Fees
We believe that finding a solution when you separate should be easy, and that includes budgeting for costs.
Below you’ll find information about our packages and costs for uncomplicated cases. If you need a more bespoke estimate, or you would like other professionals to be involved, we’ll go through likely costs with you when we meet.
We will always try and remain as cost effective as possible. We review our fees annually, and new rates take effect on 1st January each year. We’ll always let you know in advance of any increase to your costs.
Wellbeing and Support
| When are fees payable? | |
| Exploratory meeting for mediation support – If required, takes place either after your initial conversation with us or after your first joint mediation session. It is also possible to start mediation support at any other stage. | Included in your first mediation session fee |
| Exploratory meeting for all other solutions – £90 per person (individual appointments) and will last around 45 minutes. We then prepare an estimate of fees, depending on what support you would like. | At the end of the appointment |
| Attending a joint mediation meeting with you both (90 mins) – £270 per session – this is the minimum fee and covers a 90 minute session. If your session is longer than that, we charge £90 for each half an hour or part. The fees are shared between you. | At the end of the session. |
| Attending a joint mediation meeting with you individually (90 mins, and takes place in separate rooms) – £180 per session – this is the minimum fee and covers a 90 minute session. If your session is longer than that, we charge £90 for each half an hour or part. | At the end of the session. |
| Supporting you through mediation (60 mins) – £180 per session – preparing you for your sessions, or debrief afterwards, but not attending them with you. | At the end of the session. |
| Co-parenting support (60 mins) – £180 per session, shared between you. Looking at ways to improve communication, change existing patterns so that you can manage bumps in the road, and co-parent effectively. | At the end of the session |
| Preparing for marriage or living together (90 mins) – Helping you manage your expectation and concerns – £270 per couple, per session – this is the minimum fee and covers a 90 minute session. If your session is longer than that, we charge £90 for each half an hour or part. The fees are shared between you. | At the end of the session. |
| Coaching (50 mins) – £150 per session | At the end of the session. |
| Individual counselling session (50 mins) – £150 per session | At the end of the session. |
| Couples counselling session (50 mins) – £180 per session, shared between you. | At the end of the session. |
| Child counselling and Play Therapy (50 mins) – £132 per session | At the end of the session. |
| Family Based Work (50 mins) – £225 per session, shared between you. | At the end of the session. |
Mediation
| When are fees payable? | |
| Initial individual appointments – £99 per person If you are eligible for legal aid, this will be free of charge for both of you | At the end of the meeting |
| First joint meeting, including summaries £504 – this is our minimum fee and covers a 90 minutes session. If your session is longer than that, we charge £168 for each half an hour or part. The fees are shared between you. If you are eligible for legal aid, this will be free of charge for both of you | At the end of the session |
| Subsequent further joint meetings £504 per 90 minutes session. If your session is longer than that, we charge £168 for each half an hour or part. The fees are shared between you, and includes a summary. If you are eligible for legal aid, all of your mediation fees will be covered. The ineligible person will have to pay for the second and subsequent joint meetings | At the end of the first of these sessions |
| Fee Package Sometimes it is hard to know exactly what will be needed in your mediation, and allocating fixed or ‘minimum fee’ appointment durations might not work best for you. Some appointments will be 90 minutes, others may be longer or shorter. To overcome this, we offer mediation in blocks of 5 hours, which you can allocate as you go, depending on what you need. Costing £1,680, a 5 hour block will be shared between you. | At the end of your first joint appointment. |
| Preparing the documents at the end Drafting the Memorandum of Understanding and Open Financial Summary – we allow one and a half hours for this and the minimum fee is £504 to be shared between you. If your agreement is more complex, we will let you know the likely fee in advance. Drafting the Parenting Agreement – we allow an hour for this and the minimum fee is £336 to be shared between you. More complicated arrangements may take longer to document, and we will let you know if this is the case. If you are legally aided your share of the fees for drafting these documents will be covered in full, | At the end of the session in which you finalise the settlement |
| The Mediation Voucher Scheme Designed to be used for cases that involve discussions about childrens arrangements, this scheme offers £500 towards the total costs. The scheme does NOT cover the individual meeting or the preparation of documents. | Any balance of fees over £500 will need to be paid at the end of the session. |
Collaborative, Kitchen Table and Traditional Lawyer-led Negotiations
| When are fees payable? | |
| We apply an hourly rate when we act for you as a solicitor, whether it is on a traditional or collaborative basis. The hourly rate for our solicitors and legal executives is £250 plus VAT (£300) and the rate for our Directors is £275 plus VAT (£330). | In each of these cases we aim to help you budget for your legal fees, and so we invoice you monthly. Our invoices are payable upon receipt. |
Separate Together
| When are fees payable? | |
| Initial assessments £150 per person | At the end of the meeting |
| First joint meeting, including summaries £600 shared between you | At the end of the session |
| Two further joint meetings of up to 4 hours in total, and including summaries £1,440 shared between you | At the end of the first of these sessions |
| Further joint meetings Charged at £450 per hour, payable between you and includes a summary of each meeting | At the end of each session |
| Preparing the Order Drafting the Order and meeting with you – we allow three hours for this and the minimum fee is £1200 to be shared between you | At the end of the session in which you finalise the settlement |
| Further work (meetings, letters/emails, preparation, telephone calls etc) is charged at our hourly rate of £450, shared between you | As and when invoiced, and payable on receipt of the invoice. |
Early Case Assessments
| When are fees payable? | |
| We have two packages for less complicated cases, depending on whether you opt for a hearing, or whether you wish us to consider the papers without a hearing. Option 1 In person or online hearing – £2,000 plus VAT. Includes:
For more complicated cases, please contact us for an estimate. | In both options, fees to be paid upon receipt of Agreement signed by both of you. |
After Court Mediation
| When are fees payable? | |
| Participants in After Court Mediation sign a contract which sets out how long we will work together. Family Solutions has two ACM’s, who work as a team and they will work with you together or individually, depending on the particular challenge that you have identified. When we work individually we charge £420 per hour. If we are working together, then our fee is £540. The fees are shared equally between you, or in the proportions that you agree to. If you have support from other professionals (such as our wellbeing specialists) we will agree that fee together. | We invoice you monthly. Our invoices are payable upon receipt. |
| For each binding decision making element we charge £900* for less complicated cases, to be shared between you. This includes: – Paperwork not exceeding 350 pages – Preparation and consideration time – Written award. If it there is more than one decision to be made, we will agree the fees with you in advance. If you wish to work with different arbitrators, we will help you contact them directly for details of their fees. * Please note that the costs apply each time you require an arbitrator, they are not a one-off cost. | Fees to be paid upon acceptance of the instruction by your arbitrator. |
Arbitration
| When are fees payable? | |
Family Solutions offers a fixed fee for conducting a non-complex arbitration, of £2,500 plus VAT. The package includes:
For more complicated cases, please contact us for an estimate. | To be paid upon acceptance of the instruction and signed ARB1. |
