What is a Facilitation Package?
Available where one party has ties to England & Wales – a Facilitation Package is suitable for couples who have an agreement in principle that they want to have sense-checked by a neutral third party – without having to instruct separate solicitors.
It is a popular method used to get a clean break consent order or a separation agreement. It allows you both to deal with just one independent expert, rather than having to approach separate solicitors. We help with costs by setting a fixed fee for all the work in advance and we ensure your consent order is drafted and managed by an experienced solicitor.
Facilitation does not replace the legal requirements of a MIAM and it may be helpful to have legal advice prior to the meeting. Facilitation is not regulated like family mediation but once you have an agreement, a fully SRA regulated and experienced family solicitor takes on the drafting of your legal document and deals with the court for you. It can help to streamline cases where you are in agreement on the financial matters. Providing you have all relevant documents and have reached an agreement acceptable to a court, you can get your full settlement finalised in just 90-minutes. And your solicitor drafted consent order in a couple of weeks.
Highlights
- Clean break consent order or separation agreement
- Deal with one person to sense check your agreement
- Experienced solicitor drafts your legal paperwork and communicates with court
- Set fee where our process is followed – helping you to budget in advance
- Amicable – less friction, less cost, less time
When Should I Consider Facilitation?
Can you answer Yes to most of the following questions? Then the facilitation package may be right for you:
- We have an agreement in principle that we are both happy with
- We want an independent expert to sense check and finalise our agreement
- We want to check we have covered everything the court will want us to have considered
- We want to show the court we have used an independent expert to process our order, so it is more likely to be accepted
- We want our agreement drafted into a working document and financial statement for court
- We want a family law solicitor to draft our agreement into a legally binding one
- We want a solicitor to deal with the court on our behalf
- We don’t want a solicitor to undo our agreement or cause extra expense or friction
- We want a solicitor to deal with all communication with the court
- We want a fixed fee cost so we know the full costs upfront
How does Facilitation work?
STEP 1 – £49 per person plus VAT
Once you have both confirmed you are happy to proceed with the facilitation package, we ask you to complete your financial disclosure and a client information form, providing your details, your financial agreement, and any parenting arrangements you may have. We provide a checklist showing what you MUST have before we can commence. Once we have all your documents, we can vet them to ascertain suitability.
STEP 2 – £350 per person plus VAT
If your Facilitator is happy with your paperwork, we can schedule your 90-minute meeting. Your facilitator will prepare a plan for the meeting and go through your disclosure, the division of assets, any ongoing payments between you.
At the end of 90 minutes, you will have your divorce or separation fully agreed and we will then draft a memorandum of understanding and a financial statement.
STEP 3 – £600 per person plus VAT*
Once you are happy, we will instruct a solicitor to process the consent order for you both.
*Separation Agreement – £400 per person plus VAT
If you still have financial or parenting issues to be resolved, then family mediation is probably the more suitable route for you.
Facilitation streamlines the process, ensures the agreement you have reached is viable, would be acceptable to the courts and we check you have considered everything the court will want you to have considered.
If the process does break down – you would still have to attend a MIAM in order to go to court and we can arrange this for you. However, 98% of clients who take out a facilitation package continue with the process and finalise their agreements through us.
Disclaimer:
We want to make sure you receive the correct legal package for your situation. Our facilitation process is tailored to specific situations. Mediate UK reserves the right to decline a request or application for facilitation, if it is deemed unsuitable or does not meet the required criteria.
If your case involves something unusual or unique, it may not be appropriate for facilitation. Please raise this as a question to us at the start. We will seek to clarify before you undertake any unnecessary work.
The decision to accept or decline an application is at the sole discretion of Mediate UK, and no guarantees are made regarding the outcome.
Facilitated Consent Order – Explainer Video
Next Steps
Is facilitation the right service for you? Book a free 15-minute consultation, to find out.
Facilitation Packages
Consent Package |
Separation Package |
|
|---|---|---|
| Finances | Finances | |
| Cost per Person | £999 plus VAT | £799 plus VAT |
| Full financial disclosure | ✓ | ✓ |
| Documentation Review | ✓ | ✓ |
| Initial 90 minute Meeting | ✓ | ✓ |
| Deal With Expert to Reach Agreement | ✓ | ✓ |
| Memorandum of Understanding | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open Financial Statement | ✓ | ✓ |
| Solicitor drafted Consent Order | ✓ | |
| Solicitor drafted Separation agreement | ✓ | |
| Solicitor completed D81 | ✓ | |
| Consent order Submitted to court | ✓ | |
| Solicitor Manages All Correspondence With Court | ✓ | |
| HMCTS Court Fees Consent order – £30pp | ✓ | |
| ID Verification Process – £12pp plus VAT | ✓ | ✓ |
| Total Per Person inc Court Fees | £1041.00 plus VAT | £811 plus VAT |
Your Facilitators
Chris Yaffes
Chris is a non-practising family solicitor and a keen advocate of alternative dispute resolution processes.
Originally from South Africa, Chris practised family and criminal law before studying for a masters in international relations in New York.
Chris clearly focuses on helping clients reach an agreement, which is perfect for facilitation meetings. Chris is a member of Resolution and based in London.
Rachel Poole
Rachel combines two loves: being a specialist in alternative dispute resolution, helping clients reach an amicable agreement, and being a soft tissue therapist where she helps in sports rehabilitation.
Following a career in the finance sector in the City of London and the Police, Rachel has an eye for detail when it comes to financial settlements.
Rachel covers all our branches in the East Midlands and also online