieve better, faster, more affordable, and longer lasting results.

Mediation works for individuals, groups, and organisations.

 

What is a MIAM?

 

A MIAM is a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting. It’s a private, confidential 60-minute meeting with one of our accredited family mediators, on your own. It can take place at our meeting rooms in Ipswich or online by Zoom.

If you want to apply to the family court about arrangements for children, or about finances after separation, you must first attend a MIAM, unless an exemption applies. We also meet each person separately like this before any mediation starts, whether or not court is being considered.

At your MIAM, the mediator talks with you about what has happened and explains how mediation works, and how other processes work, such as court and arbitration. If you have children, we also tell you about child-inclusive mediation and other services that can help. You can ask any questions you have.

If we go on to meet the other person separately, we then decide whether mediation would be a suitable way forward. If it isn’t, or either of you decides not to go ahead, we can provide a MIAM certificate if you need to apply to court.

To book your MIAM, fill in our online form.

Our Engagement Process

Our engagement process is outlined below. Each mediation service has its own process, but generally it follows these steps:

1

Contact Us

Contact us to start the process by calling or emailing directly, or by being referred by a lawyer.

2

2

Initial private consultation

We discuss your needs and goals and determine if mediation is the right option for you.

3

Mediation

We facilitate a joint conversation over one or more meetings with you and the other participant(s) , to help you reach a mutual proposal.

4

4

Outcome

We help review and test any proposal to ensure that all participants are satisfied before confirming the agreement.

Testimonials

I’m writing to thank you both for your calmness and support during the past 14 months. Mediation was the right thing to do but not easy too. I see the house as a new start and I am embracing my new life.

Thank you again and wishing you both a lovely summer.

MRS CF, BURY ST EDMUNDS

DIVORCE AND FINANCIAL MEDIATION (IN-PERSON)

(Stephen and Elisabet) provided an effective and supportive environment in which potential sources of conflict were methodically and patiently worked through … the mediators were not only patient listeners but skilled in guiding potentially stalled discussion into areas where constructive progress could be made. 

MB, SUFFOLK

ADULT AND ELDER MEDIATION (IN-PERSON)

My initial telephone contact with Start Mediation convinced me to work with them – clear, concise and professional.
The initial MIAM consultation was set up quickly and proved very useful. Elisabet was focused, empathic, professional, and as helpful as possible given my situation.
She undertook the required follow-up actions efficiently, reporting back to me on progress.
Ultimately, the process was unable to continue because my ex-partner declined the opportunity to participate. Based on my experience, I would have no hesitation in recommending Elisabet.

MR ML, SUFFOLK

PARENTING MEDIATION (IN-PERSON)

Stephen guided me through the sometimes tortuous and often frustrating processes surrounding divorce and consent agreement, with calm, wisdom and insight. He takes a pragmatic approach, focussed on securing the best possible mutual agreement and consensus. I recommend him highly, not least for his honesty, good humour and expertise, backed by experience.

MR A, IPSWICH

DIVORCE AND FINANCIAL MEDIATION (IN-PERSON)

It is today a year since we divorced, a decree absolutely issued the same day as our wedding anniversary!

Just a quick note to say that we are still working together and are both doing very well. (My ex) still relies on me heavily to run the business during his absence and has now given me more interesting responsibilities.

So after weeks of difficult mediation, we have now turned the page and (our child) is delighted to see her parents, individually, both happy and at peace.

MRS VR, ESSEX

PARENTING MEDIATION (IN-PERSON)

I’d like to say thank you again for the very professional and sympathetic way that you and Tom (Farrell) steered us through our complex and at times tortuous negotiations. At the end of the day, I’m confident that we secured a compromise that satisfied both of us and hopefully we won’t need to come back!

I have however recommended you to a couple of people recently. My solicitor considered the “Summary of Mediation” you submitted to be the best she had ever received and shared it with her colleagues on the Family Team at her firm as an example of good practice.

PROFESSOR G, NORTH SOMERSET

DIVORCE AND FINANCIAL MEDIATION (ONLINE)

Whilst going through a difficult divorce; juggling the emotional fallout of the relationship breakdown, the challenges of relocating and ever increasing legal bills, it was suggested that my now ex-husband and I sought mediation.

Start Mediation were able to accommodate us by allowing us to have our sessions online. This was instrumental in us being able to move the divorce procedure (Consent Order) forward.

Stephen is very easy to talk with and has a wealth of experience and valuable insight into the divorce process. I can hand heard say that we would not have reached resolution without Stephen’s help and I heartily recommend him as a professional: fair, accessible, productive and indisputably patient mediator.

MRS MS, CHANNEL ISLANDS

DIVORCE AND FINANCIAL MEDIATION (ONLINE)

Frequently asked questions

Some of the questions people ask us most often.

What is mediation?

Mediation is a way of sorting out problems and disputes by talking them through, with the help of someone who has had specific training in working with people together and helping them to communicate. Mediators don’t take sides or make decisions. Their job is to help each and both of the people involved talk about what matters to them, understand their options, including what the law says, and reach decisions they can all accept.

Mediation is voluntary. The people taking part decide what to agree, and nothing is settled until they are all ready.

Much of our work is family mediation: separation and divorce, arrangements for children, and finances and property. We are also elder mediators and adult mediators, helping with problems and disputes between adults in the same family, including over an older person’s living arrangements, wills and inheritance. We are pet mediators, helping with problems and disputes over beloved pets. And we are civil mediators, helping with problems and disputes between businesses, or between people within the same business.

Do I need a lawyer to sort out my problem?

Most people are able to reach agreement through mediation. Most of the problems that mediators, and indeed lawyers, deal with are ones for which there is no clear and certain answer in law. What usually stands in the way of an agreement is communication. For most people, the best way to say what they want and what they need is through a process like mediation.

The first step is a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM), where we talk with you about your situation and whether mediation is suitable.

Do we have to be in the same room?

Typically, yes. Mediation works best when you can talk to each other directly, with a mediator there to help. Meeting together is how we normally work.

For people who live locally, meetings usually take place in person at our meeting rooms in Ipswich. Where people live some distance apart, or one of you lives abroad, we meet online by Zoom, with everyone on screen together. We decide which is more suitable.

If you are worried about being in the same room as the other person, please tell us at your Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM). We take that seriously, and it is one of the things we consider when deciding whether mediation is suitable.

Where it is essential for the wellbeing or safety of any participant, there are other ways of working. Meeting online by Zoom can be an alternative for some people. On Zoom, we can also arrange for you to hear each other without seeing each other, or for each of you to be in a separate online room, seeing and hearing only the mediator.

Mediation can also take place through private meetings in separate rooms, with each of you talking separately with the mediator, in person or online. But mediation through private meetings is likely to take more meetings than mediation where participants can talk to each other directly.

Can mediation take place online?

Yes. We have mediated online since 2012, and Stephen Anderson was the first family mediator in the UK to offer online mediation routinely. Online meetings take place by Zoom, with everyone on screen together.

Online mediation can suit people who live in different parts of the country or abroad, who find it hard to travel, or who need to fit meetings around caring for children or their working hours. We decide with you whether meetings take place in person at our meeting rooms in Ipswich, or online.

For mediation, you need a laptop, desktop computer or tablet with a camera, propped up rather than handheld. A phone is fine for a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM). Our guide to mediating online explains how to prepare.

How much does it cost?

A Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) costs £199 per person. This covers your 60-minute meeting and us contacting the other person. If, after your MIAM, you decide you would rather not mediate, you can ask us for a MIAM certificate, and the cost of it is included in the price of the MIAM. We explain the details when you book.

Mediation meetings are charged at a fixed price per meeting, so you know the cost in advance. Most mediations take between two and six meetings. Our current prices are on our Pricing page.

If your problem or dispute involves children, you may be able to get up to £500 towards the cost of mediation through the government’s Family Mediation Voucher Scheme. The voucher can’t be used for MIAMs. If you’re eligible, we apply for it on your behalf.

Our Blogs

Latest from our Blog

Family Mediation Voucher

Get a government funded family mediation voucher worth
£500
towards the cost of your mediation.

To find out more:

Contact Us

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