If you’re thinking about family mediation and you qualify for Legal Aid, you might be wondering what that actually means, what’s included, what isn’t, and how it affects the other person involved. Below, we’ve explained the key points to help you understand how Legal Aid for mediation works and how it differs from other forms of Legal Aid.
What Legal Aid Covers for You
If you qualify for Legal Aid for family mediation, it means that the government will pay the cost of your mediation sessions. This includes:
- Your Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) which is the first meeting where you talk privately with a mediator about your situation and whether mediation could help.
- Any joint mediation sessions you go on to attend.
- The mediator’s time in preparing documentation, such as a summary of what has been discussed or agreed (a Parenting Plan or an Outcome Statement/Memorandum of Understanding).
Legal Aid also covers the cost of completing financial disclosure if you’re discussing financial arrangements, and the follow-up/admin work your mediator does between sessions.
You won’t have to pay anything for the mediation process itself.
What Legal Aid Covers for the Other Person
Even if only one of you qualifies for Legal Aid, both people benefit in the early stages. Legal Aid will cover the cost of the other person’s MIAM (their first individual meeting) and their first joint session, even if they do not qualify for Legal Aid themselves.
After that, if the other person does not qualify, they would need to pay privately for any further sessions (or apply for the Voucher).
So, if one person is eligible for Legal Aid, it means that you can both at least get started without cost being a barrier.
How It Differs from Legal Aid for Solicitors and Court
Legal Aid for family mediation is a separate scheme to the Legal Aid that funds a solicitor to represent you in court. If you want Legal Aid to instruct a solicitor, you must meet a stricter criteria, usually linked to domestic abuse or child protection concerns.
Legal Aid for mediation doesn’t automatically cover going to court. They are two different schemes with different eligibility rules.
In other words, being eligible for Legal Aid for mediation doesn’t mean you’ll get Legal Aid for a solicitor.
What About the CW5 Scheme?
You may have heard of something called the CW5 scheme. This is a limited form of Legal Aid that allows someone who is already engaged in mediation to get some free legal advice from a solicitor.
The CW5 form is issued by your mediator if they believe you could benefit from that legal advice — for example, to sense-check a proposed agreement before you sign it or for help with making agreements legally binding.
However, it’s important to know that the payment to solicitors under the CW5 scheme is very low, and as a result, there are very few solicitors who currently offer it. Those who do often have long waiting lists.
If you are offered a CW5 form, your mediator will explain how it works and suggest how you might find a solicitor who still accepts it.
In Summary
Legal Aid for mediation is a vital way of helping families access professional support to make decisions without the stress and cost of court proceedings.
If you qualify, it means:
- Your mediation is free of charge.
- The other person’s first meeting and joint session are also free.
- You’ll receive professional, impartial support from an accredited mediator.
And even if you don’t qualify yourself, it’s still worth asking whether the other person does because that could mean the first steps of mediation are covered for both of you.
If you’re unsure whether you might qualify for Legal Aid, we can help you find out. When you contact us, we’ll ask you some simple questions and let you know whether you will qualify for Legal Aid.
To find out more or arrange your MIAM, get in touch with us at info@vollansmediation.co.uk